The Tucker Lane Story Tucker was due December 5th but decided instead to surprise us and come a couple months early on October 21, 2014 at 7:21pm. He was 3lbs and 15 oz and 17 inches long. We stayed in the NICU with no major issues arriving for a month. On November 15th 2014 we journeyed home to begin our life with our precious baby boy. Upon leaving the NICU we were advised that Tucker would always be delayed by 2 months so when he didn’t hit his milestones as quickly as the other babies his age, I didn’t stress it too much. By 4 months old when we still weren’t meeting milestones I started to wonder if something was wrong. We took Tucker to early childhood intervention where they advised us that he was right on track and not to worry with the small things but to come back in a month. The next month when we came back, they tested him again and this time he had regressed. This caused concern so he started therapy regularly. At his first therapy session he had this spell where that he would clench up and scream for around 20 seconds. I had seen them before and asked his doctor about them and she told me that it was normal gas pains and changed our formula so I told the therapist it was normal and it would pass. She looked at me with worry in her eyes and told me she wasn’t trying to scare me but it looked like seizure activity and I should get another opinion about it. So, I did, and sure enough the next doctor thought the therapist was right and referred us to Cook Children’s Hospital. We started to book our appointment with Cooks Children’s Hospital, and they told us that it would be six months wait to get in. I told the lady that I didn’t have six months that his seizures were getting worse and we needed in today but there was nothing she could do about it. We went ahead and schelduled for that date 6 months out and then around two weeks later I got a phone call that there had been a cancellation and that the same lady I had talked to remembered me and got us in for an appointment the next day if we could make it. It was a miracle. So, we loaded up and went to Cooks Children’s. There they ran many tests and diagnosed tucker with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder and told us it would never go away. Since that lifechanging day we have also been diagnosed with cortical vision impairment and speech delay. I told all of that to say that is our story and how we have gotten to today. Tucker doesn’t walk or talk but he is the happiest little boy in the whole world! He loves Mickey Mouse and counting to ten and singing both the "I Love You" song and his ABCs. We are so proud of our sweet boy! Thank you for your time! A loving momma, Kara M Chambliss

Tucker and Buddy