Skip to main content

My sweet Hailey

Seven years ago, I was preparing myself to become a mother for the first time.  After going into labor twice, having it stopped and being put on bed rest for a couple weeks, Hailey decided by her due date she didn't actually want to come out yet.  I knew at that moment she would do all things on her own time. 
On September 29, 2010 I was induced at 6am.  After 12 1/2 hours of labor, she made her appearance.  I fell in love immediately with her gorgeous, round pink face.  She had a head full of dark hair and beautiful blue sparling eyes. 
Within Hailey's first year of life, she learned her first words ("hungry" being one of them), she learned to giggle, sit, crawl, stand, and walk. 
We tried to take her pacifier away many times with no success.  We even cut it and by the end there nothing there but she still chewed on it.  At 2 1/2, Hailey decided to just throw it away and she didn't ask for it again.  This was one of the first things she did that made us realize she would always be doing things on her own time. 
When it was time to potty train, we tried and tried and she showed no interest and no success.  At 3 1/2, Hailey decided she would use the potty.  After maybe one or two accidents, she was completely trained and has never had an accident since, not even over night.  Once again, just doing things when she's ready.
Over the years, Hailey has grown up into such a beautiful and smart little girl.  She has showed me how strong of a person she is by dealing with so much in her short little life.  At 4, she had her tonsils and adenoids out and fought through it like a champion.  She has had surgery to fix her teeth, which was rough but she did great.  For the last 4 1/2 years, she has had to watch Cody through 12 surgeries, multiple admissions and sicknesses and sit through more therapy than anyone should have to at that age.  Although she worries a lot, she has that big toothless grin on her face most of every day.  Her laugh is so contagious and she is such a caring daughter, sister, cousin and friend.
This year, Hailey tried Tball for the first time and absolutely loved it.  She also started first grade and is doing amazing.  Her favorite part about school is gym and buying lunch! 
Tomorrow, Hailey will be seven years old.  She amazes me every day with her courage, her love, and her willingness to learn new things.  Hailey wants to be a singer and a vet when she grows up, she loves singing bob seger, dancing, hugging and kissing, reading, and playing with Cody.  She is an amazing little girl, and I hope she has the best birthday she's ever had!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dystonia awareness

Some days its hard to find the words to explain what dystonia feels like. It's invisible to most people, yet it shapes every hour of my day quietly, persistently and often painfully. I don't share this because I want sympathy, I share it because awareness matters and too many people still don't know what dystonia is, let alone how much it can affect someones life. Dystonia affects my hands, feet, back and neck. My hands ache as though they've been gripping something for hours, even when they're resting. My neck strains as if theres a weight hanging from it and no amount of stretching helps. My feet cramp and curl making sonething as simple as standing still feel like a test of endurance. I've grown stronger in ways I never expected. Ive learned patience, determination and resilience. Ive learned to celebrate small victories, like waking up with a little less stiffness or being abke to open a jar of spaghetti sauce. Im sharing this because I want people to under...
Post a Comment
Read more

update on Dystonia and Family

I have been doing as well as could be expected.  I am back in Florida so it's nice to be with Ryan.  Although I am still upset about the whole thing, I am trying hard to smile and not let it show.  The spasms have returned and have gotten worse since the DBS was removed.  When I suck on a piece of candy or ice, my throat tightens up.  It's very scary but Im hoping it won't get any worse.  My neck also twitches sometimes and my foot spasms have come back.  My hand is curled in but if I think about it, I can straighten my wrist (not my fingers).  The most upsetting part is that I was just looking at pictures of myself the day after DBS and I had a huge smile on my face because I had made it through and then a couple weeks later there was a picture of my hand open.  I had never been so excited as I was that day.  I had so much in my head that I wanted to do now that I could use my hand and most of it involved Hailey.  Hailey helped me ...
13 comments
Read more

Why be normal?

For the last 17 years my hand has slowly been getting destroyed. Its been closed, open, dislocated fingers, and eventually everything about it was deformed. My first hand treatment was casting my fingers open but with dystonia this usually doesnt work. It was one of the worst pains I ever experienced and I had to go back and have the cast cut off that night. I had my first hand surgery in 2019 to "fix" some of the damage that was done from my dystonia. Little did I know that would turn into many more surgeries trying to relieve my discomfort and my anxiety of having a deformed hand. I wanted it to look normal so bad. I was so embarrased by how my fingers looked that I always had my hand in a sweatshirt pocket so I could hide it from the world. I never mind sharing my story to spread awareness but how embarrasing is it to drop groceries everytime you try to shop, or struggle to pick your toddler up. Over the last couple years I started seeing a new hand doctor that my mother...
Post a Comment
Read more