Monday, October 6, 2008

31 for 21 (#6) Trees


Get It Down; 31 for 21
Trees are very emblematic in our family. We plant one each time we have a child.

Elliot’s sweet little tree was planted about two weeks prior to his arrival into this world. I was 30 weeks pregnant. It was (and still is) a lovely tree. I remember coming home from the hospital, still quite raw after receiving Elliot’s diagnosis of Down syndrome, and the tree looked horrid. Its big fat leaves were drooping and brown.

I thought that the tree was going to die – or perhaps a part of me had died inside and the tree, planted on Elliot’s behalf, was dying too.

A small part of me thought that Elliot was going to die as well. And, he nearly did…of cardiac arrest due to severe (and, at the time, undetected) thyroid problems.

We went through about a year of thyroid messes, oxygen issues, apnea, and many other things which lead me to believe that Wee E wasn’t going to make it. We then dealt with a scary brain MRI, more thyroid junk, a variant for yet another syndrome, and a tethered spinal cord.

The tree hung on.

Elliot hung on.

This year was a record setting one for the tree. It is finally growing, as is Elliot. We still have our fair share of medical issues, but we’ll make it through. The tree too has weathered a nasty spring and torrential winds. But, it still stands strong. At times, its leaves appear to droop a bit, but my husband assures me that is “typical.”

Interestingly enough, Nora’s tree, a Quaking Aspen, is massive and robust. Isaac’s tree is changing colors now and…so is Elliot’s.

4 comments:

James said...

Wow. Simply amazing post. Thank you for sharing.

Melissa @ Banana Migraine said...

Oh sweetie - that was the most beautiful post. I love picturing the trees - and love the Elliot's is thriving and beautiful. Just like he is.

Carey said...

I just love your 31's for 21. The tree idea, fabulous! Kind of funny, but we tried to plant an apple tree on Logan's 1st birthday (we had just bought our first house.) Well, within months that poor tree died. Oops! Kind of sad really. We later found out it was because of a poison in the soil due to nasty black walnut trees nearby. Ok, done rambling. Yours my friend, is a beautiful tree!

Chris said...

So beautiful. May your trees continue to grow. At times, some of their leaves may fall, but remember, as I know you, that new leaves spring forth from seemingly bare branches.