A single mother gave birth prematurely and had to spend over a year in the hospital with her baby, but when she was discharged, her eldest son had done something she never imagined.
I never imagined that I couldn’t give my child a better life.
When I got pregnant with Jace, I thought living in my late mother’s old trailer was only temporary. The pregnancy had come as a surprise, but I thought I could work hard and get us settled into an apartment or maybe a small house fairly quickly. However, that didn’t happen.
The bills were piling up, and every time I earned a little money, I had to spend it on an emergency. Even so, I continued to work hard, hoping Jace would appreciate what I was doing for him and grow up to be a great man.
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Jace wasn’t the most ambitious person in the world. So when he turned 18, I told him it was time for him to get a job. However, I told him he could stay with me until he found something to do. In fact, I never wanted to be one of those parents who kicked their kids out. That wasn’t me. Unfortunately, Jace took that as a sign he could stay forever.
“What? No, that’s impossible. I’m the owner,” I shook my head.
He was 22 and working minimum wage without putting in any extra effort when I accidentally got pregnant again. I was actually dating a new guy for the first time in a while, and I thought it would go far, but he ran away as soon as I told him I was pregnant.
“We can’t afford another child,” Jace complained when I told him the news.
“We’ll make do. Babies are a blessing, and he’s your brother or sister, Jace. Otherwise, you can move out and fend for yourself,” I shrugged.
His words hurt because I knew he was right. I was much older and worse off than I had been when Jace was born. The world was therefore more complex, and I felt like I would never get out of this hole.
The worst part was that my anxiety and worries only worsened, affecting my health. I was hospitalized after five months when labor began. The doctors tried to stop the progression, but the baby was determined to come out, and I was in so much pain and worried.
Indeed, my second son was born, but he was placed in an incubator. He was too premature, and the doctors weren’t happy. I could see their worried looks. However, none of them wanted to give me bad news because of my fragile condition.
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Fortunately, I recovered. So I decided to visit my baby in the incubator. There were other premature babies there too, and although I was stupid and knew nothing about medicine, I was full of hope. I thought that if my son was still alive, he would pull through.
“Is that him?” Jace asked when he came to see us.
“Yes, he’s your brother,” I replied, smiling and placing my hand on the incubator.
“He’s so small. I can’t believe he’s alive,” my son muttered, placing his hand on the machine.
“I know. It’s a miracle,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. Jace asked more questions about his brother’s condition, and I didn’t have much information to give him. I didn’t understand most medical terms, but doctors often told me to be patient.
“Are you sure? Maybe it would be more humane to let him go. Is he suffering?” Jace wondered, frowning.
“I have to do everything I can,” I insisted. “I have to do it, just like I did with you. You were healthy, but I had almost nothing when I had you.”
“We don’t have much now. Almost nothing to offer him,” Jace reminded me. Was that a sign of shame I detected in his tone?
“We’re here for each other. It’s so much more than I had with you,” I told him, nodding. Jace stared into my eyes for several long seconds. Finally, he nodded.
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“You’re right. The bills don’t make our lives easier, but this baby deserves a chance. What’s his name?” Jace asked, and his tone confused me, but I didn’t have time to analyze anything.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I was thinking about… Luke?”
“It’s perfect,” he said.
Jace left that night, and although things between us had never been sentimental, I had a feeling my son really cared about his little brother. Still, I couldn’t be sure.
Unfortunately, things took a turn at the hospital. My baby suffered complications due to being born too early, and he had to stay longer… and longer… and longer.
Some doctors even told me he wouldn’t survive the many surgeries he needed. However, Luke fought, survived, and is healed.
I stayed in the hospital with my baby for 398 days, and in the last month, I watched him thrive despite his complications. Finally, we were discharged, and although my child required a ton of medication—perhaps for life—he was beautiful and adorable and well worth all the pain I endured.
So I left the hospital with my child and we went home, which wasn’t far from the hospital in our town in Ohio. I couldn’t reach Jace for some reason, but I wasn’t worried. He had been very busy the past few months.
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When I arrived home, I discovered a new family living there. “Excuse me. My name is Amy. This is my house,” I said, confused, to the man who opened the door.
“No, we bought this trailer from Jace,” he replied, raising his hands. “I paid cash for it, honestly.”
“What? No, that’s impossible. I own this house.”
I shook my head, thinking Jace had sold my only home and run off with the money. That’s why I couldn’t reach him. Despite all my struggles over the years, I was never homeless. My late mother made sure to leave me the trailer before she died.
However, now my lazy adult son had taken it from me? It wasn’t fair, and I started hyperventilating with my baby in my arms.
“Mom!” I heard and quickly turned around to see Jace running towards me.
“Jace! What’s going on? What have you done? This is our house!” I yelled, alarming the baby, and he started crying too. “Shh, shh, shh.”
“Just come with me. You’ll see!” Jace said and guided me by the waist as we walked away.
“Please tell me what happened while I was gone,” I asked, continuing to calm Luke as we walked.
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“Almost a year ago, in the hospital, I realized that… I had been a horrible son to you and the laziest idiot in the world,” Jace began. “I saw your love for me reflected in your love for my brother, and I knew I couldn’t continue being an idiot for the rest of my life.”
“I finally did something. I worked all the extra shifts and weekends I could at the company. And I saved as much as I could. I know you still have medical bills to pay, even though the doctors offered you help and free treatment. But we’ll work to pay them together…”
“Jace, that’s wonderful. But I still don’t understand why you sold the trailer,” I interrupted.
“We can’t live in this trailer anymore, Mom. There was barely room for the two of us, and Luke doesn’t deserve to grow up like this… so I saved up and bought us a tiny house with two bedrooms next door. It’s not the best house, and it’s going to need some serious repairs. However, it’s ours. It has a basement, so I’m going to be living in it. I plan on putting a separate door in there, so it’ll be like an apartment, but we’ll see about that,” Jace revealed, and I couldn’t believe it.
“You bought a house?” I said, stunned. “You bought us a house?”
“I did it,” Jace smiled. “Are you proud?”
“I think I’m going to have a heart attack from all this pride,” I replied, smiling.
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Jace led me to the house. It wasn’t fully furnished, but we had beds and a full kitchen. Jace had also bought a used crib for Luke. It was perfect. It was something I thought we’d never have, and I couldn’t believe my son had bought it thinking we’d live there together.
“Are you sure? I mean, you used the caravan money too, but it’s mostly your home,” I said after settling Luke into his new crib.
“Mom, parents around here kick their kids out as soon as they turn 18, and you should have done the same with me, but you didn’t. You wanted me to be safe. I finally realized how hard you worked for me, and I had to give it back to you. The house is in both our names, but it’s yours. I love you,” Jace explained, and we held each other for a long moment.
Of course, our life wasn’t perfect after that. We had huge bills to pay. We had many repairs to make around the house and many expenses for Luke, his medications, and everything he needed. However, Jace worked many hours, and I soon started working too, cleaning houses where I was allowed to take Luke with me.
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We did everything we could, and we made it through. At least, I know we will.
What can we learn from this story?
- A loving parent will do anything to raise their child . Amy made so many sacrifices to raise her eldest son and didn’t want to give up on her second son, despite his medical complications.
- It’s never too early for a child to get involved and help their parents. At 18, Jace decided to help support his mother and brother by working hard. He eventually bought a new house for them all.
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