Before he was born he was a triplet. He shared space with identical twins who were taking a lot of his nutrients. He was three weeks behind developmentally and the doctors hoped he would "catch up". When he was born he was 8 pounds 8 ounces and very healthy!
At 6 weeks old he came down with RSV which can be a deadly virus to newborns. They wanted to put him in the hospital to watch his vitals but I was scared he would pick up something else. He came home and for the next two weeks was on three different medications and round the clock breathing treatments.
At four months old his eyes started crossing. His left eye would go all the way in to his nose. His head also tilted to one side and he favored it.
The doctors said we just had to wait and see if he grew out of these. He didn't!
At six months old we found a lump in his back. The doctor feared cancer. We had to take him in for x-rays where they strapped him to a table so he wouldn't move.
The results were scoliosis or a curvature in his spine and torticollis which means a twisted neck. We had to go see numerous other specialists to see if anything else was wrong. He got an echo-cardiogram of his heart and went to see a neurologist for his motor skills.
At 7 months he started physical therapy three times a week. The goals were to get his neck straighten and to work on developing his left side. He preferred doing everything right handed which caused him to be very weak on the left side. They put him through a rigorous therapy and he rarely lost his infectious smile.
At 14 months we had to go see an eye specialist. Lawson was very nearsighted and needed to wear glasses. His left eye was extremely weak so not only did we have to get a toddler to wear glasses we had to patch his eye too. When that didn't work we had to put eye drops in twice a day. When that didn't work we had to buy special very expensive prism lenses. Over the next few years he would go through 30 PAIRS OF GLASSES!
At three years old the doctors decided he needed surgery. They wanted to cut the muscles of his eyes and pull them back so they could be stronger and improve his vision. When they wheeled him away for surgery with his stuffed dog, Lola, I almost collapsed. He was so brave and didn't cry even though he really had no idea of what was going on. When he woke up from surgery he couldn't open his eyes and this scared him. Bloody tears streamed down his face as I explained to him that this was only temporary. Within 10 minutes we were talking about Lego Batman. He couldn't see for the next 24 hours but he was such a trooper. The next morning he looked up at me with these big beautiful hazel eyes and said, "Mom, I can see. I am okay now." Off he went to start his day!
From the moment I saw him on the sonogram screen I knew he was a fighter! I knew he was very special and had a definite purpose to fulfill. I knew God created him especially to complete our family. What I didn't know was how his sense of humor and fun spirit would get us through some pretty tough medical stuff. So is he sometimes spoiled? Yeah, but have you seen this kid's smile?
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity." Jeremiah 29:11-14
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