It's been a while

It has been a long time since I have written a blog post. So here goes.

It has been a crazy week.

A young man drowned right in front of me at Orange Beach. What a helpless feeling.

I was doing my job. Sally Pitts and I went to Orange Beach a few weeks ago to shoot a story about rip currents and what to do if you get caught in one.

We simply came back to Orange Beach on July 3rd to be live on TV. What happened around 4:30 p.m. was unimaginable. Since this entire ordeal happened I have been doing a lot of thinking.

I can't describe how much I miss my son, Logan. I feel like in the business I work in with all the crap I see that I am desensitized to a lot of things. That doesn't mean I don't have feelings, I have just learned to move on. I can't move on from losing my son, it is the hardest thing I can imagine anyone going through. I don't wish losing a child on anyone. There are so many what if's. I will quote a song that Anna and I put on Logan's video we have. It sums up how I feel.

"Sunny days seem to hurt the most.

 I wear the pain like a heavy coat.

 I feel you everywhere I go.

 I see your smile, I see your face,

 I hear you laughin' in the rain.

 I still can't believe you're gone.

 It ain't fair: you died too young,

 Like the story that had just begun,

 But death tore the pages all away.

 God knows how I miss you,

 All the hell that I've been through,

 Just knowin' no-one could take your place.

 An' sometimes I wonder,

 Who'd you be today?

 Would you see the world? Would you chase your dreams?

 Settle down with a family,

 I wonder what would you name your babies?

 Some days the sky's so blue,

 I feel like I can talk to you,

 An' I know it might sound crazy.

 It ain't fair: you died too young,

 Like the story that had just begun,

 But death tore the pages all away.

 God knows how I miss you,

 All the hell that I've been through,

 Just knowin' no-one could take your place.

 An' sometimes I wonder,

 Who you'd be today?

 Today, today, today.

 Today, today, today.

 Sunny days seem to hurt the most.

 I wear the pain like a heavy coat.

 The only thing that gives me hope,

 Is I know I'll see you again some day.

 Some day, some day, some day."

The Picture below is from July 4th, 2008. This is the first time I got to hold Logan. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

Anna and I created a butterfly garden at home years ago, I guess six years now, and I saw some today while I was working in the yard. Butterflies remind me of Logan. This past week while working a butterfly came out of nowhere and landed on the microphone I was holding, that made my heart smile.

Logan, I Love You. I miss you everyday. I would love to see who you would be today.

I need your help!

My wife and I are supporting the March of Dimes again this year. I don't like asking people for money but this is a very important cause. If you would like to donate you can do so by either seeing me or you can go to http://marchforbabies.org/dgooden I know times are tough but if you can donate it is truly appreciated and it does make a difference. For those of you who don't know our story here it is from my wife's perspective.

This first picture is Logan. We had 17 days with him that we will never forget.

This is Eli. He was born a healthy baby and is 6 months old. He is healthy because the March of Dimes has helped fund research to help prevent pre-term births.

Our story begins in June 2008… the first 23 weeks of my pregnancy had gone perfectly. I had virtually no morning sickness and was just enjoying being pregnant with our first child. But on June 16, that all changed. It was the day after Father’s Day and I went to the doctor with what I thought was a minor issue. Instead I was told that I was 3-4 cm dilated and that I was possibly losing amniotic fluid. I was taken to ultrasound, where I was told my fluid level was good, before being rushed to the hospital. I was put on magnesium sulfate and my doctor explained to us that I had an infection and it was impossible to know if the infection caused my cervix to dilate or my cervix dilating created the infection. Whatever had caused it, I was going to be in the hospital on strict bed rest for most, if not all, of the rest of my pregnancy. After a day or two we discovered that I was leaking fluid and my fluid was now next to gone. We were told that every day was a victory and that if we could make it to 24 weeks our child would have a much better chance of survival. After a few days I was taken off of the magnesium and given a different labor stopping drug and it was working.

It worked until June 27 when our son Logan decided he had waited long enough. He was born at 2:42am weighing 1 lb. 10 oz. and 13 in. long. I was given a few precious moments to see him before he was whisked to the NICU. An hour or so later I got to see him again and touch him for the first time. We were told again that every day was a victory and that we WOULD have good days and bad days. We were told that the situation could change very quickly. Over the next 17 days, we spent as much time as possible in that NICU. We were told that Logan was doing as well as could be expected. And then came the day that we were told that Logan’s kidneys weren’t functioning properly. The nurses and doctors weren’t overly worried at that point.

