Kaidhyn’s journey began on March 10, 2005, after 23 hours of waiting to come into this world.  He was sent to the NICU to drain fluid off his lungs, receive oxygen, and treat fever, infection, and tachycardia.  Four days later, we left the hospital to go home, first stopping at the pediatrician’s office to clip Kaidhyn’s tongue because he was tongue-tied and wasn’t able to nurse or suck from a bottle.  After a quick procedure, we finally made it home and couldn’t wait to begin our life as a family, now of four.   
            It wasn’t long before we realized how different babies could be and how spoiled we had been with our daughter.  Kaidhyn struggled eating even after the tongue clipping procedure was done and began having stomach and bowel problems.  He never slept and cried all the time.  We actually thought maybe he had colic, but after a trip to the pediatrician’s office we were told that he had GERD and had to take Prilosec in his milk to control it.  It was long after that Kaidhyn, started having breathing problems and again we were at the pediatrician’s office, but this time ended up in the hospital with Pertussis, or whooping cough.  Kaidhyn was 2 months old.  After a week stint we went home with a breathing machine and steroids to help him with breathing and not a week later were back but this time with Brochiolitis.  Again we stayed for about 9 days and were finally sent home. 
            When Kaidhyn was 4 months, we went in for his well visit, and he got a clean bill a health and everything was great even though he wasn’t meeting some of the milestones, but two weeks later he was back.  My husband had taken him to the doctor because he hadn’t been using his right arm.  He would reach across midline, lean to the right, and wouldn’t hold his own bottle and other things that just didn’t seem right.  The doctor told us that he didn’t think it was anything severe but he did have some weakness and wanted to get him into therapy and set up some tests to rule out other possible diagnoses out.  So we started physical therapy and waited for our neurological appointment to get here.  After 2 months of waiting we finally got in to see the neurologists and he set up an MRI to look at Kaidhyn’s brain.
            After getting the MRI, we went to a neurosurgeon that we had been referred to by a family member for the results, because the other doctor was not nice about the whole situation.  The neurosurgeon took one look at the MRI and said you need to see a pediatric neurologist immediately.  Our fears were then set into motion.  We were in the pediatric neurologist’s office 5 days later, and heard the news that we are today continually finding out more about.  
            Kaidhyn had a middle cerebral artery infarct which caused cystic encephalomalacia.  His stroke was massive in that all parts of the brain on the left side were affected in some way.  He has had two sets of tubes put in from chronic ear infections, he has the compound heterozygote state of the MTHFR mutation, which means he received a mutation gene from me and one from his father (there is less known about the repercussions of this particular genetic mutation), middle ear damage in his right ear, oral-motor-sensory issues, lactose intolerant, and iron deficiency.  Kaidhyn gets physical, occupational, speech and developmental therapy 1 time a week.  He is getting ready to have a sleep study done to attempt to find out why he doesn’t sleep.   
             We still to this day have no idea when Kaidhyn had his stroke, what the cause was, or even if he will have another one.  He is at a high risk for seizures, which he already has on occasion, and when he gets a virus he usually has to relearn how to do everything physically.  He has been through constraint therapy twice, had botox injections in his right arm and hand and right calf and foot.  These are things that He will continue to do as long as it seems to help his affected side.  Kaidhyn is a wonderful kid who doesn’t have a care in the world, unless his sister has something that he wants!  He may have a lot of problems or maybe he won’t….it all depends on him!  He is my baby and will do whatever he wants in life.  No one will hold him back!  He is a survivor!!!