Today’s Run:  5.29 miles

No…Not today, but Saturday we will be celebrating my son’s birthday.  He is my youngest (out of two children) and he will be turning 24 years old.  The time seems to have flown by.

I had a very difficult pregnancy with my son.  It was a high risk pregnancy.

I went into labor in my sixth month.  All the regular things they used to halt labor failed.  The Doctor came into my room and said, “Mrs. Howard, you are going to lose this baby unless we can stop the labor”…and went on to explain that my son’s lungs were not developed enough for him to survive, etc.

Then he mentioned a new medication that was not on the FDA approved list and the delivery method which also was not FDA approved.  Would I be willing to be  “guinea pig” for FDA testing?

What a silly question!  Of course I would!!!

So, we began the new medication and the delivery system.

It worked!

I was still in labor (my son was still born one month early) the rest of my pregnancy BUT the contractions were ineffective.  Lovely.  I was put on complete bed rest.  And for me, I did pretty well on the bed rest thing.

The problem was my daughter.  She was 14 months old at the time.

My MIL very graciously quit her two jobs and came and lived with us for the remainder of my pregnancy.  She cooked the meals.  Did the laundry.  Cleaned the house.  Took care of my husband, my daughter and myself.  She was a lifesaver!!!  Awesome woman, she is!

My son was born healthy.  He was a little skinny being a month early but he had a strong set of lungs and knew how to use them!  My Dad was there for his birth (out in the hallway with my daughter~My MIL was a home taking care of a few issues).  My son was born almost a week exactly after my Dad’s 50th birthday.  I tease my Dad that my son was his birthday present.

Now, 24 years later, there have been great advances in medicine.  To this day I do not know if they routinely use the stuff I tried out on pre-term labor patients.

Every year about this time, I reflect on those months of medication.  Of giving myself IV’s.  Of constantly wearing a fetal heart rate monitor.  Of the many, many trips into the ER to AGAIN halt the labor because what we were doing at home needed an extra “Umph” that only they could do at the hospital.

We had a very happy ending to that story.  My son is the best.  He is now a Senior in college studying in the Meteorology Program to be a weather man!  Who would have thought it???