“Samuel” means “gift from God”.  And he truly is.  We were sure that we had beaten the odds and we had cleared the biggest hurdle when our 4th attempt at invitro was successful.  Little did we know that this was only the starting block.  At 18 weeks Sam pushed his foot into the birth canal.  This led to an immediate surgery in an attempt to continue the pregnancy.  A second surgery followed to strengthen his absolute determination to come early.  After eight weeks of drugs and hospitalization, Sam entered the world at 28 weeks weighing 2 pound 14 ounces.  The only feelings I could find were heartache and failure.  My first sight of Sam included more wires and monitor patches than it did baby.  He was smaller than I could ever have imagined.  He had thick coal black hair sticking up – a confirmation of the wives tale that heartburn  was a sign of a baby with hair!  The outlook was minute by minute.

Sam initially required only light oxygen flow – basically he was breathing on his own. We were told he would soon tire and would require a respirator.  There were tests for everything – but he only had enough blood in his tiny system to complete these over a number of days.  We were informed of the many challenges children born this early face – blindness, deafness, learning impairments, slow motor skills.  We could only pray for strength to get through.

Sam proved his determination.  He was a fighter.  He was released from the hospital after 7 weeks at 4 pounds.  He never required a respirator – although he needed routine reminders to breath.  His initial tests for hearing and eye development appeared to be normal.  Coming home required a heart and breathing monitor to be attached 24 hours a day.  False alarms were regular due to poor connections – the alarm sounding was a constant reminder of how fragile life is.

Sam continues to be a determined toddler.  At 2 ½, Sam has amazed many.  He has not had to struggle with many of the complications doctors predicted.  He is a normal, healthy little boy.  He is our gift from God.  We are so blessed.

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Contact Information: Mary Bertram, 705 Douglas #612, Sioux City, IA 51101 ,  (877) 343-6101 or email  mbertram@marchofdimes.com