robert N. bowen iii - tre
Written by Tre's Mother: Robin
Our true blessing from the Lord!! His name is Robert N. Bowen III. We call him Tre'.
My husband and I were extremely happy about this pregnancy because of course we were hoping for a boy! We have two other children (girls) Aisha and Aubree. The pregnancy was going along just fine. I was working full-time and feeling pretty good most of the time. On an unusually quiet day at work I was sitting in my office and I noticed that I had fluid leaking as if my water had broke. Of course I was really afraid and thoughts ran through my mind that maybe my water had broke. As I drove myself to the Doctor I kept saying this doesn't happen in the 27th week of pregnancy. As I waited in the Doctors office for the Doctor to come into the room I was still afraid but since I was feeling fine and wasn't having any contractions I just knew that everything would be fine. Unfortunately I was wrong. When the Doctor checked me he informed me that my membranes had ruptured and I needed to be admitted to the hospital immediately. Upon my arrival at the hospital the Doctors informed me that they must try to stop the baby from being born but if delivered the baby needed to be in a hospital with an intensive care unit. They then rushed me by ambulance to a hospital about an hour away.
When I arrived at the second hospital they confirmed that my membranes had ruptured but the baby seemed to be doing fine. The plan was for me to remain in the hospital pretty much bedridden for as long as possible. The hope was for me to be there at least 6-8 weeks. During the hospital stay the Doctors checked me several times and that was when they told me that I was having a boy. I was so very excited and it was just a good day that day. Eight days had past and I was feeling pretty miserable but I was thinking I would do anything to fight for my little baby boys life. The baby just could not hold on any longer so he was born at 28 1/2 weeks. He weighed 3 lbs and he came out crying like a big boy!!! I was so excited but scared at the same time. They took him out of the room and I didn't see him again until that night.
As I arrived in the NICU that night the Doctors told me that he was really struggling and he only had a 50/50 chance of surviving. I began to pray and I asked the Lord to heal my baby so I could take him home just like I did my other 2 children. Days went by and he had good days and bad days. During his stay in the NICU he was treated for sepsis, respiratory distress, feeding intolerance and anemia. After about a month in the NICU he was really progressing well until one day I went in to see him and I noticed that his little right knee was swollen. After further testing it was determined that he had a septic right knee. He then had to have surgery/special treatment on that knee and the Doctor then informed me that he would need to be on antibiotics for 4 weeks. I was totally devastated because we then had to stay in the NICU for an additional 4 weeks to treat that septic knee. We spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years in the NICU.
After Tre' fought to survive he finally won the battle and the Lord blessed us to be able to take him home 2 months after he was born which was on January 31, 2003. During the day of his discharge we were not informed of any medical issues that we needed to be concerned about. They released us and we were told we did not have to return back to the hospital for any follow-ups other than his regular new born checkups with his local pediatrician.
A year or so had past and we noticed that Tre' was not meeting his developmental milestones. He was not crawling, sitting up, etc. We were concerned about his lower extremity tone and his overall development. After further testing and many, many Doctor appointments it was determined that he had cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia). This was pretty shocking news to us because we were told that there were no medical or developmental issues to be concerned about when he was discharged. He also was diagnosed with asthma, chronic lung disease and this has been very difficult to manage.
We have tried many different therapies to include traditional PT therapy to address his gross motor skills. He has been on oral medications to control his spasticity and had even at one time received botox injections. All of these things helped at one time but as time went on I was getting discouraged because he wasn't developing at a rate that was satisfactory to me. His Physical Therapist he was seeing and still sees is a GOD send and she is absolutely wonderful but things just were not happening fast enough for me. I prayed and prayed to God that I would find some sort of special treatment or therapy out there that would better assist Tre'. I was feeling like there was something out there that could help him function better. That is when we found The Pediatric Fitness Center in Keego Harbor, MI and they provided the intensive physical therapy along with SUIT therapy. Richard & Izabella Koscielny owns and are therapist at the center. This was not only therapy for Tre' but therapy for me and my husband. We have never been given as much information about my son and his needs in his lifetime than we did during our 3 week stay at that center in 01/06. They provided us with information about possible non invasive procedures that we have taken advantage. Because of the intensive physical therapy along with the SUIT therapy we noticed a dramatic improvement right away. Improvements that I know would have taken months to accomplish in traditional therapy. Tre' was definitely stronger and was doing things that he had not done before.
Insurance has denied the request to cover ongoing intensive therapy so financially it has been extremely difficult for us to come up with the dollars to provide this type of therapy for Tre'. We know this is what he needs to take him to the next level. We would like to try the HBOT as I have been reading about how it has been helpful to many children. The insurance company has denied coverage for that service too.
The older Tre' gets the more desire I see in him to want to do things like other children his age. He wants to walk, run and ride his bike like other children. I have faith in God and believe in my heart that with more intensive therapy and SUIT therapy he will accomplish this. We are going to do all that we can to provide the opportunity for Tre' to continue to receive this type of therapy. I pray that you find it in your heart to assist us with making Tre's dreams come true.
God Bless
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