On November 28th 2005, we were blessed with our precious little
boy, Samuel Dawson Bradley. God chose us to walk an
amazing journey that would increase our faith and make us stronger. When Dawson was born it was
determined that he had Trisomy 18. God let
us know through peace that He wanted us to help Dawson to have every chance at survival. We didn’t know that it would be such a fight
for our son’s life. We were told that Dawson’s diagnosis was not
compatible with life. He was born with 3
holes in his heart (ASD, VSD, and PDA), an inguinal hernia, and he was also in
severe respiratory distress. During the first few days of his life he was on an oxygen helmet and then was
placed on CPAP. We were so upset to see
our little boy breathing so hard but even then God was telling us that it
wasn’t his time to die. We were at his bedside
everyday and it was amazing to watch as he began to get better.
He came off of the CPAP after 7 days and was on oxygen for a couple more days after that. Dawson would not eat his bottle so he was fed
by NG tube. We learned how to place that tube and after 2 ½ weeks in the NICU we
took him home. We are very thankful for
some of the wonderful nurses that we had in the NICU that kept us encouraged.
When Dawson
was 1 month old he started having difficulty breathing. We took him to the
doctor and they determined that he was in Congestive heart failure. The good news was that one of the holes, the
PDA, had closed on its own. Through it
all God was showing us that he had a plan for Dawson's life and He gave us tremendous peace. It was an
amazing but scary day. The same doctor
that said we would never be able to find someone that would do surgery on “a
Trisomy 18 child” was now sending us to a surgeon. This surgery would save his
life. In that same day we went from the
doctor’s office, straight to have an x-ray, and then to the surgeon’s
office. This all took place in a matter
of 2 hours and we were scheduled for surgery.
God is so good!! Dawson had a band placed
around his pulmonary artery (PA Banding) to slow the flow down to his
lungs. This would stay in place until he
was big enough to have the surgery to close the 2 remaining holes. He had his first heart surgery in
December. He did great in surgery. He had a little difficulty coming off of the
ventilator, but after the third attempt to get him off of the ventilator he
started breathing well on his own. After
10 days in the hospital, we were headed home.
Dawson
has had numerous surgeries. He had a
G-Tube and Trach placed when he was 6 months old to help him gain weight and breathe
better. When he was 11 months old, he
had one of his hernias repaired. Then
when he was 1 ½ years old, he had gained enough weight where they felt he could
have his final heart repair to close the holes.
God was so amazing that we had the surgery on Friday and we were going
home on Monday. We were prepared to stay
for 2 weeks!!! He then had his other
hernia repaired and bladder reflux repaired when he was 2 years old. God really protected and helped him to do so
amazing during all of these surgeries. He has also had dis Trach removed and is breathing without obstruction of his airway.
Dawson
has many developmental delays but with a diagnosis of Trisomy 18 you tend to
look at even the small things as cause for celebration. He has learned to do things such as drinking
out of a sippie cup with a straw, plays with toys, and can even sit up for a
short time by his self. He loves music,
interacting with other people, lights, and watching Clifford. He smiles and laughs a lot. He is always really happy and only cries when
something is hurting. He says mama,
dada, and buba (brother). He also loves
to make all kinds of noise and he squeals when he is excited. He has been the happiest little boy all
through his entire life.
Our journey with Dawson
has been truly amazing. God has taught
us so much over the last 2 years. We
have had some hard times but God has proven faithful to take care of us. God has placed an amazing team of doctors,
nurses, and therapist to help us on this journey. We could never express our gratitude enough
for their willingness to come along side us to help Dawson in anyway possible. His life has already ministered to so
many people. This journey has taught us
to be grateful for even the small things, to treasure each minute, and to
totally trust God with everything. We
feel truly blessed to have Dawson
as our son; we are most definitely the proudest parents ever. We believe that God has a huge plan for Dawson’s life and we are
excited to see His plan unfold. We
praise God everyday for Dawson’s
life, our faith, hope, and His continued blessings on our family.
Josh & Renae Bradley
