I'm a day late on this, but just HAD to honor my son Matt for his birthday! He turned 14 yesterday and he is the most special young man! From the moment he was born, he stood out in the crowd. He was born with respiratory issues and had to stay in the NICU for 10 days. At 9lbs 9 oz, he was the biggest baby in the NICU, but the nurses and Drs told me he was the sickest. The first time I saw him, he had tubes and wires going in and out of him and a ventilator was breathing for him. I was not prepared at all for just how sick he looked. He had an eye patch on and the nurses told me it was to keep him from getting over stimulated and his vitals stable. My dad was with me and we just stared at him, arms around each other, in silent sadness for the reality of the situation. Then my dad pointed something out that gave us a smile and some hope! Matthew's eye patch was slid up slightly and he was peering out beneath it scanning the room just a intently as he could....at that moment Dad said "He's tough. He's going to be just fine".
10 days later we brought Matthew home and he has continued doing things his own way ever since. That peering out from beneath the eye patch has been the theme of his existence as he always marches to the beat of his own drum, and does things his own way! His strong willed personality which made raising him as a young child a challenge is also what saved his life as a new born, and I embrace it every day!!
I am so proud of the young man he has become and can't wait to see what he has in store for us next!!
