As I helped my special needs daughter,
Alexandra, get ready for school this morning, I noticed that her hair band had
fallen and her gorgeous long hair was fanning her shoulders and back. I had recently started using my shampoo and
conditioner to wash her hair. The
silkiness brought on by the combination of the two has been contributing to the
band falling out on more occasion than one.
I saw her tilt her head just so to move the
silky strands as she used her hand to brush the hair aside. The gesture was so beautiful that I stared
for a few minutes and allowed her to continue moving her hair before I
intervened to braid it for her as I normally do in the morning.
I realized at that point that I have just
found the words I have been so desperately searching for this past month to use
for my daughter’s birthday post. I had
struggled for days sitting at the computer thinking about the upcoming
birthday, my commitment to write a birthday post and what it all meant to
me.
I have been trying to write this post for
almost a month. I guess that, after all
these years, this post still remains the most difficult as well as joyous for
me to write. Difficult, because it brings back the memories of days and nights
that I have been trying to burry and forget. Joyous, for it reminds me of the miraculous
child that was gifted to me; Sixteen years ago to care for and nurture.
Alexandra’s grand entry into the world was
memorable to say the least. Her micro
preemie stature of a mere 12 ounces in weight and 8 inches in height broke
the record of the smallest preemie baby born at that hospital.
Her Seven plus months of stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was also the longest period any preemie had stayed.
This year has brought on so many new things
in Alex’s and our lives. My daughter is flourishing and enjoying more
adult-like activities. In spite of her special needs, she attended her first
dance only a few weeks ago and what an event that was. We were the proudest
parents to be able to drop her off at the dance hall on a Friday night and
leave her for sometime before going back to pick her up. A normal activity
to some, but a huge step for us.
A few weeks after the dance, Alex was able to
participate in a fund raiser walk for Easter Seals as their ambassador. She had been involved with our local Easter
Seals on and off for the past thirteen years. It was a proud moment when they
requested that she be one of the ambassadors. It was a thrill to start an “Team Alex” and
lobby for walkers. I did not fathom, at
the time, at how the turnout would be. The
response and support from our family and friends was overwhelming; joyous; and
emotional. I had known that Alex had touched many lives but did not realize, until
that moment, how many she had actually touched. The love that came with each support was unmeasurable.
The actual event proved to be a great success.
As my daughter’s birthday approached this
year, I finally started what I had promised myself that I would do years
ago and that is writing her story in a book. This book will be the legacy I
leave for her and my gift to her for the future. The first book documents the beginning and her
Seven months stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit. I am still at awe when I
read the notes; clinical resume; and lists that I have kept together all these
years. The six page clinical resume
still amazes me. I continue to thank God
each and every day for the miracle of Alex. I am humbled at the fact that he
had brought her into my life and entrusted me to care for her. I tear at the
medical words written on those pages, so long ago, but know, without a shadow of the doubt,
that God had made it all possible.
As I end this post, I quote from the Thank you dedication
I wrote in Alex’s book:
“To God, for with him
everything is possible and nothing is impossible”
Happy Sweet Sixteen Alex..
©
Copyright 2014 .Najwa S. Hirn. All rights reserved
