Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Life Lessons with Lane

I am going to start with an overview of our life leading to Lane. I am going to keep out a lot of details because those will be included in other blog posts along the way. Lane's short life and our experiences could easily be made into a book series!

Lance and I were married in August of 2009. We knew we wanted to expand our family eventually. We waited a year before trying to have kids. Our first pregnancy came after trying for a year and a half. (Seemed like a decade.) I was actually going to start taking fertility drugs the day I found out I was expecting. I lived in nauseated bliss for 9 weeks. We went to our first appointment for an ultrasound to find an empty sack. We were heartbroken. It had taken so long for us to conceive and there we were, back at square one. We started trying again immediately. No luck after another year, so we started doing IUI's. We decided that we would do 6 IUI's before pursuing IVF. On our 6th IUI we found out we were pregnant! Cautious excitement overcame us! 
I had a wonderful pregnancy and gave birth to a beautiful, healthy girl.  9 months later I ended up in the ER with sharp pains in my side. I didn't know I was pregnant. It was an ectopic pregnancy that had somehow gone interstellar and landed on the outside of my ovary causing internal bleeding that had filled up to my chest. I passed out in the waiting room of the emergency room and had emergency surgery. Thankfully no parts had to be removed to prevent us from trying to conceive again. 

6 months later we were pregnant! We conceived naturally and were ecstatic! I had another healthy pregnancy. This time with a boy. I was a lot more tired having a two-year-old at home to chase around, but we were healthy! The labor started exactly as I had always dreamed. I got up in the middle of the night and my water broke. Rushed to the hospital and had a quick, painless (thanks epidural) birth. 

However, that's when the dream took a drastic turn for the worse. Lane Gabriel was born coded shortly after delivery. After chest compressions and the NICU team arriving in my room, he was taken to the NICU for further assessment. I had Lance go with him, and I was left in my recovery room trying to comprehend what had just occurred. 


Day 2 of Lane's life he was diagnosed with Bilateral Vocal Cord Paresis (Paralysis). His vocal cords were not moving well, and they were in a closed position. This means he has a little chance to choke, but being closed makes it extremely difficult to breathe. Somewhere along the NICU journey, the doctors did a series of tests to try to determine what caused the vocal cords to have poor mobility. Through an MRI, they discovered Lane has Corpus Callosum Hypoplasia and Colpocephaly. Two big diagnoses that basically could mean a)nothing or b)cognitive and motor delays. Only time will tell. 

In Lane's 6 months of life he has taught us more than we could have ever imagined. I often find myself thinking about all of the things Lane has taught us, both literally and metaphorically speaking. He has opened us to a new world of medical lingo and lessons, but he has also taught us a lot about the human spirit and character. I am using this blog as a way to let others get a glimpse into our daily life with Lane, organize my feels, and (hopefully) inspire and encourage. 

Stay tuned for Lane's first lesson. In the meantime follow Lane's story on his fb page, Love for Lane.  







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