Unexpected Bumps, and a Community to Get Them Through
Patricia McMorrow | 09.22.15
Earlier, we met the Bushaws: Expecting parents who had their expectations turned on their heads when they discovered they were awaiting mono/mono twins: a high-risk, highly rare case of identical little boys.
At Natalie’s twenty-eighth week, she was admitted to the hospital for monitoring and spent seven weeks there before the birth took place. During those long weeks in the hospital, Natalie relied on CaringBridge to be her lifeline to the outside world.
A Beautiful Birth
One of the earliest posts Natalie wrote on her CaringBridge website: “After months of anticipation, prayers and miracles, our twins have arrived! Owen Paul (tummy baby) and Logan Thomas (heart baby) made their world debuts on June 23, 2003 at 10:08 and 10:09 am. Owen arrived at 4 lbs. 8 oz., 17 in. and Logan at 4 lbs. 5 oz., 17 ½ in.”
Beautiful stats, and the boys did better than expected at birth.
But that didn’t mean there weren’t hurdles.
The boys faced heart and intestinal surgeries at just months old. There were “unexpected bumps” all along the way, Natalie remembers.
Recalling the early years, Natalie says, “There never was a stretch of time until they were closer to 7 years old where it was calm. We constantly updated our friends and families—they’d had 30 surgeries and procedures between the two of them at that point.”
And it was the community that kept them going through staph and bacterial infections, procedures and more surprises.
“During the worst of days, knowing that our community was with us – going through what we went through. That got us through those days,” Natalie says.
Room to Grow
And now the twins verge on teendom. Life still isn’t simple: Logan will require a heart transplant, for one. But the boys have goals and life dreams that shift as regularly as any other boys their age: Owen, the boy with a hypoplastic right thumb, wants to be a basketball player. Logan is a performer and wants to be a ventriloquist and create a series of YouTube videos.
Natalie shrugs, as she knows that 12-year-old boys’ dreams shift and grow as they do.
“If Ben and I can raise good boys who are good to the world and give back, we’ve done our jobs.”
Twelve years later, CaringBridge is still integral to their communication process.
“CaringBridge has been this huge core thing in our lives for 12 years and it’ll always be a part of our lives. The emotional connection that happens on CaringBridge doesn’t happen anywhere else.”
Because of You
CaringBridge supporters ensure that families like the Bushaws can continue to share their story and get strength and encouragement from their loved ones. Thank you.
Natalie, what a beautiful family and precious sons you have. I lifted Logan and Owen in my prayers today asking God to wrap them in His loving arms and be with them through ALL that is ahead. Caring Bridge helped all our family and friends keep updated on my son’s rare Mucinous cancer surgery almost 9 weeks ago. It is great to hear how my donation is helping other families in their journeys stay connected and be lifted in prayer.
Thank you for the kind words. Over the last several years I have followed many different families on Caringbridge. Some of these families I didn’t know personally and some like Whitney who I know quite well. It is such a wonderful way of communication between the patient and his or her support system. I hope to donate again. I hope that everything goes well when it is time for your son’s transplant. I would like to follow your son’s journey if I could. Thank you for sharing your story.
Caring Bridge is a nice way to help people. The problem I have with it is I thought my gift was going to my granddaughter who was just diagnosed with Leukemia! Apparently my donation did not make to whom I wished! Interesting!?
Thank you for sharing your story about your beautiful family .May God bless you all for many years to come. Also thank you for sharing caringbridge with everyone else in this country the USA . It has been a blessing and inspiration for many others in there time of need and I am proud to be a part of it. Thank You and God Bless
Our thoughta and prayers are with you and Owen and Logan. We pray the surgeries to come will be successful. Always look to God for direction and strength.
You have a very blessed and beautiful family. Glad to know Caring Bridge helps families struggling. May God continue to bless your family.
You have a beautiful family and thank you for sharing. May Caring Bridge continue to help all families struggling and I am honored to help. May God wrap His loving arms around you and your family and bring you many more blessings.
May God continue to bless your family!
Natalie we are glad to give support to kind people like your family, may God give your family special blessings!
Wow your family is such an inspiration. You both are amazing parents and have handsome sons with a bright future ahead of them. I’m glad Caringbridge was able to provide some comfort Via loving messages from people who truly care and support you. Thank you for sharing
Dear Bushaw family, prayers for comfort and a successful heart transplant for Logan after 12 loving years and more to come.
We have been amazed at the skill and care of the medical community as we too have experienced an extreme medical event caused by my niece’s skiing accident recently. Putting our faith and hope for a successful outcome is not always easy but when you surround yourself and family with love and well wishes from the community around you, I hope you never feel alone.
