I Have A Say Thanks to My Mom and Dad!!!

Being the oldest of 11, I am so thankful, especially now, for my Mom and Dad saying "yes" to life! Growing up, we never had a ton of money. My Dad was a high school chemistry teacher and my parents decided from the beginning that they wanted to have one of them home with us. My mom gave up her teaching career, and raised me, followed by 10 others! My Mom also taught all 11 of us at home for part of our childhood before we would head off to Nativity Catholic Grade School. My Dad worked long hours, eventually earning other degrees so that he could first become dean, then principal, and finally, when I was a sophomore, he was named Roncalli High School's first president. My Dad and Mom both sacrificed SO MUCH for us.

I remember, even as a young person, getting stared at by people, and I remember the comments they would make. I can still hear a dental receptionist asking my Mom "Are these all yours? You know how children are made right?" followed by a real insidious but ditzy chuckle, followed by a secretarial gum crackle. My Mom and Dad were always tight budget wise, and I'm sure at times ached with a desire to not have to take bags of clothes from other families so that we could have clothes. I'm sure my Mom and Dad had desires to simply go to Nordstrom and buy us and give us all our own new clothes and Gameboys and Reebok Pumps etc. I'm sure they at times really wished they could just get a new car and not have to drive a fifteen passenger van around. I'm sure at times they wanted really badly to just go to a restaurant and sit back and enjoy a big expensive meal instead of having to cut coupons and craft together economic meals on the stove.

But they chose life for us, and they chose sacrifice for themselves.

I often think about that ditzy secretary now when our family gets together almost every weekend for dinner to laugh and hang out. Some of the siblings might be out of town or busy with other obligations, but inevitably, all weekend long, every weekend, our family gets together. Sometimes, when we're out at a restaraunt, I see the couples who are alone with each other. They hardly talk to each other and the loneliness is palpable. A part of me feels bad that we're having so much fun with our 8 tables shoved together, telling stories, laughing good hearty and healthy laughs. Sometimes I wonder if one of the couples sitting in the restaurant quietly and solemnly is that dental secretary - who now has piles of money and can eat wherever she wants, but doesn't have hardly anyone to share it with. My heart breaks for the people who are alone, especially the ones who are alone because, when they could have been having children, they instead bought into the contraception lie and lived for themselves only.

I have a say today, and so do my ten younger brothers and sisters, because my parents chose life. Mom and Dad - thanks a million!!!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Julie Brase Pregnant and on Methotrexate Has a Say!

Although I am not Catholic, I have a say. In 1995 I was 27 and had a stroke. I was diagnosed with a rare auto immune disease call Takayasu Arteritis three days after my stroke. My left carotid and subclavian arteries were 100% occluded and remain in that state to this day.

Two years later my right carotid, subclavian and vertebral arteries were closing (80-90%) so I had a stint placed in each artery (total of three). My doctor decided to put me on methotrexate. Anyone who has ever been on this medication or in the medical field knows that you DO NOT get pregnant on methotrexate. It causes spina bifida and miscarriage (and is actually used to cause an abortion).

Yet here I found myself pregnant. Two of my doctors told me to abort my baby. The first reason was the methotrexate, the second was my disease and the fact I had a previous stroke (I have fully recovered). I immediately refused, my husband agreed. One of my doctors said that no one can tell a woman to end the life of their child and that he would be here if I needed him (this was my neurologist). My OB told me after it was over that he never wanted me as an OB patient again as he worried so much during my pregnancy. He was half joking but I wouldn't want me as a patient either with the same circumstances.

It was a scary time for my whole family. I already had two children, I didn't want to leave them motherless or my husband a widow. Yet I had an instant calm the day I found out I was pregnant, I somehow knew it would be ok. I had to give myself heparin (blood thinner) shots in my stomach twice a day, got gestational diabetes from the prednisone and couldn't have a c-section because of the danger of blood clots. I cried many nights worrying about my baby but never did I fear for my own life. I knew God had His hand in this and it was His plan.

I went into labor three weeks early. One of the many miracles in my life was that my anesthesiologist wrote a paper on my specific disease and anesthesia. My disease is very rare, there are only about 300 people world wide who have it. I couldn't push when it came time to push because doctors feared the pressure caused on my already weak arteries. So I couldn't push and I couldn't have a c-section, yet the birth went like clockwork. I won't go into the details on how they did it but out she came screaming 5 minutes before Super Bowl kickoff .

She was born perfectly healthy, all 10 fingers and toes. Today she is an absolutely beautiful 13 year old who is brilliant, artistic and loves to ride horses. She was destined to live and she has a purpose. There is a reason each and everyone of us were created...God doesn't make mistakes.

Here is a picture of my lovely daughter

I state again that I'm not Catholic but in this fight, we are all Catholics now!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)