It was September 13, 1966 1:17 a.m.,when I decided I wanted to see what this world was like. My first 'sights and sounds',where that of doctors and nurses fusing over me. Mom laid still and quiet on the cold table. She had been put to sleep because I was having problems from my first breath. My first warm touch was not of my mother,but it was that of the doctors and nurses trying to help me stay alive. You see, I was born with, Spina Bifida,which is Latin for "Open Spine." Back then we did not have the technology we do today, so it was unknown until my birth that I would be "different." It would be 8 hours before my Mom could lay eyes on me. The doctors had to do what they could to keep me stable. When my parents could finally speak to a doctor about me, they were told about my "Open Spine." They were also told that I probably wouldn't make it out of the hospital. This, of course,devistated my parents and they insisted on seeing me. Finally, I would get feel the warmth of my mother touch. Mom says I was a beautiful baby, and she decided to name me Joy. Surgery was performed on me at 18 hours old, to repair my spine. This was the first of many surgeries that would follow. I would not go home for 10 days, and when I was sent home, the doctors told my mother, to take me home and just love me, because I was not expected to live. After that day I was given a life expectancy of 6 months. Well, on September 13,2006 I will be celebrating my 40th Birthday...that number makes me stutter *G*,but here I am. I beat all the odds and made liars out of all the doctors. Growing up, I was known as a sort of 'guinea pig' for procedures,and unlike most stories you hear, I was only subjected to 7-10 surgeries to date, but someone somewhere has been watching over me and for this I am thankful. I've had, like most of us, my share of ups and downs, but I contribute, my still being on this earth to the love of my family. Without them I believe I would have been a statistic.