Rough start

Nate was home.  The beginning is a blur. Fear of the unknown was all we woke up to. Nathaniel had his fair share of issues. That meant Dan and I quickly became specialists on everything from breathing, eating and muscle tone. We were surrounded by  feeding tubes, machines that monitored everything from his oxygen to his pulse.It would be a fair statement that I didn't sleep at all Nate's first year of life. I would keep him wrapped up tight, with his face touching mine. I was assured and at peace as long as I could smell the sweet smell of his breathing.

I slid into warrior mode very quickly. I spent hours, days, weeks and months in the Dr.'s office. I would demand that they call him Nathaniel and not refer to him as a Down Syndrome child. This is my son.
I still quiver from the memories. The bleak future that everyone painted out for him was sickening.  They shouted negatives from the roof top.  If  I had chosen to listen I would have been swallowed alive.  From the very beginning I chose.  Nathaniel will live his life to the fullest. No book, or statistic will ever define who he is.

The darkest days came when Nate was 2 months old.  I took him to see a Specialist about his breathing issues. Strangely Natie turned a bit blue in the waiting room. Its funny how I did not panic. It was hard to know which was a DS trait or just plain scary. The Doc took one look at him and dismissed my questions with a quick diagnosis. 'Sinus Infection'.  Really? Ok, if he says so.

By night, Nathaniel's body was limp. His was barely breathing. We called every Doc we knew. But they all referred back to the Sinus infection diagnosis. 'Wait it out'  was their best advice. I watched Nathaniel fight so hard to breath as his frail miniature body lay there helpless. Maybe the Doctors are wrong. A quick call to our Angel, aka neighbor and dear friend. She told us to not wait for an ambulance but to blow every light and get to the ER as soon as humanly possible She would be waiting there for us with Doctors by her side at the front door.

Something happens to your body when your worst fears are facing you head on. The room was spinning out of control. People were talking but I could not hear a sound. Lights were blinding. A powerful storm of nurses, Doctors and specialists were a tornado around me. I gripped the wall.  Screaming as loud as I could inside my head. I prayed to God. I became a beggar.  I would make a deal with the devil if I had to.

Nathaniel had double pneumonia. He was minutes away from deaths door. How could the Doctor that morning have missed this? As I remembered he didn't ever bother to listen to his chest. Oh Boy, GAME ON.  Warrior Mom has officially arrived.

Nathaniel means 'a gift from God'. Who knew?

The Doc that did not bother to thoroughly check Nate's vitals had to meet with me.  I actually felt a little sorry for him. He was about to face a lion. I tore into him like raw meat. He treated my son like a 2nd class citizen. Like a DS child from the 1960's that they thought did not deserve the perfect care (or any care for that matter). You have met your match my dear. You will never drop the ball on another Special child again. Enough said.