In her words

 

I have always wanted to be a mom. I know it may sound cliché, but having children of my own is something I have always dreamt about. While I am still a career driven person, I knew that once I decided to start a family that would become my focus. I have always thought that there can be no greater job than that of a mother. Of course, when

you dream about having your own little one…you don’t think about having a miscarriage or a child with special needs. However, that is the situation I found myself in.

 

After eight months of trying to get pregnant, my husband and I experienced a miscarriage. It was heart breaking. We didn’t understand why it had happened but knew we were far from alone. It happens to a lot of women, although it is not often talked about.

 

That is why we felt so blessed when just five months later we got pregnant! At first, we were cautiously excited. However, as the first trimester passed by, our fears and worries melted away, and I started to plan.

 

That is the funny thing about life. As humans we often have a desire to plan everything out, but things rarely go the way we imagine. Sometimes they change for the better, sometimes for the worse, and sometimes things are neither good nor bad. Just different.

 

I have found that my journey to motherhood is the latter.

 

My husband and I’s world was rocked when our baby boy was diagnosed with spina bifida at 18 weeks. Spina bifida is a neural tube defect where a portion of the baby’s neural tube fails to develop or close

properly, causing an opening in the back and defects in the spinal cord and in the bones of the spine. Children born with spina bifida may experience mobility issues, excess cerebral spinal fluid on the brain, bowel and bladder problems, and learning difficulties.

 

There is no cure for spina bifida. However, thanks to advancements in medical technology, my baby and I are eligible for a fetascopic surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital that may help better his outcome. This surgery will repair the opening in his back while he is still in the womb, hopefully preventing his exposed spinal cord from further damage as the pregnancy progresses.

 

Because of the risks, after surgery I will be required to be within 15 minutes of the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy. Our

due date is September 26, 2016. So, we have packed our bags and relocated to Texas for the time being.

 

I didn’t know what spina bifida really was until a few short weeks ago,

and I hope by sharing my story I can educate others. I want to give other families hope.

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We were given hope early on and it changed our entire perspective on life. Every child, whether they have spina bifida or not, will face challenges and I want other moms to know they are not alone and it is okay!

 

I look forward to sharing our story with you, the

beautiful parts and the not so pretty ones, too.

 

After all, as Amy has so perfectly described it…this is my messy perfect life.

 

She is just one of those everyday people. 

 

No fancy byline, no celebrity calling. Just a person working to make a difference in the world. Someone that wants to share with others because it may help someone else.

 

You can follow Johnna's journey here. All blog posts that she writes can be found here.  If you would like to receive an email each time Johnna posts a blog, sign-up using the form at the bottom of the page.