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Friday, February 19, 2010

Repost: Thank You Letter to My Son

I am back from London. While I missed Nico and Shaila, I don't think I realized exactly how much until I held them in my arms again.

Nico recently turned six months old. In some ways it feels like yesterday - in some ways it feels so, so very long ago.

Here is a re-post of an old post I had done last year. Hope you enjoy.

XOXO,
Kiran

A Thank You Letter to my Son


Dear Nico,

I know that over the past few weeks, I have lamented the loss of my sleep, sanity and general well-being in the posts in this blog.

Luckily, you are too young to read and so you don't yet resent me for talking smack about you behind your back.


All kidding aside, while I joke in these posts about you and your sister, Shaila, I do want to make sure that you understand that this is just your mother's way.


I also wanted to tell you a little story.


You were born earlier this year on August 6th, which makes you almost 4 months old as I write this. My pregnancy with you was much smoother than the one I had with your sister (and I have to say, sometimes I think it's a strong indicator of what is to come).


But you still kicked my a!@, just a little. I was on bedrest towards the end and the last few weeks, I worked from home while lying on the couch. I conducted conference calls with clients in Germany and tried not to be overly concerned about the frequent contractions that started in my 28th week . . .


The week that you were born, Shaila came home from day care with a fever and developed a rash. We did not think much of it, and being the feisty little trooper that she is, she kicked that virus in the butt and was on her merry way back to her friends within a day.

And then you came! 4 weeks early, but you were absolutely perfect. You had the teeniest hands and you seemed so much smaller to me than your sister had been.

But you
were YOU, and I was a fan. Instantly.

Uncle Al took this picture of you when you were 1 day old

When we came home from the hospital, I started to feel a little fatigued, and I figured it was just the "new mommy" kind of fatigue. I did not think much of it, until my sister (your Munni Mausi) suggested I take my temperature and I realized I was running a fever.

The next day, so were you.

101.5.

We had to take you to the hospital and before I knew what hit me, they were taking you away from us to run a spinal tap on you.

My son, who did not yet weigh even 6 lbs.

A SPINAL TAP.

When the test results came back, the doctor informed your father, me and your Munni Mausi, who was also with us that day, that you tested positive for Spinal Meningitis and that they would need to keep you in the hospital for several days until they determined if it was viral or bacterial.

If it was viral, they said, he will fight it on his own. If it is bacterial, well . . .

"Well what?" we asked.
"If its bacterial . . .we will cross that bridge when we come to it," the Doctors said, sounding more positive than their eyes indicated.

You were 7 days old.

I felt like I had lost the ability to breathe.

Within minutes, we were brought up to what would be "your room" for several days and your dad and I watched the nurses hook you up to an IV and a steady stream of the 5 anti-biotics you had to be on, just in case it was determined that this was bacterial.

It was your sister's second birthday the next day.

You lost some weight and before I knew it, were almost below 5 lbs. I waited anxiously and tried not to keep crying but I have to tell you now, that I failed miserably.

I held you as much as I possibly could and you remained pretty listless. We made a lot of promises to you, just making sure you knew what was in store for you if you pulled through. Of how much I would love you. And how much your Dad would teach you.

And how cherished you would be.

We were in the hospital for 4 days. It felt like 40.

I would hear other children in the pediatrics ward crying and my heart broke for them and their parents as well. I did not know what prognosis brought these other children to the hospital but I hoped that these parents would all be able to leave with a smile on their faces, their hearts intact and their children in their arms as soon as possible.

We prayed to God a lot.

So did the rest of your family and all our friends.

You had a lot of people rooting for you.

At the end of what felt like a four day sentence, your doctor came running into our room with a huge smile on her face and relief clearly spelt all over it to inform us that you could go home and that you would be able to kick this thing. That your little body had been working hard to fight what was a virus which had attacked your spinal fluid.

A virus that your sister had passed to me, which I then passed to you.

And you were going to be ok.

(Dr. Deepa Shah - I LOVE YOU. I will always remember your face telling me that news I prayed for days to hear. So beautiful.)

