Our Story (In a Nutshell)

So...I've decided to start his blog. I have been tossing the idea around for a while now but I have finally decided to just do it. There has been a lot of need, I feel, for a support community for us that are raising special needs children. I am hoping that this blog can give some insight into my experience and I hope that others will feel like they can share their experiences as well. I also hope we can share our likes and dislikes about certain things such as doctors, therapies, surgeries, equipment and anything else we feel like sharing!

 So here is our story...

 I became pregnant with Riley after Clint and I had been married about two years. My pregnancy was uneventful, in fact I was never sick and I actually felt pretty great most of the time. When it was time to have Riley, my doctor decided to induce me at 39 weeks as I wasn't progressing on my own. I went to Mountain View Hospital in Payson, Utah on December 12, 2005 to have Riley. I was in labor for 12 hours, the last two of which I was pushing but Riley was stuck. During this time his heart rate started to drop and they placed an internal monitor. The doctor came and I delivered Riley on December 13, 2005 at 4:44 am. When he arrived his head was so mishapen and bruised but his apgars were good and he seemed to be a beautiful, healthy 39 weeker. Our stay in the hospital was great. Riley was breastfeeding good and was just about the sweetest thing I could ever imagine. After 4 days in the hospital we got to take our little bundle home.

After our first day home from the hospital it was apparent that something was off about Riley. He was having these little spasms and we weren't sure if it was just a newborn thing or if something else was going on. My sister, Steffanie, was a newborn ICU nurse at the time so we had her come over to see what she thought about him. I remember what I was doing when Clint came to tell me that everyone thought we should take Riley back to the hospital. I was sitting in the bath and I was suffering from deep postpartum depression. I don't tell you this so you will feel bad for me but I want you to know that it's a real thing and it can happen. Clint came in to tell me and I just remember thinking the worst possible scenarios. My sister was having the thought that he was having seizures and that we needed to get him back in to figure out why. 

So back to the hospital we went. This time to Utah Valley Medical Center in Provo, Utah. Long story short, Riley was having seizures but they weren't sure why. After four days of tests they figured out that he had a bleed on his brain in his occipital region of his brain. They put him on seizure medications and told us that they thought the bleed would absorb on it's own. The best thing during this experience was our pediatric nurse. She is one of the main reasons I decided to go into nursing. Peds nurses are amazing!! 

Back home we went! Two days before Christmas and with everything that was going on I found that my depression had gotten better as well. Riley did great and we all thought that he would grow to be a happy, healthy little boy. 

To be continued.....