Two Pieces of My Heart

I’ve had Type One Diabetes since I was three years old.  My doctors told me having a baby was probably not in the cards for me….it would be difficult for me to get pregnant, dangerous for me to carry the baby, and unlikely to actually carry a baby full term.  But all I ever wanted was to be a mother, it didn’t matter to me what I did for a career, because being a mother was something that I dreamed of and hoped for every day.

Despite my diabetes, I was able to have a little girl, Callie,  and she’s our proof that miracles do happen.  She was born with a heart condition and underwent open heart surgery at 3 days old.  Callie also was born with a shortened left leg, which we had to make the impossible decision to amputate at 18 months.  Our little miracle is now 10 years old and walks with the assistance of her “mermaid” prosthetic leg.  She walks, swims, runs, and rides her horse Jazzy. She’s a sassy, sweet, funny, little warrior princess that makes me so proud to be her Mama.

I tell my husband, James, that Callie and he share the two pieces of my heart—he has half of my heart and she has the other.  This Mother’s Day, I received a surprise of a Tiny Tags necklace from them.  The round circle has Callie’s name on it, and the second charm a heart, has the initials “J+J” inscribed on it. It’s the best gift I’ve ever received from the two people I love most in the world.  It’s a reminder of how strong our little family of three is and that we will always be together.  It’s a reminder that a miracle was born out of the love and a reminder that no matter what, as long as I have those two, I have everything I’ll ever need.

—Jamie