I’m Thankful For You: My Aunt Glenda

(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Brandy Bennett and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.)

This November I would like to honor my Aunt Glenda, my son’s Mimi.

She truly is a blessing to me and Trevor and I can’t thank her enough for all she has done and all she continues to do.

At 26 weeks pregnant, I was admitted in the hospital for pre-term labor. I was dilated 2cm, had a bulging bag and was 100% effaced. As soon as my family heard I was in the hospital practically everyone arrived to make sure I was as good as can be expected considering the circumstances. After getting settled in, everyone left to go home – everyone except my Aunt Glenda. She stayed with me. I was in the hospital for seven days when my water broke.

I was 27 weeks pregnant when I had my son. He weighed 1 lb 15 oz. The hospital’s NICU was prepared and on alert for a possible early birth, so as soon as I had him they whisked him away. It was the scariest time of my life. Thankfully my aunt was still there. After I was released from the hospital, she came to stay at my house. She went with me to the hospital every morning at 7 am and stayed with me until we left, which was usually after 8 or 9 pm. Every day! My son was at his birth hospital for about 4 weeks when the decision was made to transfer him to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. He was still intubated. He had coded several times. He was critical.

 While at Egleston, we were lucky enough to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House so we could be close to the hospital. My Aunt stayed with me every single day! After 13 weeks when my maternity leave was up I had to go back to work. While I was at work, my aunt was at the hospital – all day! She knew I didn’t want to leave my son alone. And by that time, she loved him just as much as I did and didn’t want to leave him with no one there. She was there to celebrate the good times and she was there to help me through the bad times.

At one point, she started having severe pain in her side – it was appendicitis and she had to have surgery. She had surgery and was back at the hospital within two days of her surgery. My son, Trevor, was in the NICU for almost six months. She was there from day one until he was discharged to go home. When he was discharged, he came home on oxygen, had a GJ-Tube and was hooked up to a feeding pump 24/7.

Trevor will be four years old in February. She takes him to preschool in the mornings, to OT, PT, Speech Therapy and Feeding Therapy. She has been to every doctor’s appointment he has ever had….and he’s had hundreds between GI, Pulmonary, ENT, Cardiac, Pediatrician, Urology, Neurology, Ophthalmology. She was there for every surgery and every outpatient procedure. He had a couple of hospital admissions and she was right there by my side. As with many preemies, it has been a challenge.

He has Sensory Processing Disorder and has been referred to be tested for Autism. He still has a feeding tube, but can now eat puree foods by mouth. I still have the “mother’s guilt” for not being able to carry him to term. She knows that I silently blame myself for Trevor’s health issues and for the simplest things being so hard for him. She encourages me and she picks me up when I don’t have the strength to continue. I do not know what I or my son would do without her. She truly is a blessing to me and Trevor and I can’t thank her enough for all she has done and all she continues to do.

You can still nominate the doctors, therapists, teachers, friends and family that make a difference in your special needs world. Click HERE to learn how!