I have two beautiful girls. M is 15 years old and L is 10 weeks. They are my miracles in so many ways. M was born at 34 weeks, not quite two years after I had surgery for cervical cancer. She is medically fragile, and has endured so much pain, but is a survivor. L was born at 36 weeks, after years of unexplained secondary infertility, and spent 11 days in the NICU due to respiratory distress.
There is a saying that doctors are taught in medical school..."When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." They are encouraged to look for the obvious answers - "textbook" if you will - in their patients, assuming that the common answer will be the right one, instead of looking further and thinking outside the box. Because, you see, looking for the unusual and thinking outside the box medically means more tests, more time and more money "wasted". But for the patients who don't respond to textbook treatment, or whose cases are puzzles that aren't easily solved with "normal" methods, they need more. My M is a zebra. From the beginning, she had constant infections and illnesses, severe allergic reactions to foods and medications and struggled overall healthwise. Test results did not add up to anything familiar, so everything was blamed on her prematurity. Finally, when she was 5, with a new team of doctors in place who were dedicated to finding the right answers instead of the easy ones, she was diagnosed with CVID (common variable immune deficiency) and hypogammaglobunemia. By looking for zebras instead of just horses, they saved my girl's life. The sickly little girl who was still in a stroller at age 5 because she did not have the energy to walk, and who we did not think would survive is now a beautiful teenage girl. She is still medically fragile and requires regular treatments and medications and does have some physical limitations, but she is a survivor. The child who spent weeks at a time isolated or in the hospital is now in high school, participating in drama and music. We have found a great resource in the Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF), whose slogan is "Think Zebra!"
When M was small, she named every doll, lovey and stuffed animal "Pinky". While this quirk was cute on the surface, it made for some heartbreakingly frustrating moments when she would be tired or scared or upset and sobbing for "Pinky"...ummm, okay...which one?!?!?! When my youngest brother's daughter was born, M was adamant that she be named Pinky. She lost that battle, and baby was named after Grandma instead (thankfully!). This spring, when we told M that we were, in fact, expecting a baby in the fall, her instant response was "it's about time, Mom!!" She did not like refering to our baby to be as "it" (neither did I), so for old times' sake, we used Pinky. When we found out in July that she was a girl, we were thrilled. M's squeals of joy were heard in three states. L has a real name on her birth certificate, of course, but she is still our Pinky.
So, there you have it. I have a Pinky, and I have a Zebra. They are the most precious things in my world, and I am thankful every day that I get to be their mommy. Stay tuned...you will be reading more about both of them!
Hmmm...this is looking more and more like it will be a mommy blog...
No comments:
Post a Comment