Well, My baby boy is a year old. Its hard for me to look back on the last 365 days and think about what all we have been thru. Its hard for me to think about how in the first few weeks of his life, I wondered if we would ever see this time in his life. I worried everyday that something would happen and I would lose my baby boy.
I know I couldnt have made it to this point without my friends, family and God. I was raised in the Church but have struggled this past year. I still struggle but I know that God gave me my baby boy and he knew that I could handle everything. Sometimes though, I wish He didnt have so much faith in me.
My family has done so much for us. They all love Buddy so much and some just met him yesterday. I have been humbled by the out pouring of love and support we have gotten. We sparked a new tradition in our family. This Christmas, my stepdad's family took the money that we would have spent on each other and they gave it to us to help out with transplant issues. I only see these people once or twice a year, it still amazes me.
Our friends have been there thru it all with us. The benifits for Brayden were amazing. The money raised will help so much when we have to start paying incredible amounts of money for anti-rejection meds. I still find it amazing that even after a whole year, everyday atleast 10 people ask how Buddy is doing. I have a friend that works across from my office in the ED, she told her 5 year old son about Brayden and her son now prays every night to God to help "the baby that cant pee".
Dr. Malagon- This woman has saved my sanity. Not only do I trust her medical judgement, I trust her with my son. If something happened to me, I would trust her to do whatever she thought needed. I wouldnt think twice about it. Not only does she know her stuff, she lets me have a little bit of control. I know my baby and I know what his labs say...if I change something, she either says ok or if she thinks otherwise, she always explains why...that is a big thing for me.
My internet friends- I have found some wonderful moms on the internet. I am a member of several yahoo support groups as well as groups on facebook. I learn so much from these people. It made me realize that I am not the only one. Jessica has made my life so much better. Even tho I have never met her and her son Logan, I feel so close to her. Our boys are 364 days apart. Logan had his transplant just a few months ago. Thank you Jess. Some days I wonder how we have done this. Im glad I met you. You and Logey make me look forward to post transplant more than ever!
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On a lighter note....
Brayden got his 4th tooth today. I noticed it while he was giggling at me. Tonight he weighed 9.5kg (dry). He has been on Human Growth Hormone for 2 weeks now and I can tell he has already grown in height. We will see on Wed. He is as happy as ever and is learning new things every day. He recently has started to want to crawl. When he cant get to something he gets mad and tries to make himself go, but he just cant do it. Its hilarious to watch.
He will have his next and biggest surgery on Wednesday March 3rd. This one is a Bilateral Nephrectomy and Ureterocystoplasty. They are gonna take out both of his kidneys and make his bladder bigger using the ureters. This is a 2-4 hour surgery and by far the biggest and most complicated yet. Im slightly worried but am trying not to be. I have to work Mon and Tue so packing is going to be a pain. He will be there for at least a week and so I have to pack for a week to! Thats alot of stuff when its for the both of us!
To my baby boy,
You are the light of my life. Your first year has been tough. You are such a special boy. You make mine and your daddy's world so much better. You make my heart happy when I see you smile. The best part of my day is when you grin at me in the morning when you first wake up. Nothing can ever top that. I love you with all of my heart. I cant wait for you to feel better. You are my world, my life and will always be my sweet baby boy. I love you.......Mommy
Jenny, I am crying reading this. Happy, Happy Birthday Buddy! I don't know you in person little one but by looking at your pictures, I know your spirit. You are a fighter like our Logan and Finn and Matthew. Jenny, I am so glad to have gotten to know you. As much as I would change Logan's issues in a heartbeat, I am so grateful to have gotten to know such beautiful (inside and out) moms. This road would be so much harder without you and Tara. I hope someday that we will meet in person. And YAY on hitting 9.5 kg! We did such a happy dance the day Logey hit 10 kg even though they had already approved him for transplant. Somehow that was just such a huge milestone in my eyes. And hitting 2 was almost a more emotional milestone for me than hitting 1. It's like most of the hard part is over. And seeing Logan smile at me everyday and be his spunky self reminds me over and over again that all the pain and hard work was worth it. Buddy, I pray for you that this surgery will go smoothly and that you will recover quickly. I pray that come April 6th you will be ready to receive your mama's kidney. I love you guys! Oh and incidentally, March 3 is also Finn's (and my dad's) birthday! We will be celebrating that day and also in April!
ReplyDeleteHi Brayden and Family,
ReplyDeleteMy son is was born 28 Jan 2008 with PUV but was not diagnosed until he was 11 months, as the problems only started to show at that stage.
You have a beautiful baby and he has a great family around him, I wish you and him the best for the future. I hope the operation has gone well and happy birthday!
Abdi Ahmed
abdi-ahmed@hotmail.co.uk