Morgan
Kathleen Ownby was due October 16, 2001, but she was born October 20,
2001. She is my first child, and when she was born, I knew right away that
something was wrong. The whole atmosphere in the delivery room had
changed. Morgan wasn't breathing. Before I knew it, a large group of
people had rushed into my room and surrounded Morgan. It was the NICU
team. They told me Morgan was having trouble breathing on her own, and
they were going to have to help her. The first time I got to see my
daughter, she had a tube taped to her mouth, and a little pink hat on her
head as she was wheeled past me and out of the delivery room. She had her
left arm raised up in a fist when I first saw her, she was a fighter right
from the start. The doctor's weren't sure what was going on when Morgan
was first admitted into the NICU. They thought she was having seizures and
right away put her on Phenobarbital. They did an EEG, a CAT scan and an
MRI. The news wasn't very good. She had brain damage, but the amount was
hard to tell. They told us that Morgan would not make it through the
night. I felt like my heart was breaking. There in the isolette was the
most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She had peach fuzz brown hair, and a
face almost identical to my own. I held her hand, and not one time did she
open her eyes. She had huge gashes on the crown of her head, and a large,
deep cut on her scalp. The doctor's and nurses eventually had to chase me
and my husband, Matt away from the NICU to do shift change. All day long
family and friends came to visit Morgan, two at a time as was allowed.
The Neonatologist came into my recovery room to tell us once again
that the news wasn't good. Her EEG came back, and it was virtually a flat
line. Two days later, we had a meeting, and the doctor's told us that
Morgan had no improved, Morgan was three days old, and I still hadn't been
able to hold her. That night I went home and sat in the purple room that
had been created just for her, and held onto her "mommy womb" bear and
cried like my heart was breaking. I knew I had to be strong, but the pain
was so real, I didn't know how I could keep going. On the fourth day,
Morgan had a miraculous change, she was breathing over her respirator and
a new EEG showed spikes in the waves. The doctor's told us it would be
probably about six months before she would be able to leave the NICU, but
my heart soared. My baby was going to come home. On the eighth day in the
NICU, my mom and I went to visit Morgan, and she was gone. Panic set in,
but then we were told she had been moved into the nursery, she would be
able to go home the next day. I think that at that time, I thought that
Morgan would need physical therapy, she had hypertonia, but other than
that, I thought she would be okay. Morgan came home the day before
Halloween.
The next
couple of weeks were doctor's visit's after doctor's visits. We had
another EEG, that showed improvement. Her pediatrician thought she was
doing much better, and the Neonatologist thought she might come out of the
"ordeal" with mild damage. We had an MRI done, and the results were
devastating. The left half of her brain was liquid, with cysts to hold
space in her head. The right side was so damaged, they couldn't tell what
was "good" brain or not.
In
December she began to scream all the time, she wouldn't sleep but for 15
minutes at a time, and eventually, in February they put her on diazepam to
control the hypertonia. Life changed dramatically. She was calm, and
sleeping through the night. In March, she began to have seizures, and they
determined she had epilepsy. In the end of March, they diagnosed Morgan
with cerebral palsy. In July, she had to have a gastro tube put in, at 8
months she only weighed 11 pounds. She was also diagnosed with
laryngomalasia, which is floppy throat muscles. When she breathes, she
sounds congested, even though she isn't. In September, she had a bowel
obstruction, and was in the hospital for 26 days. While there, we learned
that she had hip dysplysia. Now, at 17 months old, we are in our second
spica cast to fix the hip dislocation. She is a sweet child that loves
lights, and being held. She has a beautiful smile (and four teeth!) and is
the light of my life. Morgan has been classified with spastic
quadriplegia cerebral palsy, level 5. The doctor's say she will never
advance more than a 2 month old, but she has captured the heart of every
person who has met her. She laughs at rabbits, she likes to be on her
tummy, and she loves to snuggle close to people. Throughout the past 17
months, she has battled RSV, pneumonia, apnea, and has several issues with
bowel problems, but she has been a fighter every step of the way. She is
my sweet angel, and I thank GOD everyday for giving me my daughter. People
always say that they want "perfectly healthy children" Morgan isn't
exactly "perfectly healthy" but she is the perfect Morgan, and she has
brought out the best in everyone who knows and loves her.
Backgrounds by
Special Welcome and Morgan graphic by
Mystic
Dawn Web Creations
Please do not take
these, Thank you.
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