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I was born at home at Reydon, Oklahoma. My
mother and dad had a rare blood combination called the RH Factor and they didn't
know it until after my baby sister was born two years later.
In addition to the blood
group (A, B, O, AB), the Rh factor is written as either positive
(present) or negative (absent). Most people are Rh positive. This
factor does not effect a woman's health except during pregnancy.
A woman is at risk when she has a negative Rh factor and her
partner has a positive Rh factor. This combination can produce a
child who is Rh positive. While the mother's and baby's blood
systems are separate there are times when the blood from the baby
can enter into the mother's system. This can cause the mother to
create antibodies against the Rh factor, thus treating an Rh
positive baby like an intruder in her body. If this happens the
mother is said to be sensitized.
So, my sister and I are the only
children my parents have. I
don't know if that's a blessing or not. Perhaps to my parents it was a
blessings because I caused them a lot of worry. I
don't know what would have happened if they had another boy like me.
My mother told a story of when she was about eight months
pregnant with my sister and cooking supper in the kitchen.
It seems I
decided that was when I wanted her to sit down and hold me. After hearing me
whining about it my dad told me to sit down and be quiet.
I threw a fit
and waddled out through the screen door into the night. Mom told Dad to get
me, but Dad said, "Don't worry, he'll be back soon." However,
I wasn't back soon so they searched high and low before finally finding me sound asleep
in the chicken house in a nest.
Looking back, it's a good thing my Dad was strong-willed or
I would have tried to rule the roost at an early age.
My mother was upset with my dad but I think she wanted to give
me to the chickens.
That incident should have given them plenty of warning of
the type of boy they had. My dad may have got a clue at that time but
not my mother. She always thought I was a better boy than I was and perhaps
that's a good thing for mother's to be that way. I wanted to be what she
thought I was and tried real hard, but sometimes my old sinful side got the
better of me. I thank God for a mother who always saw the good in me.
I worked hard for my dad but I also gave him a bad time.
We were both hard-headed, but I think my dad was more stubborn than I was.
At least, he won all the show-downs we had. He saw me as an extension
of himself and expected me to be better than anyone else in all things. I
sure was a disappointment to him in many ways. We were good friends and I
could talk with him about most anything. He was the kind of dad all boys
need. I thank God he was my dad.
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