North Carolina for the past 18 yrs, and we are a Christian family that tries to go to church every Sunday. My mom also opened a Christian child care center 12 years ago. She was working at GE doing financial work, but she said that she got a calling from God to teach his children when she would start thinking of activities to do with children driving down the road, or at random times through out the day. She also realized the need of quality care for children, because of the child care center that I was at when I was a baby was not a quality one. I am also fortunate to have two siblings that have made my life a little more interesting. I have a 16 yr old sister-Michelle, and a 8 yr old brother-Raymond. When my sister and I were younger we used to play together all the time, we were best friends we were even on the same soccer team, shared the same room, but things started to change and we grew distant and we stopped having each others back, we didn't treat one another like best friends. I remember the day my mother told my sister and I that she 
was pregnant with a boy, I had been praying for over two years to have another sibling, and I wanted it to be a boy. My parents took us out to one of our favorite fancy restaurants I don't even remember the name now because we don't even have time to go out to restaurants anymore and we don't have the money to spend on expensive meals. We were at a table by a big fish tank and my parents were on one side, and my sister and I were on the other my mom had a folder for her, and they asked us what we thought about having another sibling. Then my mom showed us some pictures of our baby brother, and at that time we didn't know that there were going to be any complications with him, but our parents told us that there is the possibly that he might not live or something could go wrong and he might not be how we think. My sister and I were ecstatic and we were able to go to the next appointment with our parents, and we got to see different pictures of him, and also hear his heart beat. It wasn't until an appointment or two later that our family realized that he was going to have some major health conditions. Raymond was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which is a condition that causes the left side of the heart to not develop and it takes a 3 staged surgery to repair. The doctors wanted my mother to have an abortion but she knew that God would have things under control and that we would love him no matter what, and we had already fell in love with him before he was born. Our family interview many doctors/hospitals and we decided on University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Raymond was born on June 11th in the morning and my parents were not even allowed to touch him before he was taken away to be worked on. I remember "sleeping" on a mattress in a closet and in a bigger room before I was allowed to see my brother, and I also remember not being able to sleep cause all I wanted to do was see him and hold his hand and my parents had to threaten me not being able to see him in order for me to go to sleep. The first time I saw him all I could remember was seeing his round cute face and his small hands and feet, he was perfect. It wasn't until a couple days later that I really started to notice all the chords. We were not allowed to hold him until Father's Day and even then it was only for a couple of minutes and then he had to be put back in bed. Raymond has had a rough road but he is a very happy child who has survived 5 open heart surgeries, full life support, had stitches in his head and chin, and is currently fighting for his life after being attacked by the H1N1 virus. 
Raymond has over come more than doctors have ever imagined, he has been able to talk, walk, run, play soccer, play musical instruments, add, subtract, write stories, drive his car, and many other things that normal children do. It is because of God, love from others, prayers, and his determination that he is here today. My life and my family's life wouldn't be the same without him in our life. He has taught us how to love, how to never give up, how to be strong in tough situations, and much more, he is a blessing to be around. I will always love you Raymond John Winter Jr.
