Michael Bradley Tillson joined the Tillson family early in the morning of August 31, 2000. Holly and Boyd welcomed their 11 lbs. 0 oz. and 22 in. bundle of joy at 6:21 am after only nine hours of labor. This was Holly's third child and Boyd's first child. He was a happy child from the very beginning, not crying very much and longing to have someone hold him. During his first night he developed a condition called"grunting." The nurses and doctors all told us that this is common in babies delivered by cesarean section and that we shouldn't worry. He stuck out like a sore thumb with all the preemies in the nursery. He became quite an attraction for the other mothers and visitors. People were not used to seeing such a large baby with all the other smaller children. After a weeks worth of antibiotics, Michael was able to come home. Holly was very excited to spend the next 10 weeks home with her new son.Michael grew and grew and grew. By the time he was two weeks he had gained back all of the weight he had lost and then some weighing 13 lbs. He was sleeping at least 4 to 5 hours at night. He had developed a fussy period from 7-9 p.m. at night. He loved to be outdoors. Mom and dad would sit with him on the porch in the evenings, take him on walks through the neighborhood, and rock him to sleep in the rocking chair. Michael's grandma Sue came out for a week visit at the end of September. On October 31, 2000 we passed our first milestone...2 months. Michael received his first set of shots, weighed 19 lbs, and was 27 inches long. Later that day Michael dressed up as a dragon for Halloween and help to hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. He did not like his costume very well.
Holly decided to return to work a little earlier than originally planned. A good friend of hers said she would have an opening for an infant in her daycare. So with that, Michael started daycare. He seemed to acclimate to the new situation well. He liked being around the other children. Things were going as they should. Holly and Boyd started to plan for their trip back to the Midwest to visit family for Thanksgiving. This was to be a trip with many firsts rolled into it. We all spent the weekend getting ready for our trip, packing our bags, and finishing what work needed to be done before we left. Michael was quite a trooper that weekend. He did not mind the disruption to his schedule. That night he feel asleep on Holly's shoulder. Then Monday, November 20th dawned.......
Michael slept very well that Sunday night. Holly put him down around 9:30 p.m. and then went to bed herself. Holly was awoken in the middle of the night by the phone. A friend had gone into labor prematurely. Holly spent the rest of the night awake and listened to Michael coo, and move around in his crib over the monitor. Holly went in and woke Michael in the morning. He gave her one of the biggest smiles he had ever given her. She nursed him and then handed him to dad to get him dressed for the day. Dad then played with him while mom got ready for work, put him in his bunting, carseat, and gave us both a kiss goodbye. Holly drove to the sitters and dropped Michael off. She took him out of his bunting, gave him a kiss, and told him not to be a fuss budget. He smiled as she left. Around 11:50 am, Holly got a call from the sitter. There had been an accident and that Holly neededed to meet her at the hospital. Holly called Boyd, told him to meet her, and headed for the hospital.
I never thought, for some reason, that it was not serious. I walked into the hospital and did not see the sitter. I stood in line for a few minutes and then glanced over my shoulder. I saw my sitter in a room and I rushed over to her. When I walked in the room I was greeted by my sitter and a priest. Soon after, a doctor came and told me that they were doing all that they could do, but it did not look good. At 12:58 p.m. our world stop along with Michael's life.
What I have come to find out since that day is that Michael got real fussy at 9:30 am. My sitter tried to feed him, but he refused the bottle. She rubbed his tummy and he went to sleep. Two hours later, the sitter went to check on him. She noticed that his hands appeared cold. She then noticed that he was not breathing. She tried to resuscitate him, as did the paramedics and hospital staff. Now we are left to wondering why. Why would a healthy infant just quit breathing?
Although we are very sad that Michael left us, we know that he gave us a lot of love and joy. We share the joy that Michael gave us with you.
