Life with Patrick

By Addie Duncan Davis

Living on the banks of the Withlacoochee River in Crackertown, Florida was a great place to live. I was either in the river or on the river as much as possible with my friends. That was our playground. I attended elementary school in Yankeetown. Then high school in Crystal River. Good old Crystal River high school. I will never forget you. After graduation I married my boyfriend and moved to Atlanta. He was a student at Georgia Tech.

We had 3 children and later divorced. My youngest child was Down Syndrome. He passed away this year after I wrote this book. It left a big hole in my heart. I wrote this little book so he would never be forgotten. Ive been single for 38 years. Ive been to busy to remarry. I went to Nursing School and did mostly hospice work.

People in the area know me as Little Bit. They dont know my first name. I think some of them do now.

I hope you enjoy reading about Patricks antics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468574180

Addie Duncan Davis

Living on the banks of the Withlacoochee River in Crackertown, Florida was a great place to live. I was either in the river or on the river as much as possible with my friends. That was our playground. I attended elementary school in Yankeetown. Then high school in Crystal River. Good old Crystal River high school. I will never forget you. After graduation I married my boyfriend and moved to Atlanta. He was a student at Georgia Tech. We had 3 children and later divorced. My youngest child was Down Syndrome. He passed away this year after I wrote this book. It left a big hole in my heart. I wrote this little book so he would never be forgotten. I’ve been single for 38 years. I’ve been to busy to remarry. I went to Nursing School and did mostly hospice work. People in the area know me as Little Bit. They don’t know my first name. I think some of them do now. I hope you enjoy reading about Patrick’s antics.

Book preview

LIFE WITH PATRICK

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Addie Duncan Davis

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 by Addie Duncan Davis. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/21/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7337-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7418-0 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012905613

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

CHAPTER 1

What a beginning!

CHAPTER 2

We Had a New Scout in Our Troop!

CHAPTER 3

A New Toy!

CHAPTER 4

Finally, an Answer!

CHAPTER 5

Planning Another New Beginning!

CHAPTER 6

Now the Teaching Begins!

CHAPTER 7

Gathering Facts to Teach my Children about Down’s

CHAPTER 8

Developing a Good Attitude!

CHAPTER 9

The Testing!

CHAPTER 10

Sister Theresa, a Great Teacher!

CHAPTER 11

Two Milestones Were Reached!

CHAPTER 12

A Climber!

CHAPTER 13

His Love for Clothes

CHAPTER 14

Life Was Getting Harder

CHAPTER 15

Painting the House!

CHAPTER 16

His Sense of Humor!

CHAPTER 17

Getting Settled in Macon!

CHAPTER 18

Learning New Things at Six

CHAPTER 19

Meeting Dusty Rhodes!

CHAPTER 20

His New Glasses!

CHAPTER 21

Jeez, Another One with a

Driver’s License!

CHAPTER 22

Fighting the School Board!

CHAPTER 23

Patrick and the Church!

CHAPTER 24

His First Special Olympics!

CHAPTER 25

His Favorite Aunt and Uncle!

CHAPTER 26

More of His Antics!

CHAPTER 27

Getting the News!

CHAPTER 28

The Beginning of

Thyroid Therapy!

CHAPTER 29

The Beginning of

His Terrible Twos!

CHAPTER 30

Bigger Clothes for Patrick

CHAPTER 31

New Teeth

CHAPTER 32

A Real Gardener!

CHAPTER 33

More Growth

CHAPTER 34

The Beginning of Seizures

CHAPTER 35

Another New Beginning for Patrick!

CHAPTER 36

His Exploring Treks!

CHAPTER 37

Another Change for Patrick!

CHAPTER 38

His Days as a Chef!

CHAPTER 39

His Repelling Experience!

CHAPTER 40

He Felt Like a Celebrity!

CHAPTER 41

Mastering the Walker!

CHAPTER 42

His Mentor!

CHAPTER 43

The Wedding!

CHAPTER 44

The Wanderlust Again!

CHAPTER 45

His Eighteenth Birthday!

CHAPTER 46

Getting Taller and

Getting a New Job!

CHAPTER 47

Halloween Party at Dupont!

CHAPTER 48

Another Milestone Reached!

CHAPTER 49

Accomplishing More!

CHAPTER 50

The Wanderlust Again!

CHAPTER 51

His Beer Experience!

CHAPTER 52

Graduating from High School!

CHAPTER 53

Another Milestone!

CHAPTER 54

More Medical Problems!

CHAPTER 55

His antics continues!

CHAPTER 56

Wanting to Join the Atlanta Braves!

CHAPTER 57

So Much for the Braves!

CHAPTER 58

Another Medical Problem!

CHAPTER 59

The Flu!

CHAPTER 60

Taking Charge!

CHAPTER 61

Another Medical Problem!

CHAPTER 62

Effects of Reglan

CHAPTER 63

Yet Another Medical Problem!

CHAPTER 64

One More Medical Problem!

CHAPTER 65

My Little Bitty Biker Buddy!

