Happy Birthday, Sascha...my first born turned 33 today! It seems only yesterday that the ambulance was driving me to the Frauenklinik in Erlangen because my water had broken....12 hours later they induced labor.
My beautiful baby boy was so TINY.....he weighed under 5 pounds! I was afraid I would break something when I held that tiny body. He spent the first 10 days in an incubator in the Kinderklinik and I was allowed to take him out to nurse him and then put him back in.
When he finally came home he was still so small. The smallest baby outfit you could purchase was way too large for this tiny little guy. I named him my little Frog Prince because he was sooooo wrinkled up!
Sascha had a hole in his heart, which is not uncommon with premature babies but as a first time mother whose own mother was not even living in the same country, it freaked me out! I remember taking him to get X-rays and EKGs. I was told if the hole had not closed by his second birthday, they would do surgery.
I remember taking him in a couple of months before his second birthday. I was SO scared for my baby and thank heaven that they found a normal heart and NO hole! I cannot even imagine his having to go through heart surgery, especially since my own father had gone through heart surgery so often!
That little guy is all grown up now! Graduating with honors from high school and then once again with honors from college, Sascha worked for the Human Rights Campaign in Washington DC for years before entering graduate school in Berlin, Germany, this past Fall.
You have come a long way, Sascha, and I am extremely proud of the man you have become! That once shy little guy who hide behind his mother's long flowing skirts developed into a leader! We make our own destiny through hard work and believing in ourselves! You are certainly a prime example of what an individual can accomplish!
As you go on your life's path, always remember to trust your instincts. Be true to yourself and know that I will always be watching you and smiling, as are your grandparents and your father!
Happy Birthday, Sascha!
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