A Second High Point

Again, a Birth

In late 1980, when Matthew was about six months old, I was struck by abdominal pain while at my new job at Social Welfare, and the doctor shot me in to hospital.

 

When I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and radiotherapy was prescribed, the house surgeon suggested that if we wanted to have more children we had better get them on the way before the radiotherapy! In those days there was no way of ensuring that the sperm would not be damaged by the radiation.

Margaret had been feeling some unusual symptoms, and thought she knew the cause, but the doctor arranged a test and sure enough there was another baby on the way.

So in June of the next year we reported to the hospital. The procedure was similar to Matthew's birth, and again, a caesarean was called for after 24 hours of labour and considerable back-pain.

Again I was the first to hold the baby and to inspect her. This time my momentary reaction was: I don't want a baby like this! For Julia was born with cleft lip and palate, like her grandfather Noel and her second cousin Graeme Nickson.

I had memories of my grandmother, Julia, telling me how worried she had been at Noel's birth about what Fred's reaction would be when he came home from work to find such a baby had been born.

My feeling of rejection lasted a split second and then I was taken over by a surge of compassion: We must surround this little mite with all the love and care we can. She was not, in any case, too little a mite. She had a good-sized chest and could belt out a loud enough cry to wake us all if need be!

Julia and I danced around the room for several minutes while I wondered how to break the news to Margaret who was still coming around from the anaesthetic.

A couple of days later we saw the paediatrician, who outlined the procedure we would follow, and a few weeks afterwards we travelled to Middlemore for our first interview at the plastic surgery unit.

Meantime we learned to use a pigeon feeder.

 

(Note: The jersey in the top photo was spun and knitted by Margaret from wool shorn from a sheep raised on our property at Hurford Road. She made similar ones for each of the children and herself.)