THE INSPIRATION
for Our Beautiful Hope came from this passage:
“When an oyster is hit with trauma – a foreign body that invades the sheltered life it lives in its safe shell, it takes action. It builds upon that painful intrusion in its life, adding layer upon layer of iridescence until it creates a pearl. An object valued for its depth of beauty, the pearl is the beautiful hope born out of the oyster’s pain. Just like the pearl, we can be inspired to take action in our own lives to create beauty and hope out of times that are traumatic and painful. We can create something strong that will be admired by all we let see it, for the depth of its many layers, and the beauty of its strength. Whether it is illness, loss, pain, or trauma, we can transform what life brings us and use it to move forward with wisdom and grace.” – Strength of Heart, by Judy Fredette
THE BACKSTORY
Our beautiful hope was born many years after our infertility journey started. After two surgeries, one round of IVF, an amazing support group, lots of ups and downs and almost losing hope of a successful blastocyst making it to day 5, we transferred one perfect embryo on January 31, 2016. After the dreaded two week wait, the doctor called to tell us – we were pregnant!
After a joyful and uncomplicated pregnancy, we delivered a healthy baby boy on October 26, 2016. It was one of the happiest days of our lives.
Unfortunately, four and a half months later, my husband and I learned difficult news in March of 2017. Our son had suffered a perinatal stroke (yes, kids have strokes too), damaging a portion of the left side of his brain, leaving the right side of his body weaker. He developed seizures due to the brain injury, and we visited four different children’s hospitals along the East Coast to determine if hemispherectomy surgery was the right path forward.
While we have received diagnosis after diagnosis – infantile spasms, epilepsy, spastic hemiplegia (cerebral palsy) – eventually, I stopped listening. My son is more than these words and I choose to not let them define who he is and what he is capable of, but instead, let him blaze his own path forward. You can read more about the ten things special needs moms want their doctors to know.
RECENTLY
For nearly one year, our son was seizure-free and continued to develop with the help of occupational and physical therapy. Our doctors have stated that perinatal stroke is quite common, occurring in 1 in 4,000 live births.
Alex’s seizures returned in June of 2018. After many additional medication attempts, we were unable to get his seizures under control, so we moved forward with surgery. On January 10, 2019, Alex had brain surgery to help cure his epilepsy at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. We were inpatient for seven days, transferred to our local clinic in Norfolk, Va for eight days and received inpatient therapy, and then transferred outpatient. Alex is currently seizure-free!
HOW I CAN HELP
If you have a child who has received a diagnosis, you are not alone. If you are battling infertility, you are not alone. There are so many of us that know what you are going through, and we are here to help. I want anyone who is struggling to find this blog as a beacon of hope, as it is not just about infertility or special needs, but about overcoming obstacles, finding joy and pursuing healing. Please reach out to me anytime.
This blog is dedicated to my son, Alexander, and all of the mothers and families who have battled infertility &/or the special needs world. It is an arduous journey, but one that has helped me see how strong we all are, how amazing our children are, how big our God is, and how much good there is in the world.
I am grateful for the amazing women I have met along the way, and I am always wanting to help other bloggers and writers. A special thank you to Our Misconception, who has been on this journey with me and supported me every step of the way. Thank you to ILM Marketing, who helped bring my writing to life, and to my husband, who encouraged me to write again.
We will continue to share our heartaches, joys and triumphs. And it is my wish that you are able to take whatever difficulty you are facing and discover your own beautiful hope along the way.
