Meet Sebastian – Perinatal Stroke
I remember that within the first 5 hours of Sebastian being born, I kept wondering, why wouldn’t he stop crying. He seemed to be crying nonstop, but the nurse told me, “He’s fine, this is what kids do. Welcome to being a mother”. The sound of him crying and screaming is a sound I will never forget. I remember looking at my fiancé and saying I know something’s wrong.
Someone from the NICU came down and told me they were going to give him an ultrasound and an MRI. I was told they found a bright spot on his brain and goosebumps ran down my whole body. My father had had a stroke, so I knew what “bright spot” meant. You could hear a pin drop while the doctor was telling me this, but I heard nothing that was being said.
They flew him to a larger hospital and that’s when I found out he was having 5-minute seizures every 10 minutes. I promised Sebastian I would never ever leave his side and I didn’t. I was told how much therapy he would need and was also told he would never walk and never use his right arm. I was determined to prove them wrong. I became a stay-at-home mom, and I took him everywhere he needed to go! We paid out of pocket for his therapy. But Early Intervention services through the state were a lifesaver. The PT, OT, and the speech therapist that worked with Sebastian were incredible.
Sebastian has proved the doctors and me wrong every day! He has never stopped thriving even when things were hard. He did everything with a smile on his face, and he has the biggest smile ever. He also has the best personality. I wouldn’t change his life or what happened to him at all because it made him who he is today. Sebastian’s right hand is not fully functional, but he loves it when he is able use it. When Sebastian was 2, he became a big brother to his sister Skylar. Sebastian’s start in life was not what I had planned, but it was life-changing in a good way. Sebastian’s story is motivating, inspirational, and he is so courageous. He is my hero!
Written by Jessica, Sebastian’s mom
