Taydens Story
Told by Brittany Stockman (Tayden's Mom)
Told by Brittany Stockman (Tayden's Mom)
Our family is a unique family in a unique situation. Let me start off by introducing my family. My name is Brittany, I am a wife and a mommy who tries my best to keep our family together, happy and healthy. My husband Tony is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He is so kind, genuine and real. He is my best friend and I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is also a former Ohio State Buckeye, who now plays basketball professionally all over the world. We have 3 little boys: Tayden (6 years old), Braysen aka B-ray (3 years old), and Maddox (2 years old). We are currently in Assis, Brazil... this is our 2nd year in Brazil (we have also lived as family in Mexico, and France).
It is very important to my husband and I that our family stay together no matter what. With his profession no matter what kind of family you have it's so hard and stressful to keep up and stay together. The traveling, the visas, the passports, the plane rides, the bus trips... and then getting the kids in school, getting used to the culture, trying to the learn the language, adjust to the food. It's all very overwhelming, but definitely fun. But for our family, things are always a little bit more interesting... and here's why:
The reason it's a little bit harder for our family to stay together regardless of where we are in the world is our oldest son Tayden. Let me start from the beginning with this...
When my husband was playing for The Ohio State University we got pregnant with our first son. He was due around the end of the season and everything was going according to plan. I went in for my 37 week appointment just for my regular scheduled check up. I had lost 2lbs so the doctors scheduled an ultrasound to make sure that I wasn't leaking any amnionic fluid. Well my husband and I go to the ultrasound excited to see our baby one last time before the birth, but that excitement would soon change to a parents worst nightmare.
What they found on that ultrasound changed our lives from that moment on. The reason I had lost 2lbs was because our son had actually stopped growing... our son had something called hydrocephalus, which is a large cyst in his brain. This cyst had gotten so big that you couldn't even see the left side of his brain, it looked like it wasn't even there. I remember looking at the ultrasound and seeing black on one side of his brain and feeling like I was going to pass-out. Now this cyst a progressive cyst, it wont ever stop growing, and because of this they wanted to induce me immediately so that the cyst didn't grow anymore and cause even more damage. We were just so shocked... it was so hard to call all our family and let them know what was going on... it was so hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that our child was going to need lots of medical intervention once he was born and who knew how long after. It just felt like we couldn't breathe, we couldn't relax, everything was so up in the air, everything was just so unknown.
Don't get me wrong, we were so grateful that the doctors caught it in time, they could have decided to overlook the 2lbs lost and not done an ultrasound, and our child could have no even made it had we waited another week... But to this day I still can't find the words to describe what it felt like to think your baby is completely perfect and healthy the whole pregnancy to finding out that it wasn't that way at all.
I remember it was so hard my first night in the hospital after they had induced my labor... my husband had a game against Northwestern that night so he couldn't be with me... as I sit alone with just my thoughts, a bunch of monitors, all our family and friends had gone to rest... I cried. I was so scared, I didn't know what to think. Everyone didn't want to talk about it, it was like if we didn't speak about it it wasn't really happening. Luckily for me there wasn't much I had to go through alone... my husband had return from his trip, and after 36 hours of labor, his little stubborn butt wouldn't budge, so they delivered him via c-section and he was immediately whisked off to the NICU. Neither my husband or I really even had a chance to see him...
I remember feeling terrible for my husband he was going through all this all while he had classes to attend and practices to go to... during all of this he had of course missed a practice and it cost him his starting spot on the team. All of this that we were going through was just too much to handle, but for him, there was just so much more he had to deal with. Of course he doesn't regret it, or hate what happened... but it had to be hard for him at the time.
A few hours after he was born we were aloud to see him, they were getting ready to transfer him to Columbus Children Hospital that was all the way across the city... because they were going to have to place a shunt in his brain so it could continuously drain his cyst and the best neurosurgeon in Columbus was at Columbus Childrens. I remember this day so clearly... the doctors allowed me a pass for a few hours to go be with my son after he got out of surgery, I was so grateful for that. I remember our family, and even Tony's assistant coach, was there and how much that meant to us. I remember seeing my baby after his surgery so black and blue and bandages all over his head and stomach but thinking... wow, he is mine, he is here and he is perfect. I knew he was going to have a long road to recovery ahead of him, but after seeing him I was so ready to conquer this with him, I felt so strong!
He was in the NICU for almost 2 months, he finally started eating on his own so they released him. We still weren't sure how the hydrocephalus was going to affect him... only time would tell. But his brain had started to go back to where it needed to be and the cyst was slowly draining, but most importantly... HE WAS COMING HOME!!! :)
I remember how excited we were to have him home with us! Finally we got him to ourselves! But we started to notice that he was getting really scared every time a door would open, or even when we put dishes away, and then we started noticing that he would never look at us. That's when we found out that he had something called Septo-optic dysplasia, basically he doesn't have as many optic nerves as he should have, and because of this he is completely blind.
Now what's common with Septo-optic dysplasia is seizure disorders and something called panhypopituitiarism, which basically means his pituitary gland doesn't work at all, so we have to replace ALL those hormones with medications (Thyroid Medication, Growth Hormone, and DDVP for his central diabetes insipidus). So basically since he was 6 months old he has been taking numerous medications twice daily, and suffering from annoying seizures that we can't seem to stop, but no matter what this child has gone through in his 6 years of life, he ALWAYS has a smile on his face.
Now he might not run, walk, or even crawl... but he is just so full of life you can't help but be sucked in by his bright blue eyes and that stunning smile. We work with him every single day, therapy wise and just playing and having fun. He has changed our lives for the better, but always has made it more interesting to travel! With all the medications, and needles for his growth hormone and central adrenal insufficiency it's been interesting getting through airport security. We always have to make sure there is good endocrinologists and neurologists in whatever city we are going to, a hospital near by, and pharmacies that can take care of all his medication needs.
It 's interesting planning for trips with him, but he is actually the easiest out of all 3 of our sons to travel with. Haha he was so laid back, but our other two are all over the place.
Even though we haven’t seen any improvement in his vision, we have learned to accept the fact that Tayden is blind. And even though he just turned 6 in January, and still can't walk, talk, or even crawl, we see how happy he is, and understand that he can’t miss something he has never had. We now get to experience life in a whole new way because of him. He has taught us so much, and he will continue to teach us and show us so much more. He has been through so much, and has so much more to go through. He takes 5 different medicines every day to keep all his medical issues under control... he has to go through rough physical therapy 3 to 4 hours a day, but he does it with a smile. He is such a special little boy, with a smile that will just melt you heart. And now that he is a big brother, he has been even happier. And his little brothers just adore him, and who wouldn’t? He’s Tayden. He’s such a blessing.
And we thank God for trusting us with his greatest gift!
Heaven's Very Special Child
A meeting was held quite far from Earth!
It's time again for another birth.
Said the Angels to the LORD above,
This Special Child will need much love.
His progress may be very slow,
Accomplishments he may not show.
And he'll require extra care
From the folks he meets down there.
He may not run or laugh or play,
His thoughts may seem quite far away,
In many ways he won't adapt,
And he'll be known as handicapped.
So let's be careful where he's sent,
We want his life to be content.
Please LORD, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.
They will not realize right away
The leading role they're asked to play,
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.
And soon they'll know the privilege given
In caring for their gift from Heaven.
Their precious charge, so meek and mild,
Is HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD.
by Edna Massionilla
