FrankJrsStory1

April 16, 1980...

My Son Frank Haggerty Jr.

Arrived On Earth..

Frank Jr. was born on a sunny April day.

It was my first checkup and I was eight months along. I was so excited to be going every week now, being so close to my due date, which was in the middle of May.

I went out first to the store, got a few things,

then did some work around the house.

Finally it was time to go see the doctor.

I was reading a book in the waiting room when the nurse came and called my name -- as she did every other time -- but as I lay there being checked over while the nurse and I talked, the doctor asked her if he could see her outside. When they both came back in, she said everything was fine. Meanwhile, the doctor was on the phone in the same room, talking to the hospital next door. He was telling them to set up an O.R. and he would be over in just a minute.

I just lay there reading my book, telling the nurse,"Wow, someone is going to have a baby real fast, huh?" Little did I know they were talking about me! I was rushed over to the hospital in a wheelchair; they told me I had to have a C-section right away. Frank Jr. was coming, and his foot was already out! My gosh, I was in shock: there was not even time for me to call my husband and tell him

"I'm having the baby NOW!" The nurse did call,

and he got there right after Frank Jr. was born.

What a proud day that was. I was feeling no pain, just joy. As time went on, Frank Jr. became a very big part of our family; we loved him so much.

He was into everything. School was one of the things he enjoyed so much -- he was so very smart, even helping other kids who were failing in the same grade. He loved to give. He gave me joy, so much joy through the years that I was Team Mom for his baseball team four times in a row, and Room Mom for all of elementary. His dad and I were so very proud of him. He had so many friends and met more, on his way to growing up into a man.

By the time Frank Jr. was 16 years old, he was working part-time and having fun at the beach -- roller blading, skateboard, you name it, he was doing it! Then came the cars. We bought him a car for his 16th birthday, and his eyes just lit up like a bulb.

He was smiling ear to ear. He drove himself to school, then work. He was really doing so well. But as the years went by, I noticed he was really not himself, sleeping, not wanting to be bothered, and only going out at night.