Celebrating Macie

I was once asked in a job interview who my hero is. The answer to this question didn't take any thought at all. Macie, my daughter! They wanted no explanation just who. Some might think that this is a crazy answer. Of all the people in the world, why my daughter? Well, I will tell you why. She is amazing. Macie was born six years ago today at 2:59pm at Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa. I was just about the happiest woman in the world the moment the doctor told me it was a girl. You see, I didn't want to know the sex of the baby because I feel that that is one of the biggest surprises you will ever have in your life. Anyhow, what I did not expect was that the pediatrician checking her over and doing the new baby tests would come back with an answer other than she is perfect. Dr. Henley came to us that evening with our beautiful little baby and informed us that he thought she might have Down Syndrome and explained all the reasons for his beliefs, but said that the results would not be conclusive until the genetic testings reports came back in a couple of weeks. Often times a parent can be caught so of guard by this news. Don't get me wrong, I was. But, I was not upset because she wasn't the perfect baby we had hoped for, because she was and more. I was devastated because I thought that she had been robbed of something. It didn't bother me that she was special. I was already worried about how she would deal with the differences. It wasn't long for me to realize that as long as she was loved and accepted, she would be just as happy as any typically developing child. That yes, there would be struggles and rough times because she is different, but we are all different in our own ways and it is how we cope that gets us through. We were blessed that Macie didn't have any serious heart issues. Although, she did encounter some trouble. She had not had a bowel movement in the first five days of her life. Her fist BM came during a rectal biopsy (the first of many for her). To make a very long story short, Macie stayed two whole months in the NICU at Hillcrest and then was in and out of St. Francis Hospital for the first year of her life. It was a joke at the hospital that we should have a room with Macie's name on it (she was there so often). Anyhow, she was diagnosed with Hirschsprungs Disease. This is a disease in which your bowels do not have the ganglion cells in sections (ganglion cells are like little finger on the walls of your intestines that move your stool along). So, Macie under went yet another surgery (one of the nine she has had) and the bad section of her bowel was removed. Due to the damage to her bowel, it was necessary for her to have a Colostomy. Her pull through surgery was done almost a year later and her bag was removed YEAH! Because of all these complications Macie developed a strong aversion to food and to this day is still fed through her Mickey Button. As of two months ago, Macie has started eating yogurt and pudding. You are probably wondering why I went through this whole story. Well, this plays into my reasoning for her being my hero. For the first year and a half of Macie's life, she new nothing but pain and discomfort, but she never stopped fighting or smiling. My Macie is a trooper. She has been through so much and is still one of the happiest little girls I know. She amazes me! I know that God chose me to be Macie's Momma for a reason. Sometimes I still don't know what that reason is-maybe to teach me patience or to be more appreciative of the things that I do have. I don't know. What I do know is that she has offered me more in the six years of her life than I will ever be able to give back. I LOVE you baby girl you ARE my HERO. Happy Birthday Macie Jordan Bence.