Staying positive when facing the unexpected by Sophia Scott

One of the greatest joys in life is when a woman finds out she is expecting a child. You envision future events such as your child's first words, first step, first day of school, prom, graduation, and so on. However, one thing you never consider is your child having some sort of complication entering the world. This is exactly what my husband and I experienced.When my water began to leak at 30 weeks pregnant, we had to come to terms with a reality that no parent wants to face: our son would likely be born premature. I was in the hospital a total of ten days before actually giving birth. Four days after entering the world, our son Justus began to have complications with digesting and was transferred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. In total, our son had two surgeries for a diagnosis of Necrotizing Entercolitis (also known as NEC, a gastrointestinal disease), a countless number of blood transfusions, was intubated, had collapsed lungs, intravenous feedings and several other procedures.As a parent it was the hardest thing to watch my son suffer and not be able to do much to help him. What I was able to do turned out to be the best gift I could give him: prayer and keeping a positive attitude. These helped my husband and I get through the tough times when we wanted to give up or when we started to feel sad. We always believed and hoped for a positive outcome despite reports that weren't always optimistic. Today Justus is four, healthy, and rambunctious. As parents, we continue to pray and keep a positive attitude and are hopeful and excited about his bright, predestined future!Sophia Scott is a 33-year old wife and mother of three children. She resides in Covington, Kentucky, works at Aveda retail and is in the beauty industry.