About Me
Good Morning, Or is it?
Well, here I am again this morning, feeling like I lost my best friend again.
Why?
In August of 1976, I was blessed with a 3rd child, a son, born with a very
defective heart. He had to have surgery at 5 weeks and 2 days old in the
Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He survived it even though I had been told to
say: “Good-bye” to him before surgery.
We all flew home in 10 days and got along remarkably well for 6 great
years. By that I mean no pneumonia, diseases, or real bad colds, which
surprised all of his doctors. He was able to go to 2 years of pre-school,
kindergarten and 20 ½ days of first grade. He even celebrated his sixth
birthday.
You see, he died of complications following his open-heart surgery on
September 30th, 1982.
You talk about a drastic change in a person’s life. You have 2 other
children in school and you are home alone again and the pain that you
feel seems unbearable and at times it is. But life needs to go on and will,
I did what I needed to do the best I can remember it as I write this today.
Thoughts of health and health matters keep going through my head and in
my heart. Otherwise, he was an extremely handsome, small in stature,
young man. Just for an idea of how small, he started first grade in a 4 slim
Wrangler jean. Oh yes, he loved his Cowboy hat, jeans and boots.
Was the drink that I had on Saturday night on a night out on the town the
cause of his condition? I knew that we wanted another child. Did I eat
things that were not healthy; did I take a prescription drug that caused this
before he was conceived or was I exposed to a chemical that I ingested
into my body at that time.
Yes, I think that all of the above is possible. Everything that we eat, drink,
clean with, fertilize our house plants with – outside and inside - is possible.
I am sitting here thinking of all of this again as a friend just lost his second
child, this morning, to cancer. He lost both to different types. So, the
memories of losing a child are fresh on my mind again.
My mission now is to help people learn and hopefully not have to bear the
pains of my friend and of myself. Let’s support each other and learn more
about what to eat for our Health Matters.
Irene Kats