Prayers for peacefulness, strength and skillful doctors and other medical staff around you. ????????????
I am so happy for you so far & will pray your twin s continue to heal more each day. We are waiting to hear soon whether our Son Dale has his Tumor shrunk….it has been. Long 6 weeks, but the kindness we all feel as we go through this…there are not enough words!!! The operation is serious, but I have Faith the Good Lord will be with us all the way. God love all of you & I pray for those healings..you are so very Brave…????????????????????????????????????????????????
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Lifting you and your family up in prayer. Asking for God’s healing touch upon your boys .blessing mari
It us my pleasure to support you and your family with not only donations but, my prayers,.For I know God hears even the smallest voices ..lifting you and your family up in prayer. For my son Keith is a very special healing angel. .blessing to you and your family mari
It us my pleasure to support you and your family with not only donations but, my prayers,.For I know God hears even the smallest voices ..lifting you and your family up in prayer. For my son Keith is a very special healing angel. .blessing to you and your family ma r I
I am so thankful for caring bridge it way of keeping in touch with people we love and know. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your story. You have a beautiful family.
Interesting to hear about the twin boys………….I have a twin brother. We were born in 1938 when all the modern medicine and technical equipment didn’t exist. We were born premature and were so small had to stay in the hospital for over a month. When we were in 3rd grade, my brother had Encephalitis fairly unknown at the time. Our doctor threw up his hands and referred our parents to another doctor. He tried the only thing he knew to do and saved his live with Penicillin. It was new to the medical field and turned out to be his life saver. What these boys are expecting and expecting to be somewhat common procedures is amazing compared to what our parents experienced. I pray all will go well with their procedures.
I learned about caringbridge.com from the book “Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster” by Dr. Peggy Huddleston. She certified me to train patients how to holistically prepare for surgery. In addition to this, I prepare the body using hands-on energy techniques learned from Dr. Barbara Brennan author of “Hands of Light”, “Light Emerging” and “Core Light Healing”. This work helps the patient be empowered by being an active participant in their healing process. The energy work prepares the auric body to receive instrumentation with gratitude vs. fear. I am happy to work with anyone who wants to learn how to experience a holistic approach to their healing process. http://www.hansawellnessstudio.net
I am a retired peri-anesthesia RN and Healing Science Practitioner.
Beautiful story…blessings to you all. I’m a pediatrician and understand a bit about what you’ve all gone through…
Natalie,
Thank you for your inspiring story and I am so happy for you that you have two healthy boys due to the MD Anderson Hospital and Caring Bridges & all the loving people who hoped and prayed with you. Now you are helping many others who are in need of the miracle that Caring Bridges bestows. You are doing a wonderful thing and and I am impressed with your endeavor. May you have part in many more success stories and I feel surel you will. God bless you and your beautiful family. Love, Roberta of this organization
so that others can shared with hopes and prayers. It is a very worthwhile thing you do in calling attention to Caring Bridges so that others may have the awareness of this very worthwhile organization. God bless you & your beautiful family. love, roberta
Your entire family is absolutely beautiful. . .Love to all of you, Louella
Donation was for Dave Silva family. Please notify them
No I do not know you in any personal manner, but whether you know it or not I pray for you and your family every day. It is good to hear that they are pursuing normal dreams and my prayers are with you as they mature and get on with life.
I am so proud of the appreciation that you are showing in words ! I was in a New York Taxi cab car accident September 26, 1986. Some of the doctors told my parents I would die. Granted I have many things wrong with me. Losing sight in my left eye, walking with a limp, brain injured. BUT I am happy to say I am alive and functioning. It touches me beyond words that some of my money that I am giving is helping others. Gloria
So glad to hear that through the many trials and experiences, that you have been supported by many caring people. We always hear about the bad things happening in our world, but very seldom the good things. Caring Bridge is such as positive experience for everyone involved. Thanks for that. I wish you, your husband and twins the best and will pray for all. After all God is the great healer.
My first encounter with Caring Bridge was for my son’s best friend, a 54 year old young man with 3 children and a wife who just lost her job. Steve had an aneurysm in his brain which burst and it was touch and go for a while. He is doing well now, doesn’t have all of his memory back but doing some part time work where he had been working before. Being able to keep track of his problem and semi-recovery further instilled in my that prayers do work. I’ll put you and your family on my prayer list. Thank you for sharing.
” If you can ?”said Jesus.” Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23 …. But thanks be to God ! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 …. For no word from God will ever fail. …Luke 1:37
It has been a blessing for me as I was communicating with Merle Z re is wife Diane. I will remember it, if we ever need it. God willing we won’t.