Twitter | 
Facebook | 
RSS
My story is a long one. But one that I am more then willing to share. It might at first seem irrelevant and with somethings I share they very well might be but at the end of my story I think you might understand a little more why I will go into details.
June, 2004 my daughter Raina is born. Seemingly perfectly healthy. Us all thinking she was only 2 weeks early. Even though she weighed only 5 lbs and was 17.5 inches long we never put the pieces of her tiny size together. She was a good baby my Raina. But then at 1 1/2 months she started to sleep more and more. I had to wake her up to eat when before she was scheduled very well to eat every 3 hours. She started to spit up when she never had before and when I would change her clothes or bathe her she would turn blue. After about a little over a week of this…I took her into the Doctors. After 7 hours of tests all ranging from CAT Scans, to ECG’s, to chest ECHOS, to X-rays, blood work, ect it was determined she had a Cooarctation of her Aorta. If you don’t know what that means…it’s a narrowing of the major artery in your heart. We were flown down to Vancouver, BC where they did heart surgery 3 days later. Over the next year, Raina was required to take digoxin everyday 3 times a day. Blood work was required every few weeks to make sure the digoxin was doing its job. She had to be weighed every month, she had to have countless ECG’s and chest ECHO’s done. 2 times in that year her cardiologists came to see us and she was still required to take her medicine till she was 13 months old. Since she was 14 months old I noticed she had terrible balance. She could never stand completely still. When she tried she would fall over. She runs into things on a regular basis and stubs her toes on anything within range. I started to take her into the Doc’s at about 15 months about her GAIT but none seemed too concerned. At 2 years of age I noticed there were things about her that seemed off. She started to line blocks up by color, throw temper tantrums worse then normal 2 year old behavior, repeat every single thing she heard over and over, fidget and move all the time and she always had to touch something. Her temper seemed abnormal and so did her eye contact. I started to take her to Doc’s steadily. All of which were saying that it was a phase she would grow out of. Most didn’t believe me when I told them her sleeping patterns.
It took me hours to get her down for the night. I would try at 7:30 and she wouldn’t be sleeping till close to 1 a.m and would be awake again at 3 or 4 a.m. Over the next 4 years, she has went through multiple hearing exams, GAIT testing, Doctors apts, Cardiologist Apts, Eye exams, blood work, CAT Scans. I have spoken to Child Therapists, Psychologists and Physiotherapists for her progressing problems. We had not had a determination until she went into Kindergarten. We finally made progress. She underwent more testing. After a few months she was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. For those of you who do not understand this she is extremely intelligent but has multiple characteristics of an Autistic Child. She will repeat the same sentence 20 times, she remembers lines from movies shes seen only once before and plays them in her games, she goes into her own world where she rocks back and forth in her play time, she color coordinates everything she comes into contact with and everything must be perfect. There is so much more but it is so complex it would take days to explain. We are currently waiting on a Support worker and mental health worker to help Raina and myself over come her challenges. I have 2 other children. A 2 year old daughter and a 3 month old son. One day when I was crying my eyes out for the hard life Raina has had…and has yet to face I came to a conclusion. I got a tattoo of all my children names on my back and in and around them I got the Autistic Symbols of puzzle pieces and underneath in Raina’s printing I got “We can Overcome”. Not just the challenges she faces but also with the unknown pieces life with always throw in your path. I tell you our story because no matter what happens with your children, they always have something to teach you, to show you and to open your eyes to see where you were once blind.
A lot of people I know agree with aborting a child you know might have an illness and I think to myself “Why? My daughter has went through so much and it has taught me patients, understanding, tolerance and above all strength.” Every day is a challenge to most, and to some its never ending. My children and most of all Raina have taught me that no matter what there is in life..there is always unconditional love for one another. I am forever grateful for my children. Everyday is a blessing…with or without these challenges. Thank you for reading my story. I hope that for anyone who thinks of aborting a child due to illness or hardships..this helps you to think twice before deciding. I know that in my life there will never be anyone like my kids and I could never ask for more. They are the reason I breath. I love you my babies…forever more.
