Almost 5 yrs in the past, on Jan. 5, 2017, Myra and Nathan Edwards’ lives modified eternally.
Their son, Bentley, acquired here into the world, a bouncing baby boy. A minimal of That is what they althought.
Two days later, As a Outcome of the youthful couple was getting ready To go away the hospital and take their son house, an alert nurse noticed not all was properly, although she mightn’t pretty put a finger on it.
“One factor simply appears off to me,” Myra recollects the nurse saying earlier than taking Bentley to the new baby intensive care unit for checks. Whereas there, little Bentley expert seizures, and the hospital staff found he had suffered a pediatric stroke all by way of delivery.
He was transferred to Brenner Youngsters’s Hospital, the place doctors confirmed he had expert vital mind damage.
“On the (MRI) pictures, the doctor confirmed us the parts of Bentley’s mind which had died off,” Myra Edwards said.
Docs then ready the couple for what they said lay forward of them — a lifetime of caring for Bentley, whose mind damage was so in depth he would by no means Be In a place to Look after himself.
“Based mostly on the parts that have been damaged, Bentley would have a movement problem like cerebral palsy on his left facet, his left facet Can be weaker, he might have enchancmental delays, As properly as to some imaginative and prescient impairment,” she said.
Humorous factor was, Nobody defined that to Bentley. Over The approaching days he acted largely as A toddler who had suffered no stroke — consuming properly, appearing alert, shifting and creating as a baby Is predicted to in his first days of life.
Finally, they have been Succesful of take Bentley house, although he reprimaryed beneath common care with in-house remedy durations and doctor-office visits for 18 months, when his medical group decided it was time to cease the remedys.
“They said ‘There’s actually nofactor else We will do for this baby, he doesn’t want us,’” Edwards said recently when renameing Bentley’s early remedy. “They said ‘He’s progressing faster than A baby his age ought to.’”
Edwards clarified — the doctors Weren’t saying he was forward of what they anticipated from a stroke sufferer his age, however that he was forward of any healthful baby’s regular enchancment.
“Bentley is good, we name him our miracle baby,” she said. “He is very candy, very affectionate, very loving. He Likes to play sports activities, he loves women, bless his coronary heart he’s Barely woman’s man. There Are not any movement factors, no imaginative and prescient factors, nofactor however A conventional toddler who picks and chooses what he Desires to Take heed to.”
Edwards said it wAs a Outcome of their religion that assisted them by way of these darkish days As quickly as they feared for Bentley’s well being and future.
“As quickly As a Outcome of they tprevious us that, we prayed simply as exhausting as we might pray,” she said of when doctors first broke the information to them. “There was nofactor else we might do. We simply Needed to let go and let God. I do know that Seems like a cliche, however that’s all we might do.”
Furthermore It is that religion, and what they’ve found about pediatric stroke, that has led them To primarytain an annual fundelevating event To revenue pediatric stroke sufferers and, this yr, To assist An Space toddler awaiting A babyney transplant.
Final weekend, the couple hosted Stand With Bentley On the Barn at Heritage Farms in Dobson. It wAs a Outcome of the third such event — It Might have been the fourth, However the 2020 mannequin was cancelled As a Outcome of of COVID-19 restrictions.
Myra Edwards said the gathering serves a twin objective — To Increase consciousness of pediatric stroke, As properly as to To Increase money To assist defray prices For youthfulsters attending UNC Youngsters’s Hospital’s summer time camp, Serving to Kids with Hemiplegia, held in Durham every summer time.
This yr, however, Myra said they decided To vary The primary goal, elevating money for Zoe Hall, An area 2-yr-previous recognized at delivery with the unusual babyney illness, congenital nephrotic syndrome.
At first, Edwards said she and her husband wasn’t constructive what they have been going to do, Afacet from primarytain the proceeds native.
“We didn’t know who we have been going To current it to, however we Desired to primarytain it native…As quickly as we went by way of our struggles, we had An limitless assist system…now we wanted to be that For An further particular person.”
They started planning the event — Stand with Bentley: Pediatric Stroke Charity Event — nonetheless Looking for a recipient.
“Zoe Hall popped in my head,” she said. “Her mom And that i went To Highschool collectively.” She said that she and Zoe’s mom have beenn’t notably shut, However they knew Each completely different And she or he knew of Zoe’s situation.
“God laid this candy woman on our coronary hearts,” she defined. “Zoe Isn’t a pediatric stroke survivor, however she is a survivor in her personal proper. She is a fighter, an overcomer, and a miracle. Everytime you see her, you see God’s loving kindness.”
Edwards said area people actually rallied Throughout the set off this yr.
“This was our largest yr. We had Barely over 2,000 people.”
She said There have been 60 craft distributors Out there, Together with sponsor tables, 5 meals vans, Together with The Flying Hatchet, an ax-throwing troupe from Greensboro.
“They donated all of their proceeds from the event straight to Zoe,” Myra Edwards said. “We had A lot of distributors donate their proceeds to Zoe. That was phenomenal.”
Definitely one of the biggest information of all was that Zoe was not Succesful of attend — beset off she had lastly reveryed The required weight wanted for the transplant, and acquired A mannequin new babyney Just a few days earlier than Sunday’s gathering in Dobson.
“We have been Succesful of Face Time them, so she acquired to see The gang,” Edwards said.
Whereas Zoe and her househprevious Weren’t availSuccesful of converse — they have been getting ready for a potential discharge this week — Edwards said all wAs properly as to of Wednesday.
“Zoe is A strong-willed, brave woman who loves life to the fullest. She’s Full of love, laughter, sass, and spunk. Her mom and father are terribly grateful for the love and assist That is continuously proven by our group, They typinamey Thanks all.”
