?a mother shares an inspiring story of fortitude By Sharmain GraingerEvery young girl in her mind envisages a fairy-tale life where her prince charming finds and marries her and they live happily ever after with a few babies as part of the complete package. Perhaps this concept is understandably linked to the many mythical tales that we are fuelled with as young children ranging from the age-old Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the more recent Shrek and Fiona.Rarely any hurt or pain is allowed to creep in when a young mind gets to conceptualising the ideal future outcomes.And indeed the ideal outcome appeared to be the hand that Kim Wilkinson was dealt after patiently waiting for a number of years of course. Not only did her ?Prince Charming? find her but their first baby ? a girl ? had arrived and a second child was on the way. What could be more exhilarating than to learn that the yet to be delivered package was a boy? Contentment was the sentiment that understandably consumed her.She had always been an easy-going girl with a colossal amount of faith which kept her on track even when things did not appear to be unfolding ideally.A contented Kim Wilkinson and her son Isaiah who is preparing to celebrate his 11th birthday later this month.Kim grew up quite comfortably with her parents and siblings in the community of Wales, West Bank Demerara. She attended the primary school there and then Tutorial High School in Georgetown, before seeking meaningful employment. She tried a few places,[url=http://www.cheapestnfljerseys.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys From China[/url], but it was while employed at the West Demerara Regional Hospital that her Prince ? Linden Wilkinson ? who was also working there, would set eyes on her.The two eventually tied the knot and according to Kim who was and still is an ardent believer in God ?he (God) promised me two children.?Upon becoming Mrs Wilkinson she moved to Crane Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara, with her husband and after a few years of perseverance an addition to the family came in the form of Grace, their daughter.A few years later, on April 18, 2002, to be precise, Isaiah would follow, effectively completing the family equation. But since the day of his arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC),[url=http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticonline.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys NFL China[/url], Kim recounted that it was clear he had a problem with his abdomen.  In fact the doctors had early-on indicated that they were not even sure what exactly the problem was,[url=http://www.wholesalenfljerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys From China[/url], she disclosed during an interview.?He was a tiny baby and he would vomit constantly and was passing no stool,? she recalled.A few examinations later would see doctors deducing that there was a partial blockage of little Isaiah?s intestines but according to Kim ?they still weren?t sure what was causing the blockage.?Since he was not passing any stool it was recommended that nothing be fed to him for a period of seven days. A few days later he would start defecating a few drops. This was after a tube was stuck down his throat and excess fluid was pumped out of his stomach. That was however enough to satisfy the medical professionals who decided to discharge him from the hospital.At just about one-week-old Isaiah was finally home, but after being closely examined by his mother a few days later it was discovered that his testicles were noticeably swollen. By the following day his abdomen was also visibly distended, forcing Kim to rush her newborn back to the hospital.?When I got there I saw some of the same doctors that were attending to him before and they immediately admitted him,? Kim recounted. She revealed that her baby was again required to abstain from feed this time for a period of 14 days as he had completely stopped stooling again.?He became skin and bones,? Kim said as she disclosed how doctors told her that her son?s intestines had become totally blocked.?His abdomen started to become distended to a size that it looked,[url=http://www.cheapestnfljerseys.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping[/url], in my opinion, like it was going to burst,? reminisced Kim, who claims she had the unnerving feeling that the doctors were aware all along what was happening to her son.?I think they knew what was happening, but they were thinking he was too young to endure a major operation?I believe they were hoping the blockage would remain partial and not complete.?The medical professionals were making no headway in addressing Isaiah?s condition, a state of affairs which forced the young mother to advise them to ?just push a tube down his throat and get out whatever stuff is in his abdomen.? This was however not adhered to.Kim remembers having to leave her son at nights in the Paediatric Ward at the GPHC while she slept in another ward,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysfan.us@#$%&/]Jerseys NFL Wholesale[/url], a period during which she disclosed that she kept reminding the Almighty ?you promised me this child.?But one night she recalled being summoned by a nurse to take her place next to her baby as he was vomiting uncontrollably, leaving them to think the end was near. The atmosphere became even more petrifying when Kim observed a nurse smelling her son?s vomit, an indication that she was suspicious that faeces had begun travelling up his system. Sure enough there were specks of particles in his vomit, but this prompted Kim to channel some divine intervention with unyielding prayers.By the following afternoon the situation was no better when two doctors came to attend to him and according to Kim ?he was panting for breath and vomiting all the time…they called me and told me they were taking him downstairs and I said I am not going because I don?t see y?all doing anything to help this child.?It was at this very moment she recalled literally hearing a voice urging her to ?contend for this child?s life?.?I went to my husband and said let us pray for this child.?So intense were the prayers that Kim did not even realise when her son was