Bastian has ABS [Amniotic Band syndrome] on all four limbs, his hands each have a thumb (hence his two thumbs up) and the rest of his fingers stop at the first knuckle. His feet have all 5 toes but aren’t full formed. They’re as quirky as they are cute.
I never imagined that he would be anything but picture perfect down to every tiny detail. However, much to our surprise he was born with a few unique but beautiful imperfections. —- I remember his loud cry piercing through the operating room, announcing his long awaited arrival into our lives, I remember the cheerful excitement of the nurses and the sound of Mike’s voice assuring me he was finally here, and lastly I remember the quiet comments of those in the room: “he’s beautiful!” “Wow look at that big round head!” “He’s perfect but he’s missing fingers and toes…” What? My goodness what those two days of no sleep and continued loop of drugs had done to me! Surely I was hallucinating. Missing fingers and toes? I drifted in and out of a daze. I remember kissing his perfectly pink head while he cried and I cried, I was overwhelmed with joy that he was finally here. I drifted again.
Finally, after a few hours I awoke in the recovery room, immediately I sought out Mike who was enamored with our precious boy, holding him close in his arms. I asked to hold him, he was wrapped in a blanket and Mike set him into my eager arms, I looked up at him, still in an inexplainable haze, “he’s so beautiful…” I stared at him and my whole existence shifted, everything I had ever dreamed of was in my arms, “… is he missing fingers and toes?” Mike’s demeanor changed ever so slightly from joyous to careful and cautious, he nodded and smiled. We both looked at each other and at our beautiful baby, “okay” I said, because it was.