Twelve Years ago.....

(This was a photo I took last week from our front yard. I love rainbows in the sky! They are a constant reminder of God's promises!"


This is a photo of Dane with his cake. The girld put the candles in for us so if you wonder why they are scattered and crooked...that is why!

NOTE: I wrote this yesterday with intent to post it last night. I just didn't get it done. We love Dane!

Twelve years ago today I stood in front of my closet, feeling really huge! I was six weeks shy of my due date to give birth to a boy that we had yet to decide what his name would be! We narrowed it down to either William Dane (we would call him Will) or Dane Robert (we would call him Dane). I had TJ (4 at the time) and Tyler (age 3) sleeping in their rooms. It was Sunday. Tom had already left for church so I was getting myself ready for church before I got the boys out of bed. As I’m looking in my closet trying to decide on Fat Suit A or Fat Dress B, I had a strange sensation that maybe my water broke. I was on restrictions at the time because I was found to have placenta previa. Well, it wasn’t my water. It was an overwhelming moment as I then had two children running around while I was trying to determine what to do. My first thought was to call my mother. I called a neighbor instead. My next thought was, “Call my mommy.” I called 911 instead. I then hung up from the 911 operator and called another friend to go get Tom. I then called my mom! The 911 operator called me back and said to me, “Ma’am, please don’t hang up. We want you to stay on the line until help arrives.” It wasn’t long at the ambulance was at the door. In walks three men and a woman. I know two came out of the ambulance and the other two just showed up as if they just go out of bed when they heard their scanner go off. There was a part of me that thinks they wanted me to deliver right then and there on my living room floor in the presence of my toddlers! I kept saying, “Just get me to the hospital. I have placenta previa and I think it ruptured. Just get me to the hospital!” Well, they had their procedures so I chilled out while they continued to hook me up and wheel me out.

I arrived in style at Munster Memorial Hospital in Muster, Indiana…..sirens and speed! One of my girlfriends (Jane Hoyle) met me at the emergency entrance. I’m so glad Jane lived close to the hospital. Tom was at church. Jane’s husband Randy went high speed to the church/school. We didn’t have cell phones back then….only pagers. Randy interrupted Tom at the 9:00 a.m. start of the first service and said, “It is time.” Tom thought Randy was telling him to get church started! Tom and Randy took off to meet me at the hospital. The baby was doing okay, but I was at some risk. Tom got to the hospital just before I was going into the operating room! Poor guy. The last thing I said to him was, “If something happens to me, just be sure not to marry blankitty blank.” No…I will never disclose the name I put in there! Yes, those were my parting words to my husband as I went into the operating room. By the start of the second service that morning (10:30 a.m.) the church was able to announce that the Alexander’s gave birth to a six pound, 13 ounce baby. He was big for being six weeks early! They put him in neonatal intensive care immediately. They wheeled by barely awake, drug induced body into neonatal to have a look at our new son. He had red hair! We named him William Dane Alexander! I was not allow out of bed for more than 24 hours so the nursing staff brought me periodic Polaroid shots of Will. Wait, that’s not we call him! After a day or two we decided he didn’t look like a “Will,” but it was too late to change the birth certificate information so from that day forward we called him “Dane.” I had a rough recovery due to the circumstances of the birth. After about 24 hours, the nurse rolled me down to NICU! I couldn’t hold him yet, but it was so good to see him! The next day they told me if I wanted to see him, I had to push the wheel chair down to the NICU! I said, “Are you kidding me? There is no way I can walk all the way down there feeling the way I do!” Well, it is amazing what you would do to see your newly born son! I pushed and I walked. It was a slow walk, but I made it!

I went home after three nights, but Dane got an extended stay…he stayed for an additional ten days. Poor guy started out with an IV in his head and being fed down tubes in his nose. We needed to get him to a point where he could eat on his own. He had some minor lung issues, but nothing of great concern.

Anyway, that’s the story of “Twelve Years Ago Today.” Happy Birthday, William Dane Alexander!