When I met Allen Sr., he already had Allen Jr. (who was 3) from a previous marriage. Allen Jr. had been in a automobile accident at 11 months of age. He sustained a closed head injury and as a result of that has had many other health concerns. The Doctors told Allen Sr. that his son would never walk, talk or do anything again. Well, Thank the Lord the Doctors do not know everything. Allen Jr. is a walking miracle. He does have a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and mild CP (Cerebral Palsy), but he can talk, walk and do a lot of things they said would never happen. He did have a Seizure disorder (he has had almost every kind of seizure there is) and was on medications for several years, but he has been seizure free since 2004 and off all medications since August 2006. The Lord has been good to him. I was able to adopt Allen Jr. and it was finalized in 1997. His birth Mother, Dana, signed over her rights for me to be able to adopt Allen. Of course, it was nice to have the paper stating that I was his Mother, but from the very day we were married, Allen Jr. has been my boy.
It was in 1998 , that I was finally able to conceive Makaela. We had tried for three years and had many tests, surgeries, etc. to find out that I had what is called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. That Syndrome can affect several areas of a woman's health and cause complications, especially when wanting to conceive.
Well, the pregnancy was rough at the first and then it was a very normal pregnancy with no complications. Due to my age, weight, etc. the Doctors did monitor me closely. On April 25, 1999 Makaela was born. Not knowing what to expect, I went into labor on the 24th, I just did not feel well and few contractions here and there. It was in the middle of the night around 4:00 a.m. I told Allen Sr. we need to go, I think it is time. We got to the Hospital at 4:44 a.m. and Makaela was born at 8:44 a.m. This started our roller coaster ride for the next six months and beyond. As soon as Makaela was born, I started hemorrhaging and they rushed me to surgery not once, but twice in a short time. My blood pressure kept bottoming out. They finally got me stable and in ICU. I had not gotten to hold or really see Makaela, so the Nurse brought her to me for a little bit. Later in the night Makaela started having problems being too cold. The Doctors found she had a whole in each lung and put her on oxygen. The next day, Makaela had a mini seizure and after running several tests, they found she had a intraventricular hemorrhage (grade 3). It was starting to heal up, but was causing Hydrocephalus (extra fluid on the brain). Over the next couple of weeks it was very stressful. They did allow me to stay there in the hospital with her and be close. After 21 days in the NICU we were able to bring her home, with follow ups with a Neurologist, Neurosurgeon, etc. Makaela ended up having six surgeries in the first six months of her life. She has had some more since then. Makaela was able to have therapy for the first 3 years of her life and that helped her with motor skills, learning, talking, etc. The Doctors are very pleased that she does not have any developmental delay which is very common for Hydrocephalus patients. Having said that, Makaela has had other issues, because of her shunt being near the pituitary we have experienced her going thru rapid and intense growth spurts. She has the bone structure and make up of a 12 to 15 year old. The Doctors did tell us this year that she is slowing down and the gap is bridging. That is good news. We know that the Lord has had his hand on Makaela and through our experiences we are able to help others.
I think that is all for now.
