Given four hours to live as a newborn, 18 today!

Bonniescotslass

What a lovely post

SingleSue

It's a great feeling isn't it?

Middle son was very poorly when he was born (he had no heart rate nor was he breathing and had the resultant very poor apgar scores) and because of the poor start he had we were warned he would be very severely disabled due to oxygen deprivation. It was pretty touch and go on if he would survive at the time, it was so very very frightening and stressful.

He is now 19 and at university (albeit with a massive care and support package). It has not been an easy ride and he does have some impairments alongside Aspergers but compared to what was predicted for him, the actual result has been nothing short of miraculous.

Happy belated 18th birthday to your son xx

harrys_nan

Just seen this thread.
It is a beautiful story of his life, wish your son a very happy belated birthday.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. xx

kingfisherblue

SingleSue wrote: »

It's a great feeling isn't it?

Middle son was very poorly when he was born (he had no heart rate nor was he breathing and had the resultant very poor apgar scores) and because of the poor start he had we were warned he would be very severely disabled due to oxygen deprivation. It was pretty touch and go on if he would survive at the time, it was so very very frightening and stressful.

He is now 19 and at university (albeit with a massive care and support package). It has not been an easy ride and he does have some impairments alongside Aspergers but compared to what was predicted for him, the actual result has been nothing short of miraculous.

Happy belated 18th birthday to your son xx

Sue, yes, it's a great feeling! Glad to hear that your son is doing so well now, despite the challenges he has faced (and will continue to face). With my son, the Down's Syndrome wasn't as big a problem as the difficulties that followed his surgery. He still cannot physically manage certain foods, and needs plenty of fluids when eating, but those things are easier to deal with now. However, other issues have arisen over the years, and he still has high care and mobility needs.

I think the main concern at the moment is planning for future provision of education and/or activities. His current college is a special school and he will be there until July 2017, but after that, who knows? Our two local colleges are unsuitable, I don't think Day Opportunities is appropriate, so we'll have to go out of borough. There are centres in Liverpool and Wigan that may be suitable, but I need to visit them, and go from there.

mrsskinto

Happy belated birthday to your son,

Whenever I read posts like these it makes me so happy and so teary at the same time. My daughter who reached 18 last week, is also one of these miracles. Like singlesue's son she was born at 35 weeks not breathing had poor apgar scores and was in intensive care for two weeks.

As she had been starved of oxygen for 24 minutes we were told she would be severely disabled and needing 24 hour care. She certainly was very slow in reaching milestones and has been a challenge shall we say.

She passed her driving test last December and is thriving at college, yes she has problems but is an absolute credit to myself and husband.

Only sad thing really is OH would have loved more children but I was so scared of going through it a second time, as it's so emotionally draining.

Sorry to hijack thread, best wishes to you all for the future xx

kingfisherblue

Mrsskinto, it's great to hear that your daughter is doing so well after her poor start. Funnily enough, my son was also five weeks prem with a poor Apgar score. He will never be able to drive, but I consider that to be a major achievement for your daughter - especially as she was starved of oxygen for so long.

I am fortunate to have two other children, one older and one younger. It's been hard work, but so worth it! My ex left years ago, although he still sees the kids, but I'm the one to have the joys, upsets, dreams, difficulties, and everything else of everyday life.

mrsskinto

Kingfisherblue, we are so very proud of her achievements she is a very special daughter. A few weeks ago before her birthday I gave her her medical file to read (the hospital were negligent) as I had told her of her poor start when she was younger, as when different agencies were involved with her I wanted her to have more understanding of what had happened, after wiping her tears away she said "wow I always said I was special"

Myself and OH did go through some very dark times during our marriage, but I'm pleased to say were still going strong after 26 years. I admire you for facing the tough times on your own, I know how hard these can be xx

AubreyMac

Your first post brought tears to my eyes as I can relate so much to what you must have gone through 18 years ago.


I'm helping my sister raise her severely disabled son (whose health problems is a result of being born a twin at just under 24 weeks) so it is so nice to hear your son is doing so well and bringing joy to so many people. It is so rewarding and moving to see his development isn't it?


Happy birthday to your boy, a true miracle!

kingfisherblue

Mrsskinto, I think when medical negligence results in disabilities or learning delay, it must be so hard. With my son, all of his conditions are just one of those things that happen.

AubreyMac, I'm sure your sister appreciates your help. I know that I have been lucky to have the love and support of my family and friends. Some of my most supportive friends have children with disabilities themselves. A twin surviving after being born so early is truly a miracle.

SingleSue

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Mrsskinto, it's great to hear that your daughter is doing so well after her poor start. Funnily enough, my son was also five weeks prem with a poor Apgar score. He will never be able to drive, but I consider that to be a major achievement for your daughter - especially as she was starved of oxygen for so long.

I am fortunate to have two other children, one older and one younger. It's been hard work, but so worth it! My ex left years ago, although he still sees the kids, but I'm the one to have the joys, upsets, dreams, difficulties, and everything else of everyday life.

Middle son was 2 weeks over term, his issue was a true knot in his cord which tightened and blocked off his oxygen supply as he descended the birth canal. A further complication was that he became distressed at 37 weeks (when the knot initially formed) and on them breaking my waters, old meconium was found...he had been swallowing that for 5 weeks.

He will also never drive, nor live independently and will always need assitance in every day life (he has a learning disability in verbal understanding and extremely poor short term memory).

I have 2 others too, unfortunately, both have disabilities (one of them we all have) but youngest son, born at least 4 weeks early has the most things wrong with him (weirdly it is middle son that is harder to deal with despite having - on paper- less wrong with him!)

Ex hubby also couldn't cope and found solace in my best friend's arms :eek: best thing he could have done for us to be honest as it meant I could then concentrate the parenting in the way it should be done and an abusive force was removed from the home.