Loving My Life As A Mother and a Wife: Happy Birthday Tyler!

Thirteen years ago this last monday I witnessed a miracle. My son Tyler came into the world at 3lbs. 4 oz. and 15" long. I had advanced toxemia and had been in the hospital for many weeks already when we were told that I was to undergo an emergancy c-section. They had tried to induce labor but the babys hearbeat kept dropping off. I had an amniocentesis that day and we were told his lungs were not going to be fully formed and that he would be immediately placed in the emergancy neonatal care unit. My health was rapidly deteriating and therefore this would be the only chace for both of us. We were a young married couple and we were scared. We had so many freinds, family, and our church praying for us. I know that is the reason we are able to celebrate this special day thirteen years later. It was a miraclous gift from God when Tyler came into the world six weeks early and way too small screaming and fighting with everything he had. I know that there is no other way to explain how earlier in the day the doctors at one of the best medical university hospitals in our country were certain that his lungs were not formed and hours later he was not only breathing on his own but was screaming. Here is a picture of my tiny miracle 13 years ago.

He stayed in the hospital and we stayed at the the Ronald McDonald house and in less than a month he was able to come home with no tubes or monitors of any kind. He was not yet even 5lbs. I had to roll the sleeves on his premie clothes. Here is a picture of him sleeping at about two months and still not fitting in newborn clothes.

He wasn't a baby that liked to be held but he wanted to investigate his world right away. He loved his walker and swing and just wanted to be on the move. He has never really stopped moving actually. By the time he was one he was only about the size of a six month old. He was offered physical therapy by our doctor but I was pregnant with our other son and decided to hold off a little bit longer because he was sitting, standing, and getting around on furniture already. Tyler never really cared that he was so little. He just knew he wanted to walk and he did at around fifteen months and then he was really a little man on the move.

I have always known he was a very bright child. He had an intense alertness about him even as a newborn. You could tell that he was observing everything around him. He loved to look at books when he was little and was a very early reader. I also knew however that there was something very different about him. He definately has always had a lot of sensory issues and when his speech started to develop it was very unusual. He could say "abc" before he said mom, dad, more, eat, or anything that would have been more typical. His speech as reached three and four was almost all echo of things he heard from somewhere else. He was unable to answer almost all questions and had very poor eye contact. At four years old he was diagnosed with moderate autism. At the time my husband was a recruiter for the Marine Corp in a small town in Illinois and we had wonderful support from the local school. He did extremely well there and was able to attend regular kindergarten with a personal aide. We were able to clearly see why God had placed us there at just that moment. Those people will never know how much they meant to us and our kids. To make a long story short midway through that first year of kindergarten my husband recieved orders to North Carolina and Tyler did a couple more years at public school here before it became apparent that God wanted us to teach him at home. It has been a challenge at times. He has accomplished so many things in the past thirteen years I couldn't even list them all. He fights hard because I watch him and I know that things don't come easy for him. He is remembered by most people that meet him as a positive person with a zest for life. The older he gets the more I realize that he has an uphill battle in front of him. I pray every day that I can help to equip him for that. I am overjoyed to know that he loves the Lord and knows that he can trust him to help him through his challenges. I am so thankful that God chose to bring our miracle into our lives. I am proud to be his mother. Here are just some more random pictures of my very special son.