MIRACLE BABY

Today we celebrate the birth of our first born child, Jeremy Scott Carpenter.  He was such a tiny baby, only weighing 5 pounds 3 ounces, 19 1/2 inches long, and he was born at 2:56 AM, March 14th. 

I was almost 18 and didn't have a clue what to expect.  I'd worked all day at my dad's car dealership, came home and washed clothes, and then went to bed to get some much needed rest.  Around midnight I started having contractions and asked Scott if he would take me to the hospital.  I wasn't sure if I was in labor, since I didn't know what it was. haha  I would soon find out!

When we arrived at the hospital we were ushered into a room with several beds and curtains separating them.  Another girl looking really pregnant in the next bed introduced herself to me as Marina.  She was 16 and having her second child.  Whatever I didn't know was expected, she filled me in...and scared me half to death. 

Before long I was taken to the delivery room and given anesthesia.  Not just a little, but a lot.  Enough to knock me out for several hours, because when I awoke and looked at the clock it was around 6:30 AM.  I was groggy and I thought I was having my baby, but it was the after contractions following delivery.  The nurse had me look at my wristband stating I had had "Baby Boy Carpenter". 

What I didn't know is that the medication that was given to knock me out, had also went straight to Jeremy, or "Baby Boy Carpenter".  Scott and I had not agreed on a name yet.  The movie "Jeremiah Johnson" was very popular at the time, and he wanted to name him that, so we hadn't agreed on a name in the event it was a boy.  If it was a girl her name would be Joy.  Anyway, we found out later from his medical records it had taken 6 1/2 minutes for him to breathe.  However, the doctor had come out and told Scott that he had a fine, healthy boy.

As they were taking me to my room they wheeled me by the room where all the babies were so I could see mine.  He was beautiful.  Tiny, with a head full of hair, and he looked so fragile and delicate.  He was also blue.  I thought that was strange, but the nurse tried to reassure me he was fine.  This is what he looked like:



I never did hold him in the hospital.  That evening the doctor contacted my father and asked him to give us the news that they were going to have to transport him by ambulance to Sacred Heart Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  We were told he was extremely sick and they didn't give us much hope.  Immediately our family, friends, and church family began praying for a miracle.  The nurse ended up giving me some medicine to calm my nerves and allowed Scott to spend the night with me (which was against hospital regulations at that time) after he had followed the ambulance to the hospital in Pensacola for Jeremy's arrival there.

Jeremy was born early Friday morning and as soon as I was released on Sunday we went straight to Sacred Heart so I could see my precious baby.  We had finally agreed on the name Jeremy Scott.  The doctors told us Jeremy only had 24 hours to live.  He had double pneumonia, spinal meningitis, scleremia - which caused his limbs to be stiff and feel like leather, congestive heart failure, a busted blood vessel going to his brain, kidney problems, and he was premature.  We had to scrub and clean our hands and arms and put on medical gowns and masks before entering the NICU. No one prepared us for what we were going to see when we walked into the room.  Tiny babies were everywhere in little beds.  Heart monitors were beeping continuously, and if one went off, the nurse would rush over and gently shake the baby so it's heart would start beating because it forgot to breathe.  They had also neglected to tell us they had shaved all of Jeremy's head except a strip down the middle that looked like a mohawk and that he had tubes in numerous places to give him medication or retrieve blood samples.  He looked so pale, pitiful, and helpless laying in the bed.  The nurse that had just taken a sample of blood forgot to turn the valve switch, and a little blood oozed out.  I started feeling faint and almost passed out, and they had to rush and get a wet washcloth and wheelchair for me to sit in.  This is what he looked like when we saw him in the NICU that first time:

We would go and see him every day as much as we were allowed to.  Every day we could feel the prayers of everyone, and every day he improved little by little.  One thing at a time began to get better.  After almost 4 weeks we were told we could take him home.

Each baby was assigned to a specific nurse.  Our nurse's name was Mrs. Harris.  She was so patient, compassionate, and kind with us.  Looking back now, I realize we probably looked like babies ourselves to her.  I was only 17 and Scott was 19, but she would gently explain Jeremy's progress with us and answer any questions or concerns we had.

I saw Mrs. Harris about 2 1/2 years ago when my great nephew Tripp was born at Sacred Heart.  She happened to be in the hallway.  She looked just like she did when Jeremy was there, only a few years older.  I talked with her, and she told me that back then she had just completed her RN degree and Jeremy had actually been her first patient!  We never knew that.  She said she'd love for him to come visit her so she could see how he was.  So far we haven't followed through, but one day soon we hope to.

The day we brought Jeremy home and the nurse escorted us out of the hospital, she told us how her and the other nurses knew he was a miracle because they had witnessed his improvements for themselves.

Jeremy's first picture at seven weeks old.  Isn't he adorable, even though he looks like a little old man?  It took a while for all that thick hair to come back in, and when it did it was almost blonde.

Jeremy didn't crawl like most babies.  He dragged his torso and legs and pulled with his arms like he was paralyzed to get to where he wanted.  He couldn't sit up like most children either.  You had to prop up a pillow or something, or he'd fall right over.  No one could tell me what was wrong with him though.

When Jeremy was 4 years old I took him to a new doctor in town.  He ran some tests and told me that Jeremy had cerebral palsy.  I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but I felt relief that at least we had a diagnosis. 

Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects thousands of babies and children each year. It is not contagious, which means you can't catch it from anyone who has it. The word cerebral means having to do with the brain. The word palsy means a weakness or problem in the way a person moves or positions his or her body.  A kid with CP has trouble controlling the muscles of the body. Normally, the brain tells the rest of the body exactly what to do and when to do it. But because CP affects the brain, depending on what part of the brain is affected, a kid might not be able to walk, talk, eat, or play the way most kids do.
 

Jeremy was fitted with metal leg braces that ran from his hips to special shoes for him to wear.  He also was fitted with a brace to wear at night to stretch his hips.  Later he was then fitted with the shorter ones until he had surgery.  It never slowed Jeremy down for a minute.  He wore them for almost 3 years, and then when he was 7 he had surgery to stretch both achilles tendons.  He had to wear casts in the middle of the summer for 6 weeks that were from his foot to the top of his thighs.  Not fun!  He recently had surgery to remove a bunion, straighten his big toe, and stretch one achilles tendon.  He still needs surgery on the other.  Surgery has improved greatly, and he only has to wear a foot cast like a boot now. 

Jeremy's legs were stiff and wouldn't bend.  This is how he would sit.  He couldn't sit Indian-style, or cross them.  He couldn't sit with them straight out.  For us, it would be very uncomfortable.  For him, it was normal.

 We went through all kinds of testing to make sure we wouldn't have to go through what we did with Jeremy.  I had no complications during my pregnancy with Jeremy.  My OB/GYN doctor told me if the same thing happened again I would be in the medical books.  The medical profession felt that there was a germ in the birth canal or the delivery room, and that's why Jeremy had all the major medical problems he encountered.

  

His baby sister, Joy Danielle Carpenter, was born five years later and was perfectly healthy.  I had no complications during pregancy, was only in labor 2 1/2 hours and delivered her by epidural.  I had wanted a boy first, then a girl, and God granted me the desires of my heart.  She's been fantastic with him and never made fun of his disability. 

 

We are proud of Jeremy and the young man he's become.  Everyone will tell you he always has a smile on his face.  He never meets a stranger.  Our desire for him is to be a Godly man with integrity and character, pursuing Him and serving Him with all of his heart, mind, and strength.  We pray for his future wife and that she'll be the perfect helpmate for him, complementing and completing him.

 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

--Debbie