To My Niece Gabrielle Herbert Analysis

It is true that she had great challenges to come because of her disabilities. When she was only 19 months old she became ill with what at the time was called, “brain fever,” and is now thought to have been meningitis or scarlet fever. When she finally recovered,

Robert Frost once said, “in three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on” (Frost). I learned this the hard way. At the age of 10 my life was impacted in the worst way possible. My brother Tim was diagnosed with leukemia for the second time in his young life. This crushed my family as Tim was just full of life and wanted to be a regular child. The problem was that he was not living a normal life for a 13-year-old. Tim would spend countless nights in the Cleveland Clinic receiving chemo-therapy. He went bald and could not even use the bathroom by himself. Weakness struck my brother and I was there to witness all of it. No one should ever have to witness what I saw and I pray that no one ever has to go through what Tim did. Seeing the life being taken from his grip hurt me the most. My life will forever be impacted on March 19th, 2008. That night, Tim lost his life to cancer and devastation destroyed my family and the community. I learned at that moment that life is full of obstacles and the strong will persevere. I

Twenty-one years ago, my parents received the devastating news that my lungs were not developing properly and as a result my mom had an induced labor. I was born as a premature baby, weighing only 3 lbs. and was placed in the care of neonatal nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 18 days. While my mom came to visit me, she would notice how well the nurses would care for me. Though their jobs were tough, the nurses would often carry me while I was crying and would often talk me to sleep, sometimes singing lullabies.

Most parents as they near the due date of their child are filled with excitement and happiness; however this could not have been further from the truth with my parents. My parents were informed by the doctors and that my lungs were collapsed because my intestines had pushed up into my thoracic cavity though a hole in my diaphragm. Then only option was to deliver me two weeks prematurely and perform immediate surgery. The outlook was bleak; through the lifesaving intervention a surgeon, I survived. This has impacted the choices I make in my everyday life throughout the years. I don't take opportunities or people for granted, and I realize everything I am able to experience is thanks to the skill of the surgeons in the operation room that night. This has

In june 1994 my mama found out that she was pregnant, this was a shock because my mom wasn’t suppose to be able to birth another child. I became the little miracle growing inside her. The doctor told my parents he was going to do everything he could so I could live, he was a christian man and he told her “we’re going to pray that God does a miracle.” December 5th 1994, a c-section was performed and I was born a premature baby that weighed 2.5 pounds.

the life of a very special woman and what she has done for us in the medical field today.

Finally, a personal struggle that happened in my life was what happened with my mother’s friend, Lynzee. Lynzee had six children, four girls and two boys. She really wanted to have another addition to her family. So, when she found out that she was pregnant with a baby girl she was filled with joy. Sadly, her baby was born too early and was fighting for her survival. Her first name was Violet and her middle name was Hope. Violet fought hard and long for her life, but her body was just too weak. She ended up passing away two years after her birth. Lynzee and her family were devastated at the loss of their family member. She overcame this difficult struggle by being with her family and looking on the

There are special times in life when the opportunity to witness the journey of another forever influences your own story. For me, this privilege came through my sweet neighbor and Healthy Birth Day, Inc. co-founder, Kerry Morlan and her husband, Luke. On May 19th, 2003, Luke and Kerry’s baby girl, Grace Biondi-Morlan, was born still. The heartache of true loss was difficult to observe and words of condolences seemed too little. Amazingly, the path from an unimaginable loss led to the birth of new friendships amongst 5 moms who shared not only their pain, but a real passion to save babies. Consequently, this passion led to the creation of Healthy Birth Day, Inc. and eventually the life-saving Count the Kicks campaign. As the years passed

One extraordinary miracle was performed in Texas, in 2011 to a very lucky nine year old girl, Annabel Beam. For several years, little Annabel suffered from a rare, incurable, and life-threatening digestive disorder. She'd been in and out of the hospital numerous times, poked and prodded by many doctors, and had invasive tests run. She was on a regimen of several different drugs that still just barely kept her symptoms controlled, and even then, she experienced frequent flare-ups. Just before Christmas, on one of their many trips to Boston to see a renowned specialist, Annabel once again found herself admitted to the hospital. While there, her mother Christy could tell that she wasn't her usual self. Annabel had always held up well in her battle

When Brooke was eleven years old when she got hit by a car while walking home from her first day of seventh grade. Brooke fractured her skull, broke her left arm, her right knee was dislocated, her brain and spinal cord was damaged, she had severe head and neck injuries, and she couldn’t breathe on her own. Leaving her paralyzed from the neck down, and dependent on a tube to breathe. When she first arrived at the hospital her EEG readings were flat, and there was no brain activity. There was little to no hope for Brooke, but her parents, Jean and Edward, where determined to keep their baby girl alive. Miraculously, one day Brooke opened her eyes. She couldn’t speak yet, but later on she learned to mouth words. Despite her condition Brooke did not want to fall behind in school, so her mother helped

was a burden for her friends and family staying alive in her condition. She recovered from this

Desmond Tutu once said “You don’t choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.” This sentiment rings true for Early Miracles. The founder comes from a family of six, but if chance had it a different way, there would have only been five. Some call it luck or fate, but she calls it a miracle. Early Miracles is a nonprofit foundation committed to serving families who have a premature child who suffers from a developmental disability and a heart murmur. This foundation will provide services such as activities (painting, drawing, sports, writing, or board games) for the child and parent to be involved in and consultations for the parent in regards to their concerns. Early Miracles will be located in Madera, CA. Moreover, this

This past year I met a 13 month old baby girl that has an incurable and untreatable condition known as Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia (PCH), and is one of only a handful of documented cases of the disease in the world. Mya defied all odds and not only made it through pregnancy but was also able to celebrate her first birthday. When I first heard of Mya’s story, I couldn't believe this girl’s courage to fight for her live in a daily basis. I couldn't believe the sacrifices her parents made and the burden of knowing that any day could be there last day with their child. I knew I wasn't in a position financially to help them but maybe there was different way I could help them. Her parents helped me make a bucket list of things that Mya might not get

From the moment she was born I knew she was different, arriving much earlier than expected, and frightening me to death with her little surprise. Then mere seconds later, after the doctor removed the umbilical cord from around her little pink neck, I heard her soft, sweet cry. In that instant, I knew she would be mama’s little fighter. Now here we are, 10 years later, and she still manages to amaze me every day. My daughter, Alexis, has tremendously changed my life and made me a better person by teaching me patience, showing me strength, and motivating me to improve myself.

I am what one could call a “miracle baby.” Now, every pair of parents considers their child to be a miracle, and, in some way, each of them is. For my parents, however, I reckon the phrase “miracle baby” has a slightly different meaning. I was born into the Hyden family after my three incredible brothers. Still, my mother and father yearned for a baby girl constantly, and tried repeatedly. Nevertheless, for seven years, nothing. After two miscarriages, my mother discovered that she was pregnant with me. This was shocking in a multitude of ways, since my mother was nearing the end of her reproductive stage of life. However, all of these factors are not what makes me a miracle baby. What does, is that I was born three months before my predicted delivery date, weighing in at one pound and twelve ounces. I was so miniscule that I could fit into the palm of my mother’s hand when I curled up. It was a miracle I even survived.