Tuesday, October 18, 2005

It was a dark and stormy night......

Well, it wasn't dark or stormy.....but the afternoon my bitty-baby was born was warm and sunny and very much looked-forward-to by me. Her due date was Nov. 1st, but she decided to make an appearance on Oct. 18th. We named her after the wife of a pathologist with whom I had worked in Norfolk, and we didn't find out until several years later that her name means "joy". Someone from above must have guided me to name her that as she has seldom been anything but a joy to us from the minute she was born.

She forbids me to write about her here, but I will say that we almost lost her when she was 2; a crippling Asian flu which evolved into a mis-diagnosed ear infection, which turned into pneumonia and empyema. She was in the hospital for 28 days and suffered a collapsed lung in the process, and other indignities, such as when the intern cut her arm while trying to remove a bandage. Through it all, she was a ray of sunshine.


Today (as everyday) I thank God for saving her, for letting us have her in our lives, to enrich all of us with her presence. Happy 34th birthday, Baby, we love you beyond measure.

17 comments:

OldHorsetailSnake said...

"Mom! You are ESPECIALLY forbidden to tell Google that I am 34! Sheesh! Some people...."

Happy birthday, "Joy."

brendalove@gmail.com said...

A very sweet tribute to your daughter!

poopie said...

Oh my..happy birthday to your Joy!

Erin said...

Happy Birthday to your daughter. And a Happy Day-You-Gave-Birth to you!

utenzi said...

That's a lot for one little 2-year old to endure, Judy. It's amazing that Joie was able to manage it with smiles.

Thanks for the castor oil suggestion, Judy. I'll probably buy some in a few days in case this happens again--as well as the gel form DMSO that Magz suggests. I just didn't feel like limping through a store with my ankle the way it is.

phoenix said...

Happy Birthday "Joy" and many more of them! Thanks for stopping by Kenju!

Anonymous said...

Yes, a beautiful tribute and I am sure your daughter is smiling and knows how much you love her.

I hope she realizes how young 34 years really is.

srp said...

Happy Birthday to your "Joy".
And yes 34 looks younger every day.

Peter said...

The one thing that is hard to forgive our kids for is growing up.
Happy day.

Jamie Dawn said...

Happy 34th to your ray of sunshine!!!

Raehan said...

Happy Birthday to your daughter!! She sounds wonderful, and I'm so glad she made it through.

Heather said...

What a nice post honoring your daughter! I am teary-eyed!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to your daughter. Congratulations to you on a job well done! :-)

Daisy said...

What a lovely tribute to your "Joy". Happy birthday to you and her! :-)

Anonymous said...

A wonderful and sweet post.

Weary Hag said...

Yes... congrats to YOU mom, for being there every step of the way for your little one. And a most happy (though belated) birthday to your "Joy."

Anonymous said...

That must have been awful, watching her in the hospital... there is nothing harder on a mom then not to be able to help them when they're sick!
Happy Very Belated Birthday to "Joy", and here's to many, many more!