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Braydon's Story
"As I sit down to write the story of Braydon, I am overwhelmed with emotions. What an Awesome Gift God has given us in this little boy! Braydon is an amazing child..."
When we found out we were pregnant with Braydon, Jon (my husband) and I were overwhelmed with joy...and scared! We had just moved to a new town so Jon did not have to commute 2 hours everyday for his new job, and Jon had just been diagnosed with DVT (deep vain thrombosis) in both legs. Our emotions were all over the place.
My pregnancy was perfect...all the tests were coming back perfect. I was gaining just the right amount of weight, Brady was measuring right on target and all the sonograms looked great. Then the flood gates opened when I was in my 8th month. My Grandma passed away in March 2007. I was there when she passed and although it was one of the saddest days of my life it was also a blessing to be there with her in her final moments. One week later my Grandfather passed away. Emotionally drained and exhausted we return home the first week of April and try to get back into a routine of getting ready for Brady who was due in 4 weeks.
I had caught a "cold" while away from home during those 2 weeks. I thought the reason I was not getting over it as quickly as I usually do was due to the fact that I was exhausted. Later we would find out that that was not the case at all.
Brady made his grand appearance on April 28, one week early. He was very tiny, gray/yellow in color and was very wrinkled with his skin just hanging on him. I joked to Jon that he looked like a wrinkled old man. Then I saw the nurse's expression and all joking stopped.
Brady was transported to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita just 12 hours after he was born. When we got there (a 2 hour drive for us) we were met by a team of doctors that explained to us that we needed to prepare ourselves. All I could think was "WHAT?" How could this be happening? What did I do? How am I supposed to say goodbye to my baby? What did I do?
Brady was in the PICU for 4 days and nothing was changing...but they had found the "problem". He was born with cCMV. The nurses had to look it up for us so they could tell us what it was. Day 5 he was released to the NICU and we were able to stay with him in his room. Day 7 (after two days of being constantly held, sang to and loved by our family) he was released to go home! Oh the joy and fear we were feeling! Brady was the first baby under 5 lbs that I had ever held and they were trusting us to take care of him?! Yikes!
We have had a few "bumps" in the road but Brady is doing very well considering his rough start. He is in preschool this year and through that preschool he is getting lots of extra help. He has speech delay, loss of hearing in his left ear, wears glasses (which make him look like a very young Harry Potter!), he has insomnia, emotion control problems, and comprehension problems. BUT he is the happiest kiddo you will ever meet! If you are having a bad day, Brady will come up and say "Mommy, be happy, happy." And give you the biggest super watt smile ever.
When learning a new concept he will sit down and practice over and over till he gets it...and most of the time he does this without getting frustrated. Brady loves to play outside and is actually quite the dare devil when playing outside. He is still very small for his age but that does not hold him back at all. We have learned so much from Brady. He has the biggest heart and just does not give up. I thank God everyday for the Gift he has given us in Brady. We are truly blessed.
- Shared by his mother, Stacey