Love and Instinct by Paula Michaels
This is a scary story, a cautionary tale.
It's the kind of story that, a year ago, I would have turned away from because, after all, what did a story about a sick baby have to do with me?
When Zach was born, he was perfect. His Apgars were 9.9. He was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches long. He had fine blond hair and those murky blue infant eyes that look like the bottom of the ocean. He breastfed easily, and he grew. He did all the things he was supposed to do, at all the right times. He smiled at 7 weeks. Rolled over at 12.
I can pinpoint the day we stopped singing normal so happily: It was a weekend afternoon in early fall. We were sitting at the kitchen table, interviewing a babysitter, and I had Zach, then 6 months old, in my arms. Suddenly he flung his arms up, and his eyes rolled back slightly. It looked like something I had read about in the baby books, the "Moro reflex" common in many infants, except that he repeated the gesture a half-dozen times. Something rumbled in my gut. I called the pediatrician the next day. (Continue reading Love & Instinct here).
(Thank you Umass for sharing this article with us).
2 comments:
How sadly amazing. I'm glad the child is doing better.
I am riveted by Stories like this.
Thank you, Umass.
You are very welcome! I was crying as I was reading it. My daughter was diagnosed with a blood disorder last year and although it is managable, it is still so scary when the doctor says anything but "normal" to you about your child. Luckily my pediatrician is the absolute best and we trust her 100%. What struck me about this article is when the mom said that the pedi had to look at the chart to see her child's name! gosh, I can't imagine that. So glad God sent her that fabulous specialist to find out what was wrong with her little guy! I pray for this woman and her family, I really do, that everything continues to go well.
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