Road Trip: The First Leg

Troy and I had been married for 13 years when we learned I was pregnant with Jaxson. Without a doubt it was a shock and surprise. We currently had 3 daughters; 17, 12, and 10. In our mind we were done having children, but nature decided otherwise. It was so weird. I worried about what people would think. Here I was, 37 and pregnant. (how's that for a show MTV?) When we broke the news to friends and family, they were surprised as well, but supportive. We soon found out that our baby would be a boy. After 3 daughters, that was a pleasant surprise and the girls were excited to have a sibling of the male persuasion.

It was a rough pregnancy. I can't even remember all the tests, but one of them showed that our boy was at a high risk for having downs syndrome. They wanted me to do an amniocentesis but I opted out. If he were going to be born with downs we'd deal with it when the time came. No sense in risking having no baby at all. I was also placed on bed rest in the last trimester because of blood pressure issues, and I was given a steroid injection on 2 separate occasions to ensure his lungs would be developed in case of preterm labor.

We all survived the pregnancy and on September 3, 2005 Jaxson arrived. From the moment I laid eyes on him he had my heart. He just wasn't meant to be and now I couldn't imagine life without him. There he was. My son. Perfect. Healthy.

In just a few years our lives would take a turn and be changed forever. Read D-Tour Ahead for Jaxson's diagnosis story.