I know that over the course of your life, you will have challenges and you will deal with adversity. Some of it, we can help you with. And sometimes, you will have to face it alone.

But, from what I can see, baby boy, you are the biggest trooper. I know that whatever you will face, it will be with grace and dignity and that extra dose of spunkiness which I know you have. I have seen you in action and I am blown away.

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow and I just wanted to let you know how much you and your sister mean to me.

Thank you for making my life that much richer for every day you have been alive.

For all the jokes I make about you waking us up at night, another part of me is also always grateful to hear your cry.

Love,
Mom

P.S. And just so we're clear, I am still 100% on board with you trying to sleep through the night. So let's try to keep working on that, ok?

19 comments:

Unknown said...

That is so beautiful. My middle son nearly died from chicken pox when he was 2 1/2. It made him susecptible to other illnesses so he got RSV on top of it. I was terrified.. 14 days in PICU followed by 3 on teh regular floor to be released on Christmas Eve.. I am so glad like us your son turned out to be ok..

Macey said...

My husband almost died from that very same thing...when he was 13. He fought and fought for MONTHS. I want to say 3 or 4 months...?
Anyway, I can NOT imagine a baby enduring that. And you! You are strong. I would have had a heart attack or panic attack and died.right.there.

Macey said...

PS: is he sleeping through the night yet??

Vodka Logic said...

What a beautiful baby. I am so glad your story has a happy ending.

Lemon Gloria said...

I love this, as you know already.

And my boy just turned six months today! No sleeping through the night yet either...

Mrs Montoya said...

Oh my God, Kiran. This is so beautiful. I have been fawning all over my son this week because it's his birthday and we've NEVER faced anything like this. I pray that we don't, but admire you so much for your eloquence after such a tough time. This will be a beautiful keepsake for him for a long time. Thanks for sharing! So glad you made it home safely.

SaraPlaysHouse.com said...

Beautiful. In every way.
You are so very blessed.

Anonymous said...

Firstly...welcome home! I'm glad you had a great trip and I'm sure it's wonderful to see the kiddos again. :)

This letter is just beautiful. Nico is such an adorable little boy and I can't believe he had to go through all that so early on. He sounds like quite a fighter and he's lucky to have such a great mom to help him through the tough times! *hug*

Unknown said...

ah lady, this post makes me love you as a mommy! what a sweet letter! what a powerful story!

SurferWife said...

This was the post that hooked me into Masala Chica you know. I loved it then and I love it more now.

Sarah at The Stroller Ballet said...

Oh this made me cry! I didn't know there was a story like this behind your lovely little boy. That must have been so traumatic, as a new parent. I'm glad everything went ok. That picture is beautiful! What an angel!

Anonymous said...

Best post I've read in a long time. Maybe because it's not really a post but a note to your little man. I actually have one, that I wrote while in the hospital with Gabriel...that's all for me and him when he's older and I am long gone.

xx

Cristina

Anonymous said...

omg. a few things.

a.) for some reason this reminded me of the song "Beautiful Son" by Without Gravity, although that doesn't really fit the situation.

b.) Your sonreally is going to be such a little trooper, I can feel it!

c.) This post literally made me cry. I was on the edge of my seat, and I felt what you felt. MAybe it's because my cousin lost her baby, and that was particularly hard, or maybe it's because my sister is due with a little boy in April, and I hope he's as much of a fighter as your son is. Anyway. Wow.

Anonymous said...

p.s. would you mind if I featured this in my upcoming "favorite things" week?

Anonymous said...

p.s. would you mind if I featured this in my upcoming "favorite things" week?

Serenityville said...

Beautiful post, thank you for your eloquent writing and making me cry!!

If I forgot to tell you, I linked to you in a recent post of my favorite recent funny posts. http://serenityville.blogspot.com/2010/02/blogtastic.html

Amy said...

What a beautiful little guy you have:)

sasha said...

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Dianna@KennedyAdventures said...

oh, thanks for making me cry!! Thank goodness I'm not wearing any makeup!

Seriously, this was stunning, and so heartfelt. You'll need to print this out, and give it to him when he gets married.

 

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