Dreamers do interviews

And I have to tell you, I have mixed feelings about it.

In the end, there is one reason and only one reason that I am doing them.  Ready?

Hope.

When I was still pregnant for Kenna and stuck on bed rest, I would lay there all day and research.  For me, knowledge is power and hope.  I needed to see that there was someone who had gone through what I had and in the end was able to share a story of hope.

There aren't a lot of happy endings for parents of 24 week preemies.  And our story is far from over.  Kenna is still in the hospital.  At the same time, she has come a long way, and defied so many odds that she already brings hope to expectant mothers.

That's my reason.

Other women, other families need to know that with some really great medical care, a lot of effort, and an incredibly optimistic attitude, it is possible to have a teeny tiny baby survive.  Doctors remind us that we still don't know what kind of quality of life Kenna will have.  Of course, I'm thinking that a baby that should still be in utero, but is instead coordinated enough to remove her gavage tube is going to turn out just fine.  We'll see.

Either way, we are as prepared for that as we are for years of therapists in the house helping Kenna catch up.  We are as prepared for that as we were for the early birth, the bad pregnancy, and the inevitability that this was going to be life or death for both of us.

I don't want this kind of fame.  I had really thought it would be for my writing.  And I didn't want to raise some medical miracle.  We just wanted Kenna to live so badly.  All I want is for her story to give hope to others.

I know that Kenna is the exception and not the rule.  I know the numbers have never been in her favor...the interuterine growth retardation, the lack of amniotic fluid for weeks in addition to the early delivery were not ideal.  All I know is that she's tough.  She's feisty.  And there are some numbers she has always had in her favor...the number of people thinking about her, praying for her, wishing her well.  Those numbers are staggering.  And good will always outweigh the bad.