London

Written by London’s mom upon her NICU discharge:

101 days ago this little peanut came into the world fast and furious, determined to show the world what she was made of. And that is exactly what she has done – proven to us time and time again that she is stronger than anything.

From the day she came into the world, struggling to breathe, she has overcome every obstacle placed before her. I never in my worst nightmare anticipated that my child would require intubation, let alone more than once. Or that her little lungs would collapse, more than once. That a tiny red spot on her skin would put us on edge for days. That she would need someone else’s blood in her body. That she would require oxygen for 3 months. Or that she would be fed through a tube. That we would wait for a bleed in her brain to resolve. That we would wait days to see her be able to open her eyes for the first time. That we would wait days to touch her, and weeks to hold her for the first time.

I never imagined that my life would be spent in a tiny room, watching other people care for my child day in and day out, for the first 101 days of her life.

But what I did imagine is that I would give birth to a strong, independent, resilient spitfire of a girl, just like her big sister. And in that I was right. We were told on day 1 that the NICU is a rollercoaster. No truer words have ever been said. The minute we were able to exhale after a procedure or test, we found ourselves holding our breath again, ready for the next ascent. But eventually, as time went on, the road got smoother, the bumps smaller, and going home with our baby girl in our arms became a reality, not just a possibility. We learned a new language in the NICU – medical jargon I never knew existed and would rather not know. But we also learned the language of love. This has been a rough journey for all of us, yet we have learned just how much we are loved and how many people we have behind us. From our family and friends, to the nurses, doctors, PAs, specialists, and The Tiny Miracles Foundation mentors who were there for our family day in and day out. Raising a child truly takes a village.  And we are so grateful for ours.

And Big Sister Laken? From the day she found out she would be a big sister, she has been exactly that. She’s as strong and resilient as ever. She was my ray of sunshine on cloudy days. As much as I tried to keep her from knowing when I had a rough day, the tears still flowed every now and then. And my sweet little girl dried those tears with her fingers and told me everything would be okay. And she was always right. I’m so proud to be her Mom.

So here we are… on our way home. With a long road behind us, and a long road before us. London is ready for whatever comes her way.