"Our precious warrior Grayson, today you are 1. What a roller coaster your life has been. Being told at our 20 week scan that you had a heart defect shocked your Dad & I, we never imagined something like this would happen. By 22 weeks we had a scan in Christchurch, they found some more defects but told us your heart would be fixed when you were born, by 24weeks our lives came crashing down when we went to Auckland & the cardiologist found your heart defect was very severe, very rare & not fixable. You were not compatible with life & would not even survive the pregnancy. Fast forward to 33 weeks & after multiple scans & a wee bit of hope from a doctor in Dunedin we went back to Auckland, the cardiologists were very surprised I was still pregnant they were sure you would have been born sleeping by now. We had some more scans & a amniocentesis (ouch) & a quick meeting to be told nothing has changed & even if they could fix your heart they couldn’t fix your small lung that had been squished by your big heart. So off home we go broken & defeated. We had one last phone call to say you would be born on comfort care. We arranged to be induced at 37 weeks in Dunedin, we had a quick chat with a paediatrician, just to be prepared for everything, he said you would probably pass away during labour or very soon after birth. The 8th of September 2017 you made your grand entrance after a quick 4 hours, you were pink & screaming!! You were beautiful with a big mop of dark hair. All the doctors came rushing in & sorted me & checked you over, they told us everything was still the same & you would slip away soon. Over the next few hours doctors & nurses were in & out checking you, telling us you’ll be gone in a couple of hours, then it changed to 12 hours, then 24 hours, 48 hours etc. One doctor decided to get you another scan & send you down to nicu, they tried so hard to get starship cardiologist to reconsider seeing you, they said no. The doctor was devastated & struggled holding back his emotions telling us the news. Day 3 we decided to bring you home to Winton. Borrowing a car seat & all as we were not at all prepared for a living baby. The first week of having you home was tough, a lot a hard conversations & big decisions were made. Over the last year you’ve thrived & showed your doctors your here to stay, you’ve had your first surgery & been pretty happy & healthy since. Here you are showing the world that miracles can happen. You have so much character, your expressions are hilarious, such a beautiful boy. We can’t wait to see what the next year bring. Special thanks to our family & friends for all the support & love. Also to our amazing midwife Nikita freeman, photographers Kimberley Cheyne Photography, Megan Graham Photography & the lovely Jennie for the casts. The biggest thanks to give is to the selfless parents who donated their precious babies valve so our baby had the chance to live, who ever you are, we thank you for giving the greatest gift of all." |
And they also introduced Grayson to another incredibly precious boy - his older brother, Harley, who sadly passed away at age seven. I cannot even begin to imagine the grief they were feeling that night when they were thinking they could also be losing their precious Grayson.