My Beginning

Hello again everyone!  I’d just like to say how appreciative I am for the wonderful feedback I received from my previous blog post. Thank you for fueling my motivation to continue writing. Sorry so long between posts. Had to do some vacationing and relaxing. I’m back at it now, though! Since my previous blog had talked about who I am today, I thought I should talk about when and how Cerebral Palsy became a part of my life.  As this is the beginning of the school year for some, it is an appropriate time to address MY beginning.  

As I addressed in my last blog, my Cerebral Palsy occurred at birth as most cases do.  In my case, the cause of the Cerebral Palsy is unknown.  Doctors hypothesized it occurred due to a number of things. I was an overdue baby. The doctors had told my parents I was supposed to be born January 3rd. That date ended up being two and a half weeks off; I was born on January 20th, Martin Luther King Day.  Up until this point, my mom had a normal pregnancy other than the fact that I was overdue.  Little did my parents  know, everything was about to change.  During labor, my oxygenation level dropped dangerously low.   The minute I was delivered, I was taken away from my parents and my adventure had just begun.

The doctors at Women and Infants hospital tried a number of different things but couldn’t correct the problem with the oxygenation of my blood.  I would have to go to Massachusetts General Hospital to receive a fairly new treatment called ECMO.  ECMO stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. My high class taste was developed right from day one.  An ambulance didn’t do it for me, I required a helicopter, flown just for me, to transport me to Mass General. Sadly, I can’t tell you much about that experience as I don’t remember it.  Once I got to the hospital, the doctors told my parents I had a 50-50 chance of survival.  By the grace of God, I managed to hold on and the treatment was successful.

I sometimes think how crazy it is that if I had been born just five years earlier, I wouldn’t have survived.  After I was stable enough, I was sent back to Women and Infants. From there, I underwent a number of weeks of rehabilitation before I was strong enough to go home.  I have to give it up for the team of doctors and great technology I was blessed with which helped me fight my first battles and saved my life.

Well, that’s how my life got started. I’ll try and be more consistent with my blog and try and post once a month but, until homework is abolished, I can’t promise too much!

- Michael