CHAPTER 66

Learning to Fish!

CHAPTER 67

Mood Swings!

CHAPTER 68

My Protector!

CHAPTER 69

Grocery Shopping!

CHAPTER 70

The Great Escape!

CHAPTER 71

Another Hospital Stay!

CHAPTER 72

Another Flare-up!

CHAPTER 73

Finally, a Stable Period!

CHAPTER 74

Short-lived Stable Period!

CHAPTER 75

My Social Butterfly!

CHAPTER 76

My Main Man!

CHAPTER 77

Living with a Handicapped Child

CHAPTER 78

More Kidney Problems!

CHAPTER 79

Wow! Another Diagnosis!

CHAPTER 80

Another celebration!

CHAPTER 81

Reflections!

This book is dedicated to the memory of my beloved special needs child. It was such an honor to have him. I feel blessed.

And a special thanks to the entire staff at Gwinnett Medical Center of Duluth for the many days and nights they have cared for him and to all the people at Hi Hope that helped make him happy.

I especially want to thank my son John for always being there and helping me. He didn’t have to be asked.

And an extra special thanks to Patrick’s favorite Uncle, Uncle Ronnie, for handling the service. It was only fitting that he be there and participate. I know Patrick was smiling down at you. And I thank you for your wonderful words.

CHAPTER 1

What a beginning!

Life with Patrick is a joy. He was born on April 29, 1969. It was a chilly spring morning in Decatur, Georgia. Our two children were getting ready for school when I felt a sharp pain and a trickle down my legs. I yelled to my husband, It’s time to go. We gave the children last-minute instructions; then we grabbed my bag that I had packed and were ready to rush out the door.

Our children were John, fourteen years old, and Kathy, a ten-year-old. My son made sure they got to school while their father and I headed to the hospital. I was glad the time had arrived so I could get this over and get back into a normal life. Little did I know. My children were anxious for a new brother or sister. I could just see how spoiled they would make this child.

Things didn’t go well at the hospital. It was a long labor period. The baby was turned over, and the doctor tried to turn it right, and it just wouldn’t cooperate. He started to be born turned over and in a face presentation and became stuck. The baby was breathing air outside my birth canal. An emergency C-section was performed to pull it back through the birth canal and the incision. The baby was placed in an incubator. A beautiful baby boy, all eight pounds, two ounces, and nineteen and a half inches long. We named him Patrick Duncan Davis.

Patrick had a rough start in life. They couldn’t bring him in to see me in my hospital room for twenty-four hours because he was in an incubator and under oxygen. So they rolled my bed down the hall and let me look into the nursery to see him. The first time I saw him in my room, I knew something was wrong. I didn’t know what, but something seemed strange. I checked him all over and didn’t see anything wrong. His face had a ring around it where he was hung up in the birth canal, and it was slightly swollen. He had all ten fingers and toes. But I knew something was different. My obstetrician never suspected any problems at all until my labor started. The swelling went down in his face, and the ring around his face left in a few days. He was just a cute little newborn. The difficulties being born had nothing to do with his later diagnosis.

CHAPTER 2

We Had a New Scout in Our Troop!

We went home from the hospital after a five-day stay. The other two children were all excited about having a baby in the house. It was certainly different to me, but I finally got used to it. Patrick loved to be snuggled, kissed, and hugged. He would make eye contact and smile when you talked to him. I could feel something was different about this child, but now I had to get things in order at home and get used to a new schedule. I knew that in time, we would find out what was wrong, if anything.

Bath time was always fun for him. He loved it, but as he got older, he hated it. And it never got any better.

I could sit for hours and hold him while rocking and just look into his face. I knew something was wrong. Something just kept nagging at me. He didn’t sit up. His muscles were just too flaccid. I would try to sit him up on the floor, and he would go forward and put his face between his legs on the floor. He was bent double. It seemed like his spine didn’t work. But we kept trying to teach him to sit up, in hopes of strengthening his muscles so he could hold himself more erect. Nothing we tried seemed to help.

I was a Girl Scout leader, so the scouts all knew we were expecting a baby. They were all excited when he was born. When he was six weeks old, I would put him in his little punkin seat and would take him to the meetings. I would place him in the middle of the big table, and all the girls would play with him. They would fuss over whose turn it was to take care of him. It was a great learning experience for the girls. I talked to them very openly about the baby. I think it taught the girls to be more tolerant of each other. On the next camping trip, the scouts wanted to know if I was taking him. They begged me to please take him. I said, Twenty little girls are enough. We don’t need a baby along.

For the next several years, we called him a Girl Scout. My husband and son would keep Patrick when I needed to go somewhere with the girls. My husband was an assistant Boy Scout leader, so when they went on a trip, my daughter and I would have Patrick.

CHAPTER 3

A New Toy!

I explained to the doctor about exercising him, and he said that was the right thing to do. He said to let him spin. I looked puzzled; I didn’t know what that meant. He said to let him get hungry and turn him on his tummy in his crib and let him cry for