Happy Birthday, Son!!

Today is Single Son's birthday. He turned 28. Damn, where have the years gone? Seems like just yesterday he was born!

And in all honesty, this child of mine is my hero ...

My first born. I was only 19 when he was born. His birth wasn't easy. He was breech. The doctors decided they needed to do an emergency c-section to deliver him. They discovered the cord was wrapped around his neck. Had he been a normal delivery we'd have lost him in delivery.

His delivery was to become the first of many times that he'd pretty much cheat death.

Single Son was barely five weeks old when he started to projectile vomit. He barely weighed seven pounds, but could puke with such force as to hit a wall twelve feet away. Calling my doctor in a complete panic on the day before my 20th birthday, we took him in. He refered us to a pediatriac specialist. He'd lost a pound and a half during this time. Pre surgery weight was 5 1/2 pounds. Diagnosis: Pyloric Stenosis. Basically it's a closing of the pylorus, the muscle at the bottom of the stomach that regulates digestion. He couldn't digest his formula, so it would be vomited back up. Forcefully. Surgery would be needed to cut the pylorus in half to allow digestion. Surgery was scheduled for the day after my 20th birthday. It went well, although during surgery he "coded" on the doctors a few times. Then a few days after surgery he stopped breathing again, this time for eight to ten minutes. Twice at the age of six weeks he cheated death!!

Single Son was a dream child after that rocky start. He was always cheerful. He barely cried. He was always laughing, always curious. Stubborn and determined, but cheerful about it. LOL! Elementary school was trying for us. The school kept trying to tell me he had an attention deficit problem. I knew better. They wouldn't listen. The school file (that we have possession of now) is full of "mother is difficult to deal with. In denial there's problems with this child". Never once did they ever test his IQ. Had they, they'd have discovered what I knew all along. His IQ is extremely high. The boy acted out because he was BORED ... and why was he bored? He wasn't challenged at all. The day he graduated with honors from High School I so wanted to track down those people that swore he was ADD/ADHD ... shove that 4.0 GPA of his in their faces!!

He again cheated death at the age of 20 when he was in that car accident I've blogged about before. Even then, he didn't let the accident stop him. Within three months of the accident (with a broken pelvis and his ruptured spleen being removed) he was back to work as the head of security at the local mall. That boy ... I swear, nothing stops him.

He's had strange things happen to him all his life. Gee, I see a pattern here. Me, him ... our guardian angels are warped!! He's had many close encounters of the animal kind ... something we still tease him about. He's been attacked by a monkey at work (pharm. lab), been cornered by one very pissed off possum (work), encountered a lion wandering downtown (work), and while on foot patrol one evening a car hit a deer - sending the deer flying into him, breaking four of his ribs (son's ribs, not the deer). I could only laugh while sitting in the emergency room with him. Who but my son could get hit by a flying deer and live to talk about it?

From the time he was a little boy, Single Son wanted to be a cop. He's worked hard to get his college education so he can be one, and is still continuing his education in Law Enforcement to be the best cop he can be. He graduated the Police Academy 2nd in his class. He's worked long hard hours and has managed to become a Sargeant at the age of 27. He's well known and well loved within the community by citizens of all ages. He's one of a handful of "Youth Bureau" officers. His "kids" love him!

Besides being a full time cop and full time college student, he also works full time as head of security in one of the plants of the Big Three Auto makers.

He's moved back home to help me until I'm on my feet again. Sacrificing his independance to help dear ol' Mom here.

He's a tough kid ... kid nothing. He grew up to be a hell of a man. The pride I have for him brings tears to my eyes whenever I think of him ... of his first weeks of life. Of what he's had to overcome to reach adulthood.

And he blushes when I tell him I love him.

Happy Birthday, Son ... I love you ...