I'm
often asked why I named my daughter Bambie.
I named her after the pet deer my grandparents had before I was born.
It's name was Bambi, of course, like from the movie. When it was time for me
to decide on a girl's name, when I was pregnant, I immediately thought of
Bambie Sue. I didn't look any further than that.
This
is one of the few pictures of have of being pregnant with Bambie...and they
were all taken on the same day. Back then I hadn't been hit by the 'picture taking' bug, yet. I really enjoyed being
pregnant. With Bambie I didn't have morning sickness, and even though she
weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz.., when I left the hospital, I was able to zip and snap my
blue jeans! I knew that this would never happen again....so I quit
while I was ahead and chose not to have any more children.
I gave birth to
Bambie, by c-section, on June 29, 1981, at Johns Hopkins Hospital. They used
to keep you in the hospital for seven days, back then, when you had to have a
baby by c-section. Anyway, they let her stay with me in my room the entire
time.
I took several pictures of Bambie's legs before any
surgeries could take place. I knew they would want to operate soon. And they
looked just like my legs when I was born.Now I was able to
see this entire situation from a different perspective....it was like being on
the outside looking in.
When Bambie was seven
weeks old the doctors began doing surgery on one of her legs. At this point
she was at the Children's Hospital. I was able to spend a few nights with her
and sleep in her room beside her bed. She slept through the night better with
me there.
This
is a close up of Bambie's right hand. The doctors had talked to me about doing
some cosmetic surgery on her hand. It wouldn't help her to use it any better,
but they explained that they could make it LOOK a little better.....buy
putting her amputated toes on her hand.No thanks!!
I didn't want her to have to go through a lot of surgery for nothing. I don't
care what they said, toes on a hand does not look BETTER.She
would have been right handed, but she adjusted well to converting to being a 'lefty'.
After
all of the surgeries were over, for the time
being, Bambie was finally ready for her first pair of artificial legs.
She was upset, at first, but when she understood that it wasn't going to hurt,
she was fine with the whole idea. It made sense to her that she would be able
to stand up like everyone else...and walk for the first time in her life.
Bambie
and I had our first formal 'mother/daughter' picture taken at a
studio. She really enjoyed having her picture taken. But, in this particular
picture she looked like, well...a deer caught in the head-lights!...no pun
intended.
Bambie
and I had our second formal 'mother / daughter' picture taken in 1992. She
wanted a special dress to wear, so I made a nice black one for her.
My
husband and I took Bambie to the Renaissance Festival in North Carolina. We
had a great time. One year maybe we'll be able to dress up and blend in
with the rest of the people.
~Notice ~
Because of all the 'fake'
letters I receive from people who 'pretend' to need advice and discuss a
supposed birth defect, I am no longer answering questions or letters from
anyone.
You can thank the
game-playing devotees for this.
Another thing I got tired
of was spending my time writing back to people who 'ask' for help or advice and
then I never hear from them again, not even so much as a thank you for the time
I spent answering them. I am a very busy person and don't have time for the
games or ungratefulness.
