Baby, Baby

Yesterday was our daughter's 11th birthday!

Here is her story:

We had been married for just under a year when we found out my wife was pregnant. She had taken a test but didn't want to say anything to me until she was sure so she took another...and another. Three tests later we were pretty sure!

Our families were elated! This would be the first grandchild for both sides and we knew we were going to a a spoiled brat!

Everything went as you would expect and we were enjoying getting ready for our first child.

Unfortunately my wife started having some problems with her blood pressure. We learned this was due to pre-eclampsia (which reared its ugly head with our second child also).

With no history to go by the doctors were cautious, but optimistic.

However at 5 month my wife was put on bed rest. A couple weeks later she was in the hospital and and week after that I got the call.

I was working for a rental company at the time and my wife called from her room to tell me that they wanted to transfer her to another hospital because the baby seemed sluggish.

After calming her down I left to make my deliveries for the day with the intention of going Pittsburgh to see her that evening.

I had not even made it to my first stop when my mobile phone rang and a doctor on the other end was telling me that baby's heart rate was low and they were going to do an emergency c-section and they would NOT be waiting for me to get there!

On my way back to the store to get my car my parents called to inform me they were going to visit my wife. I informed THEM that she would not be in her room as they were taking the baby now!

I had never been to Magee's but made great time on the trip!

I found my parents in the waiting room and my dad took me to the nurse's station so I could find out what was going on.

The nurse told me that my wife was fine, but still in the emergency room. While I was trying to get all the information processed my dad was behind me asking about the baby. The nurse wouldn't answer him and it took me a few minutes to hear him and I asked about our daughter. i was told she was being taken care of and we could see her soon.

She had come three months early at a length of 12 inches and a weight of 1 pound 11 1/2 ounces!

I got to see my wife and I had never seen so many wires and tubes connected to a person who was awake!

She ended up in the intensive care unit for 24 hours.

I was able to see Veronica (I didn't want to call her "Roni" but even the nurses did for that very first day!) withing a few hours.

She was small and red and I didn't know how she was alive!

It was over the next three months that we learned all you would ever want to know about preemie's and their care and survival.

Girls are stronger than boys.

The less time they are on a respirator the better off they are.

Babies have a tiny hole in their heart that closes before birth...preemie's are not closed yet.

They like to be touched...but not stroked.

The list goes on and on!

Roni was given a medicine to close the hole in her heart. If it did not work they would do another and then surgery would be a last option. the first dose worked.

She had been on the respirator for a few weeks when I told her as we were leaving from visiting one night that it had been long enough and she should start breathing on her own. That night we called to check on her and the nurse informed us that she had pulled the tube out on her own and was breathing fine! (Probably the last time she listened to me and did what I told her without whining I should add!!! LOL!)

We went through the training of how to bath her and hold her and dress her and wondered how parent brought a baby right home without all the lessons!

We watched as she had IV's placed in veins in her head because all the other ones had been used.

We transferred her to TIC so she could grow and get big enough to finally come home!Veronica the day she came home in April of 1998!

Through it all we never doubted that she would fine.

So far so good!

Roni is great in school, has a fantastic personality and is involved in many activities!

We were blessed that everything worked out so well for us. Twice.

Despite her believing that she is already a teenager i don't know how we could ever have been the same without her!

And despite the fact that she acts too much like I did when I was her age!

So I am the proud father of a pre-teen! How did that happen?!?!

But I am proud and I know my wife is too and I know the Veronica is special...because I saw her grow into what she is today from that cold day in January 11 years ago.

~ Glenn

January 27, 2016 Edit:

Roni at 18: