>Being intubated was the worst part of my pregnancy. I'd do it again
>though for my daughter. How old is your daughter? I am glad your
>respiratory infections are few.
My daughter is now 16, and what a blessing she is. She keeps me young and
alert! Watching her develop brings me in touch with my high school years. I
was an over-achiever already at her age. I taught myself how to be one when
I entered 9th grade. That summer I found myself wanting to withdraw and
isolate from people because I felt so ashamed of my scoliosis. There was
absolutely nobody that I could talk to about it; actually talking about it
wasn't even an option at the time. My family didn't talk about feelings.
Period. I kept all of my fear and shame locked inside. I realized how
abnormal isolating was though, and I sensed that if I didn't force myself to
be out with people I would wither up and die. I was determined when 9th
grade started that I would throw myself into my studies and get involved in
student government, and I did. Life became very serious for me then. As I
watch my daughter who is a sophomore in high school being carefree and acting
like most teenage girls act, I am blown away by the difference between us at
that age. Watching her helps put things into perspective for me, and I am so
happy that she doesn't have to go through all that I went through. I'm also
grateful that I survived so that I could watch her grow up.
The dr. who did my spinal fusion told me that it would be okay for me to
become pregnant, but it would be kind of risky. *Risky* was really an
understatement as it turned out. It was a pregnancy and childbirth from
hell! During the time after my daughter was born, the priest even came to
give me last rites. It was a very scary time and I am still traumatized by
some of the things that happened to me. The main thing is that none of my
doctors knew a thing about how to treat someone who'd had polio. I was
over-medicated, given too much O2, and on and on and on. Fortunately my baby
was healthy, and I did recover.
Life today is good. I know what I have to do to keep myself healthy. I
respect my physical limitations today; I don't fight them or ignore them any
more. I try to keep my thoughts positive; but if I'm feeling down, I talk
about it to someone, and I allow myself to sit with it until I've worked my
way through it. Like I said, life is good, and I appreciate every day of it.
Carol