God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.  — Jewish Proverb

Michelle (Arons) Dorsey tries to be everywhere for her infant son, Nathan Edward, just like she did for Devon and Alia, when they were babies.

There’s no time to rest on Mother’s Day. No holiday for Dorsey today: Nathan needs attention. Lots of it.

Her husband, Christopher, does the same for his new son, but motherhood is best done by mothers, so the burden falls upon Michelle.

Two uncomplicated births followed by a very complicated birth: Nathan Edward is a preemie.

“It’s hard not being able to hold your child,” Dorsey said of those first days after the birth. “It’s a horrible, horrible process.”

“I went through a real grieving process, similar, I suppose, to losing a child,” she admitted. “There was denial, anger and fear. Then, you eventually get to the stage of acceptance, where I was just grateful for every day I got to hold my son.”

Meet the mother of a premature infant, who has spent every day of his life struggling to defeat the odds.

Michelle is a 1990 graduate of Austin High School. Her husband, Christopher, works at Smyth Cos. in Austin.

The couple’s son, Devon, is a sixth grade student at Austin Catholic Elementary School. Alia is a second grade student also at ACES.

The mother’s first two pregnancies were normal; Nathan Edward Dorsey was born prematurely at 29 weeks Dec. 19, 2008. He weighed 2 pounds and 7 ounces.

He was born with his left ventricle missing and will need open heart surgery as soon as he weighs 5 pounds.

Survival rate

A premature infant is a baby born before 37 weeks. Babies born before 28 weeks have a 90 percent survival rate.

Nathan Edward came in under the wire at 29 weeks.

“We learned about his heart problem at Austin Medical Center,” recalled Dorsey. “Through ultrasound they couldn’t get a good picture of his heart and spine.”

The news was devastating to the mother and her husband. “It was my oldest son Devon’s birthday when we found out,” she said.

At 28 weeks, AMC doctors sent the mother to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to confirm the ultrasound findings.

A week later, Dorsey went into preterm labor, was rushed to Methodist Hospital, Rochester, where she delivered the baby by C-section. Immediately, the infant was transferred to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester.

“I didn’t get to hold him,” the mother said.

When she was released from the hospital, her husband immediately made arrangements for his wife to stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester to be near her baby. She remained a resident there until her son was released from St. Marys Hospital April 20.

Meanwhile, tiny Nathan, who was oblivious to all of this, became a celebrity. Families, friends and strangers prayed for him. Devon and Alia kept classmates in school updated.

It was a long time — far too long — for any newborn mother to bear before Dorsey was able to hold her son.

“It took about a week an a half before Chris and I were able to hold him, but then I held him every day except for a few times when he was extremely ill,” she said.

Nathan had a “rough time” and first required surgery to remove a portion of his intestines. “He had a colostomy bag for a couple of months,” Dorsey said.

Doctors told the couple their son may require hospice care after the intestinal surgery, but the baby rallied enough to have the surgery March 13. Another heart surgery will occur in September.

Dorsey said she made friends with other premature infant mothers, swapping information, trading prayers and best wishes.

Prayer helped keep the mother “strong.”

“We had a lot of people praying for us,” she said.

Mother’s advice

Now almost 5 months old, Nathan Edward grows stronger every day.

A nurse visits the Dorsey home three times a week, but he is the mother’s responsibility — with help from her husband and their children the rest of the time.

“It’s a lot of fun having Nathan home,” said Devon, “because I get to play with him, hold him and take care of him.”

The baby’s mother must deal with problems in infancy and beyond.

MedicinePlus experts say it is impossible to predict the long-term outcome for an individual premature baby just on the basis of gestational age or birth weight .

Every premature baby’s mother knows that. Dorsey among them.

What does it feel like to deal with so much on this Mother’s Day?

‘”It’s just motherhood with a lot of medical stuff,” she explained her situation. “We tube-feed him. He can drink from a bottle but he gets too exhausted and it’s hard on his heart.”

Dorsey’s advice to all mothers is “Be grateful for the little things.”

“Focus on the things you can change,” added. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. That was the hardest thing for me to learn at the hospital.”

Benefit fund for the Dorseys

The Austin Morning Lions Club has been very helpful to the Dorsey family.

Most of the infant’s medical expenses have been covered by insurance, but the list of uncovered expenses is growing.

A benefit fund has been established at Home Federal Savings Bank in Austin to help the Dorsey family deal with ongoing medical expenses.

For more information, call Home Federal Savings Bank at 433-2355 or visit the bank at 201 West Oakland Ave.