Jenna is a spunky little three year-old who was born with a triple intestinal atresia, which, in plain English, means her small intestine wasn’t formed correctly and wasn’t fully connected. She had surgery when she was only two days old and ended up with only about half the normal length of small intestine. She spent three months in the NICU and developed chronic lung problems somewhere along the way. She has done phenomenally well and is a typically developing three-year-old in every area except for eating/weight gain and she’s more susceptible to serious respiratory problems. She has a g-tube that we feed her through, although she can eat by mouth if she’s in the mood or hungry enough. I’m writing this blog to connect with other stay-at-home moms and journal about my own experiences. For those of you visiting with special needs children of your own, I have a weekly post on Sunday (Special Needs Sunday) that addresses some of the issues we’ve gone through. Hopefully, the information and experiences I share will help to make someone else’s journey a little bit easier.
If you want to know more about Jenna’s start in the world, read here and here.
If you want to learn more about short bowel syndrome, read here and here.
6 comments
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July 24, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Deborah
Good afternoon!
Would you consider being interviewed and featured on one of my Sunday Bloggy interviews for the 5 Minutes For Special Needs site? I think you have a wealth of information to share and I know our readers would love getting to know you.
If you agree, I will send you some interview questions by email. You can just email them back to me when you have finished, and if you have a picture you would like to share, that would be great also.
Thanks for considering this!
Deborah
http://pipecleanerdreams.blogspot.com
http://www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com/
July 24, 2008 at 10:25 pm
psychmamma
Deborah –
Heck yeah! I’d consider it an honor. I love your site and am so glad that you’re filling a niche that was sadly in need of filling for far too long. I’m sending you an email response and look forward to hearing from you!
August 1, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Heather
Since I’m new here I just read this bit about Jenna’s condition. First, it puts a whole lot in perspective for me. My baby has had terrible digestive issues, but when tested (and tested and tested and tested) they could find no serious conditions like Jenna’s. It turns out he’s simply slow to mature, causing all sorts of digestive stuff. So I can only claim to understand on a very small scale what you have gone through. My boy screamed for six months straight and we spent much time trying to figure out his tummy. It’s so hard to be so helpless and to watch as your child suffers. You’re a very strong lady…
Thank you for sharing yourself in this way. I’m sure moms out there with similar issues are so glad you’ve extended this understanding hand and surplus of good information.
August 1, 2008 at 9:10 pm
psychmamma
Thanks Heather!
The sharing is not selfless though. I’ve gained so much through the other parents I’ve met – many who are loving kids with much more serious conditions than Jenna’s. The connections I’ve made are truly priceless, and they include both parents of “typically developing” kids and “special needs” kids. Plus, the sharing is cathartic.
January 10, 2009 at 4:22 am
Laura Bailey
Hi there!
You left a very nice message on my son’s website (guestbook) and I just wanted to thank you for checking out Tyler’s story and introducing yourself. I can tell that you are one cool mama from reading some of your journal entries and Jenna is so very-very cute! I loved her birthday pictures! Tyler just turned 4
Do you live in the Los Angeles area? We would love to meet you guys in person sometime for a playdate….
Hope to hear from you and so sorry it has taken me soooo long to write!
All the best,
Laura
February 4, 2009 at 1:33 am
Ciera Granger
I’m so impressed with your site. I don’t know anyone personally to ask questions about having a kid with special needs. I have a healthy 4 year old and a 2 year old who has been through a lot. We spent almost 6 months at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and give or take 10 surgeries from head to toe. She has not been diagnosed with any over-all issue or syndrome, yet. She is trying to catch up. Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m thrilled to have read your blog about the mini feeding pump. We need that now!