Alex: The Fathering of a Preemie

by Jeff Stimpson

Nearly half a million preemies are born in the US every year. But like most people, Jeff Stimpson, the father who wrote Alex, never gave premature babies a thought beyond the cliche of medical miracles. Many of these children grow up with special needs, necessitating an increasing and ever-controversial burden on society. Medicine is creating not only a new population of individuals, but a special and growing population of parents and families. Alex was born in June of 1998. He weighed 21 ounces. He spent the first year of his life in the hospital. This is the story of his first years. It's a story of doctors, hospitals, conferences, hate, love, gratitude, envy, frustration, joy, and worry. It's the story of a preemie. Stimpson saw his son get a spinal tap without anaesthesia (it isn't given to micro-preemies) and three times witnessed Alex stop breathing-once on his lap. Stimpson and his wife were at the hospital every day, and there they encountered not only how far the science of saving preemies has advanced but how far it hasn't, and how far healthcare and other professionals need to go to understand what parents go through when their infant lives in a hospital. The Stimpsons got a crash course in life behind the billboard of medical miracle, and learned how care of preemies can greatly differ, and, perhaps most important, how patients' families must learn to be consumers when trying to find that care. What keeps a family going when a child spends a year in the hospital? In compelling prose, Stimpson traces the life of his child from birth to kindergarten: four wings in two hospitals; coming home with a roomful of medical gear and round-the-clock drugs and nursing; the gains and downturns of home therapy through Early Intervention; finding and prospering in a special-needs pre-school; a diagnosis of autism; and the ongoing battle to give Alex a fair shot at childhood, and at life.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

270 pages, Hardcover

First published December 30, 2004

Reviews

[Sherry Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. He had me feeling all the struggles of parenting Alex. What a book.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by the father of Alex, a 28 week preemie who had a long and difficult NICU stay, and medical/developmental problems that continue. It is peppered with the realistic view of an exhausted parent. On getting out for a break he says, "Sometimes you need to see your wife in the light of a bar."

But it is filled with love and patience for his son's special needs.

[Dorothy Timm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I admit that my opinion was colored by my own experiences as the mother of a preemie 35 years ago. I could relate to so much in this book, especially their ongoing struggle to get Alex to eat and grow. I also liked that he did't use names of doctors, just initials. It made it easier to focus on the true characters.