Noah L

My hero is currently about 13lbs pounds and wearing a diaper. You might wonder what makes such a tiny human a hero. It doesn’t take moving legs, education, or words to be one. You see, on Christmas Eve 2009, when many people were with their families preparing for the arrival of Santa Claus, I was with a specialist who was trying to determine why my ultrasound looked so different. I was informed that my baby had suffered a grade IV brain hemorrhage- something nearly unheard of in a fetus. It was advised that I have an abortion because if he did not die before or shortly after delivery, that he would likely live a life plagued with severe cerebral palsy, and seizures- or worse, would be a vegetable. I did not listen to my doctors- my baby would not be a vegetable-he was moving so much. So, we went through an MRI, and weekly ultrasounds. We saw neonatologists and neurosurgeons- we visited the NICU where the baby was to spend about 4 months. An induction was scheduled on May 11th, 2010 to make sure that all of the specialists were available. However, baby had another plan. He didn’t want to be induced, and on May 7th, he decided to make his arrival into the world. Seven medical professionals were in the room waiting to make him breathe and carry him away to the NICU. Baby Noah made his way into the world with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice- he was blue and silent. The doctor quickly got the cord off of his neck and he cried-he was breathing, and I was crying. Baby Noah had surprised all of the doctors. After examination, the neonatologist who once warned me Noah would spend around 4 months in the NICU said that he looked and acted like a completely normal baby. He didn’t go to the NICU- he went to the nursery where he was observed for seizures and proper eating. Noah ate on his own and never had a seizure- we went home from the hospital on Mother’s Day.
After some scans it was discovered that Noah had an extremely large arachnoid cyst- because of this his cerebellum, largely responsible for motor skills, was only 25% of the expected size. Additionally, the cyst caused some ventricles (fluid pockets in the brain)to dilate, a condition known as hydrocephalus. Because of this, Noah had brain surgery at 7 weeks old- there was a 1 in 200 chance he would not make it out of surgery.
Noah lived- and he is developmentally on target, is showing no signs of cerebral palsy, and smiles in spite of all he has been through.
He brushed death and defeated it-twice. He has undergone more procedures than most in their retirement. And through it all-his smile lights up the world.

Submitted by Anonymous

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