Thread: 26 years ago today....

A great story which about a life changing event for your family and it began with a land rover!! I would like to think I have some idea of what the continuation of your journey has been for you and your wife and family as I have a autistic son.we both have great kids and land rovers.

Yep it began by moving from our own house to near the hospital for the first few months of my daughter's life. Work was on hold for a while. It was a learning process. Before we could leave the hospital I had to be able to put a tube down my daughter's throat so she could feed from a bottle. Once home my wife worked on getting her to feed naturally between tube feeds. All of the little things people take for granted had to be worked on. I used to run an electric tooth brush over her arms and legs to make her realise that she had arms and legs so she would move them. Even eye muscles had to be exercised. It was constant working to get things to click. Even had to get the fluid in her inner ear to swish one way then the other to get her balance right.
Was not always easy. It took time and patience. Coming home from work then trying to work with my daughter was not always easy. One night she did not want to do the exercise for the fluid in her inner ear and I blew it. As soon as it happened I just felt so guilty I sat and cried. My wife stood beside me with her arms around me and I just cried and cried I felt so guilty.The decision was made there and then about work. I would work only every second week so we could do the exercises with my daughter more often on my off week and not try to cram it into evening sessions. The firm told me it would muck up my pension, which it has but there are priorities in life and you make decisions for other than monetary gain.
I retired early due to the Covid 19 thing and the fear of bringing it home.
My daughter is in great form, always happy. Her health is good but we have to be careful. So instead of my wife and I living alone we will always have our daughter with us. We are happy. The journey has not always been easy especially in the early years but we regard our daughter as a gift to keep us happy,

In some ways you have had a better road than my family.

On a Saturday in May 2008 I got a hone call - my pregnant daughter in law was rushed by ambulance from Yass to Canberra, and a few minutes later the head of Obstetrics arrived in the ward, still in his golf clothes, looked at the situation, pronounced "it's coming out", and half an hour later my fourth grand daughter was born at 26 weeks. She was doing well enough that she was taken off the respirator on the Sunday night, but then had a brain haemorrhage. They kept her on life support until I could get there the next day. The only pictures I have of her alive she is in a humidicrib and covered in wires and tubes. My memory of her with the photos of the other grandkids is a framed set of tiny footprints, only 4cm long.

However, if she had survived, I would not have the 11yo currently lying in a chair in the next room playing with a Switch!

Originally Posted by JDNSW

In some ways you have had a better road than my family.

On a Saturday in May 2008 I got a hone call - my pregnant daughter in law was rushed by ambulance from Yass to Canberra, and a few minutes later the head of Obstetrics arrived in the ward, still in his golf clothes, looked at the situation, pronounced "it's coming out", and half an hour later my fourth grand daughter was born at 26 weeks. She was doing well enough that she was taken off the respirator on the Sunday night, but then had a brain haemorrhage. They kept her on life support until I could get there the next day. The only pictures I have of her alive she is in a humidicrib and covered in wires and tubes. My memory of her with the photos of the other grandkids is a framed set of tiny footprints, only 4cm long.

However, if she had survived, I would not have the 11yo currently lying in a chair in the next room playing with a Switch!

A very poignant story. The wires and tubes do bring back memories to me too. The tiny footprints are a lovely reminder of your grand daughter. Our daughter was premature as well and we could not get baby clothes small enough for her!
I remember a nurse from a different part of the country phoning my wife. A woman had given birth to a child with special needs and the prognosis was not good. The baby was only expected to live for a short time. In that time allotted to her the mother wanted to feed the baby while she could. The nurse asked my wife if she would talk to the new mother and to help her if she could.
People take so much for granted.

Originally Posted by spudfan

A very poignant story. The wires and tubes do bring back memories to me too. The tiny footprints are a lovely reminder of your grand daughter. Our daughter was premature as well and we could not get baby clothes small enough for her!
I remember a nurse from a different part of the country phoning my wife. A woman had given birth to a child with special needs and the prognosis was not good. The baby was only expected to live for a short time. In that time allotted to her the mother wanted to feed the baby while she could. The nurse asked my wife if she would talk to the new mother and to help her if she could.
People take so much for granted.

Eighty years ago last month, me and my brother were born (a little premature, as is usual with twins). The day after our birth, the matron told Mum "Better get the boys baptised immediately, these little ones slip away so easily". Earning both my parents' undying hatred!

When we were brought home, my brother, the larger one, was dressed in our older sister's doll's clothes, I was wrapped in cotton wool. Both of us were too small for the clothes prepared for expected one baby - no ultrasounds then. But we managed to survive, without humidicribs or wires and tubes.