A year to remember...

We are extremely lucky to have gone through Sean's birth without any complications, but after seeing how much Sean looks like David, brings back some not so good memories of David's first year (2004).

This is the first time that I am actually blogging about this, and it has been almost 5 years since it all started. Yet until today, Chariz and I still think back about it and look at pictures of that time. It's still as if it was just yesterday, and still not a day goes by that we don't think about it.

By the way, be ready, this is another one of those long reads...


On the day that David was born, he was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease, where part of the large intestin does not contain the proper cells to make his stool go out properly. When he was 7 weeks old, his entire system was infected, because he could not get rid of his waste. His tummy was so bloated that we could actually trace the veins in his skin, much like an over-inflated balloon. Because of his tummy, his lungs did not have enough space to properly expand and contract, and he had a hard time breathing. for this same reason, he could not drink his milk either, and he started losing weight. His fever reached 41.5 degrees.

We went to the emergency room at the hospital, where he was examined, and blood tests were done. We were told that they had to immediately admit him to the intensive care, because his life was at risk and waiting any longer would probably mean the end.

His red bloodcell count was so low that the doctors could not perform any surgery yet, since any minimal blood loss could be fatal, but 12 hours after I gave blood to stabilize him, they were able to prepare for surgery. The chances were 50-50 that he would survive...and even if he would survive, there was the worry that he had not had a proper oxygen supply delivered to his brain for too long and that there was a chance that it could have long-lasting effects...

Chariz and I had such a hard time believing that this was happening, and we were trying to stay strong for each other, and seeing our 7-week old son connected to machines, and with tubes in his nose and tummy did not make us feel much stronger either. Yet every time we looked at him, we could somehow see his strength and see how vigorously he was fighting. To see him being so strong, made us feel a lot stronger as well. He actually became our source of strength, so in a way, it was this little baby that pulled us through this experience.

The procedure:
First, prick through his behind, to open up a path for all the toxic waste and gases to get out of his body.
Then, cut open his tummy, externalize his large intestine, and connect a colostomy bag to catch his stool. He would be pooping through his tummy into this bag for the next year...

After about 3 hours of surgery, by some of the best doctors available, he was brought back to the intensive care, where we could do nothing but wait and see if he would stabilize. Slowly but surely, we could see the improvement of his condition, and we could not help but cry tears of joy to find out that the surgery had been a huge success. He was going to make it. David, the little fighter, was going to be OK...

He had to crawl, and then walk around with a colostomy bag for almost a year, and had to go through another 3 major surgeries before he was declared 100% healthy. Over that year, he also had to undergo tests, to see if any damage had been done to his brain. None.

David is now one of the most resilient and strongest toddlers I have ever seen. Every time we see him running around, we can't help but think back to this boy, who at 7 weeks old had nothing but a 50% chance of living.

Whenever I am having a bad day, I think back at what happened to him, and I realize how small our problems really are. How we can make such a big deal over such small things, only wasting our time forgetting the things that really matter.
Looking back, I can see that we were lucky to have gone through this, learning how to appreciate what you have, without the terrible tragedy of losing someone.

As I am writing this, I can't help but think about Michelle and her loved ones, who are going through an extremely hard time right now. I can't even imagine what you are going through, but I hope that if you read this, it will help you - even in the smallest way, to find a source of strength in yourself, which you know is there. You all will be OK.

To anyone else who reads this...
Realize what you have and be happy and grateful for it. Don't waste your time thinking about how bad things are, and how they could be better. Instead see how good the things are that you do have.