So I’m going to interrupt the telling of my sons story to share something that I have written for my son and everyone that worked with him in the NICU and out of the NICU over the past year.  It’s hard believe he is here and he has reached the age of 1 (8 1/2 months adjusted).  It’s a long poem but his story has not been short and every bit of it has gotten him here to this day.  Happy Birthday little man and thank you to everyone that has helped us get to this point!

Beckhams Birthday Speech:

I’m just a mother not big and not small, An ordinary mother and that is all
I have a child my sweet baby boy, Who has never been just an ordinary boy
He came to this world 1 pound and some ounces, His parents unsure if they could announce
His early arrival of 24 weeks, At 12 inches long we weren’t ready to meet
To the NICU is where we were quickly sent, Overwhelmed by this new place our time would be spent
You were covered in tubes and kept in a case, On Meds and support, What on earth was this place?
Noisy and dark we were filled with fear, All the while we could not hold you near
So Over come by percentages and numbers, Treatments, surgeries, survival rates stole our slumber
Through Incubators, warmers, lights and lines, One day we were told you would run out of time
We cried so hard and couldn’t stay strong, So you showed everyone that you could hold on
When one thing was fixed another would break, From your bowels to infection, lungs and your brain
Your heart and your liver what more could wrong, You never gave up you always stayed strong
You had countless transfusions, PICS and scans, The blood tests sometimes just got out of hand
The numbers we tracked and monitors watched, Was all forgotten once in my arms you were caught.
But there’s more to this boy than his numbers and stats, His procedures and therapies, appointments and chats
It’s not how he started that makes him so grand but what he accomplished and who held his hand.
It’s the doctors and nurses, therapists and techs, Who have given their all to save our sweet Becks
Who studied and fought, collaborated and lead, And stopped at nothing to get this boy fed
It’s not just our preemie who suffered and fought, But also his team who we care for allot
It’s more than the Meds and treatment plans given, It’s the comfort and guidance the things that were hidden
The things that you know others won’t see, Only the families you treat and have to let be
We come and we go and you send us away, You jokingly tell us to never come back your way
But we never forget the 185 days, Where we were all a family with this boy to raise
To help him to grow and fight and to live, So that he may go home and love we can give
We appreciate all you have sacrificed, And a quick goodbye just doesn’t suffice
You will always be family this we know, And I hope you continue to watch Beckham grow
It is because of you, that he is here, In our hearts, you, we hold so very dear
We love you so much and it was so hard to go, You have given our family this time to grow
Sure It’s been hard he has the scars to prove it, His machines and that G tube how we want to remove it!
He loves to set his alarms off every night, And yank on his tubes to give us a fright
Now he is one he smiles and he laughs, He grabs and he cries and he bites his giraffe
He sits and he stands and even rolls over, He screams and he bangs until mommy comes over
He may still have quite a long way to go, And the whole way we know we’ll be kept on our toes
He will never be ordinary this we all know, And before we all know it he’ll be on the go
I have no doubt he will continue to amaze, We will “ooo”  we will “ahhh” at all of his ways
As he shows us what it truly means to overcome, This life he fought for, he surely has won
So I say happy birthday to my un ordinary boy, Who has given us worry overcome by joy
What a miracle he is to be here in this world, He has made this “just mom” an un ordinary girl.

#TEAMBECKHAM