returned to the ward.An x-ray was done but still the doctors seemed unclear as to what was causing the complete blockage.As her eyes scanned the crib in which her tiny son lay, Kim observed his clothes were soaking and it dawned on her that though so frail he was yet a fighter.?They were trying to push him down, but he kept trying to raise up because it seemed to me that he was suffocating.?Eventually the words that she dreaded the most were quietly broken to her ?we have done our best?Everybody was pretty much saying this is it.?Efforts were made to call in a surgeon to attend to the child, but that too appeared to be futile.Unwilling to give up on her son, who was evidently fighting in his own right, Kim calmly requested of the doctors to pick up her child. Cushioned against her breast, Kim cuddled her baby and earnestly prayed for his complete recovery.?The situation looked bad and as I prayed the doctors were just looking at me?I was walking up and down just praying,? Kim reflected.Soon after the surgeon arrived and immediately did exactly what she had earlier advised. ?He pushed down a tube through his throat and stuff immediately came up?? Kim recalled as she explained how the tube was attached to a glove into which the stomach particles would be deposited. However, she believed that since there was no airway in the system used, the stuff would descend back to her son?s stomach causing him to vomit.?I tried to explain to a nurse what I had seen done before but she wouldn?t listen,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysfan.us@#$%&/]Authentic Jerseys Cheap[/url], and so I tried to be a doctor myself?I took a pin and bore the glove, but the place that I bored was so wrong that the stuff started to wet up his skin…the nurse realised that I tampered with it and she changed it and this time she placed it in his clothes…I asked God to give me wisdom and I was able to bore another hole and everything seemed fine.?However, a doctor would soon bluntly inform her that ?we can?t go on like this.? According to Kim it was as if death was patiently waiting to accept her son, who she was not in the least willing to give up at that point.She remembers one morning her prayer for Isaiah was for God to take death away from him, an appeal which was mirrored by a strange woman who came to give her support.?I didn?t want this woman to touch my child, but when she started praying she was saying the exact things I had prayed earlier and I said to myself God must have sent this woman.?Later the same day doctors were down to their last resort and were considering a surgical procedure. However it was an idea that Kim wrestled with throughout the night as she feared the worst would be the outcome.?I said God I believe in you to heal this child, but then a voice said ?you are afraid. Are you trusting in me or yourself? I know what this child can go through and if this is the way I am taking him let go?.?The next day Kim was only too eager to grant permission to the attending surgeon to do whatever must be done. She remembers standing at the entrance of the operating theatre as the medical professionals behind closed doors attended to her child. But it was a serene moment for her as it was as if she knew exactly what they were doing, even though she was not seeing their actions.By the end of the operation the surgeon had discovered that the blockage of the child?s intestines was due to them being entangled. Moreover, it required that they be snapped and then carefully reattached. However the surgeon did warn that although the operation was successful, it was now left to be seen if the child could recover from such a major operation. ?I said doctor you have done your part, God will do the rest,? Kim confidently asserted.Isaiah was placed in the Intensive Care Unit to recover and Kim recalled that when she saw him for the first time after the surgery ?it was as if nothing was ever wrong with him.?She remembers experiencing many daunting challenges as he recovered, but noted that it was her faith in God that helped her to remain steadfast and unwilling to accept defeat.One of the challenges would surface one week after the operation when the bandages to Isaiah?s surgical wounds were opened for the first time revealing that half of the incision to his abdomen was still open.?I don?t know if the doctor was too hurry to stitch him up back after the surgery or what, but it was like half of his abdomen was just open.?A possible infection was the evident fear of the attending doctors who were by then contemplating another surgical operation to close the wound. He had also developed a hernia, but was by this time stooling normally, and therefore Kim was unwilling to allow him to undergo another operation.?I didn?t get the feeling to let them operate on him again?I think God allowed me to be there with him every step of the way,? said Kim who recalled that it was six weeks after being hospitalised that Isaiah was ready to be taken home again.A subsequent visit to the hospital for a regular check-up would leave doctors amazed as to how well he had recovered. Kim remembers fondly how ?one doctor told me to continue doing whatever it is that I was doing because it was working.?But the battle for Isaiah?s life was not yet over, as according to Kim, when he was four years old he was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pains and again unable to defecate. Doctors had in fact insisted that the intestinal knot had recurred and suggested that it may warrant another operation.But according to Kim, she certainly was not accepting such a pronouncement as she was holding fast to the biblical scriptures of Ecclesiastes 3:14 which states that: ??whatever God does endures forever? and ?what can you imagine against God he will bring it to an utter end, affliction will not rise again? of Nahum 1:9.Kim recalls how her whole family spent the night in hospital with Isaiah who was merely kept for observation and by morning was back to normal again.?I am amazed at how God works and I give him alone the praise for all he has done for me,? said an elated Kim who continues to be contented with all that has unfolded in her life over the years.And by the way, in 11 days, Isaiah will be celebrating his 11th birthday.