Friday, January 02, 2009

Happy New Year!!

No one at the Dawkins house made it to ring in the New Year....










The A-team





2008 was quite a busy year for us. I think I learned a lot of things.
I learned that 90% of the time Dr's are guessing or are wrong. When we were told last January Avie did not have a stomach we were SHOCKED. It was beyond understanding, I had never even heard of something like that. Much to our surprise and relief 2 weeks later it was there, I still think somehow this was tied in with her cleft....but what do I know.
I learned that generally people do not know what to say when there is a problem. I bet I heard 500 times "things could be so much worse". Looking back I know that, but in those moments when our sweet baby had the cleft and a hole in her ventricle, and our other one had the stomach virus our entire first week home, it was hard to see that it could be any worse.
I learned that most people care, but from a distance. My parents, Donald's parents, Lisa M, Laurie, Ginny, Melis, my sister and her family, Donalds sister, Donald's Aunt Cathy and Uncle Buddy, and my coworkers are not those people. They did everything they could to make us comfortable and try to put us at ease with the situation. The first few weeks we did not want Avie to be flat (I was terrified if she spit up it would go in the opening and she would choke) so one of us was up all the time. I remember Lisa and my parents listening to me cry (ok hysterically cry) at the hospital, I am not one to feel sorry for myself but even I have a weak moment. I remember Laurie spending a whole day with me, and letting Donald and I take a MUCH needed nap. Sometimes having your friend or family member their just makes things seem better.
I learned that strangers and their advice can put everything in perspective Krissy, Shannon, Mary, Heather, and Alison were able to give me some much needed advice on feeding and what to expect before and after surgery. Thank you so much!!
I learned, in the end, everything was ok. It would have been nice to seen how things turned out today when we she was born.
I learned that there are times when Dr's are right. We all had to deal with the news of Mr. Mike's cancer. The Dr's told him he had a short time, only 6 months. Everyone who knew him learned to pray fervently. I will miss Mr. Mike!!
I learned that life is never what you expect it to be, no matter how much you plan and get ready for something it never goes according to that.

7 comments:

Krissy said...

I am glad I can count you as a friend of mine! I love reading about your two beautiful girls, but most of all seeing their sweet faces!! Here's to a wonderful 2009 :)

John, Shannon, Broderick, Camden, and Adalynn said...

I love your reflecting post. Did you ever imagine your life/world would change so much by having a child with a cleft. You really learn a lot about people by the way they react to the situation. I am glad you had some great support and I am grateful that we have this common bond.

Wishing you a very blessed 2009!!!

LaurieR said...

Hope 2009 is even better and lets hope for LESS lessons that have to be learned this year! My car is packed and I will be there by lunch tomorrow! YAY! Love ya'll and can't wait to see ya!

Heather said...

Reading your thoughts about Avie's cleft takes me back... I, too, hated the "things could be worse" comment. Even my mom, when we first visited Children's when Aidan was a week old, said, "Well, he could have one eye like that kid over there." What??? I know she meant well, but I burst into tears later.

I can't believe the part of Avie having no stomach. Crazy! Yes, don't you wish you could see the end result at the beginning? If I had known Aidan would've been just fine, I might not have worried so much!

Anyway, the girls look great in the 2009 hats (and so do the parents!!). Happy New Year and I'm glad to have you as my blogging friend!!

Good Remedy said...

Oh, you are so right! What a great reflection. Haven't been able to write about this past year with Holly and the truth I have learned along the way. Too hard to think about. Thank you for putting words to some of my own thoughts too.
.ps love the new blog background and Happy New Year!
Peggy Fisher

Bev said...

Life is what happens when you have other plans.

The Holtons said...

Here's to 2009! More joys, less lessons to learn and more faith. When we have to deal with special needs with our children, boy does our faith either get stronger or DIE!!! I am so thankful that you got through 2008 with your faith in tack!!! Love ya-Gin