Ariez

About a week ago, 17 years ago, I got a phone call very late in the night (possibly early morning). Anitra was telling me that she was in the hospital (Good Sam in Kearney) and that her water broke. I thought she was messing me with. She wasn't due until AFTER I was due in November. It was August. I was pregnant and tired. She insisted that she was telling me the truth and that I needed to get to the hospital. 

So I went...and so her water really HAD broken and she really was trying to have this baby boy WAY too early. They wanted to heliport her to Omaha where they were more equipped to deal with this incredibly early labor but the weather was not cooperating. They gave her meds to stop her labor and put her on the ambulance. Terrified. We were all terrified. I called an OB nurse friend and she said "prepare for the worst. Babies born this early (24 weeks) don't make it." 

We prepared for the worst and prayed for the best. The doctors put her on bedrest and they tried as hard as possible to stall delivery as long as possible. 

On August 8th, at 25 weeks gestation, Ariez Dupree Huddleston came into the world. He weighed 1 lb., 13 oz. He was 13 inches long. 

Tomorrow, he turns 17 years old. It hasn't always been an easy journey. There were days it appeared that he wasn't going to make it. He didn't come home until November. He still had to fight. He didn't want to eat (he still doesn't really love to eat), so he fought some more. 

Ares is the god of war. He could not have been given a more perfect name. He has shown amazing strength and resilence in his life. He has won the war for life and if there was a battle for our hearts, he would have won it has well. 

Ariez, we loved you before you were born and will love you until we die. You are force to be reckoned with and we are incredibly proud of the man you are becoming. We celebrate you, not only on August 8th, but everyday because we love you and are blessed to be your parents. I can't wait to see how you win the next 17 years.