He Won His Voice

He was so young,
as was I.
I his mother,
and he - my guy.

He fought for his life
as I held him tight,
And he won his voice,
his breath, his right.

It was 11 years ago that my son, Ethan, fought for his life and won. Born with a condition called Subglottic Stenosis, his windpipe at its narrowest was only the diameter of a tip of a pen. After an emergency tracheotomy, Ethan was in and out of the hospital for the first year of his life and monitored by machines as he slept and sustained by equipment while I wept. After going to war with insurance companies and fighting a long fight for a surgery that would sustain his ability to breathe on his own, the war was won. I give thanks for my son and his will to thrive, to his father, Chad, who was strong and his brother, Espen, who believed. To our families and friends who supported us all, I say 'thank you'.

To Dr. Lauren D Holinger and the Chicago Children's Memorial Hospital, I owe a debt of gratitude to giving my son his voice. Without your generous time and incredible talent, he might not be the thriving (and talkative) child he is today. Thank you.

While Chad and I chose different paths and different partners in life, dear friends we remain. A special and sincere thanks to Ethan's step-mom, Michelle, and to his step-dad, Peter. Both Ethan and Espen have four parents who love them dearly.