It all changed in a matter of hours. We received a call very early on Monday, July 14 that they had put Logan on a different kind of ventilator. They wanted to warn us so we wouldn’t be alarmed when we came to visit. We left for the hospital as quickly as possible. When we got there we were told that they were considering transferring our son to a different hospital that had a different kind of ventilator that might help him. While the nurses worked with him, we were taken to a private room to wait. It wasn’t long before a nurse came back in. She told us that Logan’s condition was declining rapidly and that we should come back in. Everything was a blur in that room. The nurses were doing chest compressions and administering drugs. But there was nothing that could be done and he died in our arms.

His life and death sent us down a path we never expected. We immediately became HUGE supporters of the March of Dimes because without their support, our son wouldn’t have lived even 17 days. We probably wouldn’t have had the chance to hold him and kiss him while he was alive.

In October 2010, partly due to the amazing research of the March of Dimes, we were blessed with the arrival of our second son, Eli. With the help of a preventative cerclage and 17P shots, I was induced at 39 weeks and Eli was born perfectly healthy at 8 lbs. We strive every day to keep the memory of our son alive in our home and to do what we can to prevent this from happening to other families.


Thanks.

Doug Gooden

Six Months

Today Eli turns six months old. I am off from work today because I have to work on Saturday. So Eli and I get to hang out together. He is growing up so fast. He changes every day. Anna and I are so blessed to have a wonderful baby. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Logan. I wonder how things would be now, how he would be almost three and there would be three of us around the house right now. I know he is in a better place but I sure do miss him. Anna surprised me with a new toy. She got me an iPad 2. I was SUPER excited. I will post pictures below. As you can see Eli is starting early using the technology. I told Anna I would blog more now that I have an iPad. I hope I can keep that promise.

2 Years

Two years ago today Anna and I lost our son Logan. There are no words that can describe that feeling. A lot has happened in the last 730 days. There is a saying that is actually part of a song that means a lot to me and I think it fits Logan's life perfectly to me.

 

"There's two date in time that they'll carve on your stone and everyone knows what they mean. What's more important is the time that is known in that little dash there in between.... That little dash there in between."

 

Logan was only a small baby but in 17 days he changed my life and others forever.

 

I miss you baby boy.

 

 

Blog

Blog

So I have been a huge slacker when it comes to updating my blog. It is
probably the busiest time of the year for me. College football has
started so Go Trojans, Roll Tide or War Wagle whatever strikes your
interest. This is the time of the year when I don't get to see my
family much. This is the time of the year when everybody thinks I have
the coolest job in the world. Sometimes my job is very gratifying but
most of the time it is like any job out there. Many of my friends
these days have what I would call factory jobs. They go to work, work
there shift and go home. That is NOT my job. I love what I do but it
is very different than what you would think. Any way I get to see and
be involved in a lot of different things. Lately I have seen some
crazy stuff. If you follow politics is it not crazy that State
Representative Alvin Holmes wants a federal investigation into the
city of Monthomery's budget? He is saying that racism is involved
since the majority of the employees are black. I think Mr. Holmes
doesn't want racism to end. The majority of the people living in
Monthomery are black, the majority of the employee's are black so why
is it racist that a majority of the layoffs would come from the
majority of the people? I know Mr. Holmes is simply doing this for
votes in the next election. I have nothing against Mr. Holmes but I do
have a problem with people bringing up race and stirring a pot that is
very delicate and personal to many people.

Another crazy story. Coming soon!

Sent from my iPod

Day 2

Today's post is short because it is late for me. 4am comes early and
the gym is calling my name. Today was pretty good, I did a lot of
driving and I got to shoot a story about a truck driver who turned
into a car dealership and took out the power and telephone lines to 75
other businesses in Montgomery. Basically, the lines sag when it is
hot and they were too low this morning. It was interesting.

My yellow lab is getting bigger by the day. I love my dogs. That is it
for today hopefully I will know more tomorrow.

Sent from my iPod

Day 1 & Why

So here I am doing a blog. A month or so ago I would have told you that it is a waste of time. I have seen others do it and I have read a few of them but I could't figure out why they did it. My wife started "blogging"and I really enjoy her posts. I feel like she has the opportunity to express herself without verbally saying anything. I came up with the name of this blog pretty easily. Since I work in Television News and work behind the scenes I decided to name my blog "My View from the Other Side" Basically I am going to try to give my daily account of what I see everyday on the job and in my life. I am also going to voice my opinion on some of things too. For instance, today I shot a story on Cash for Clunkers. I think this is a total waste of our money. Even the car dealers in Montgomery think it is a bad idea. Why does the government want to be in the automobile industry? That is all I am going to say about that for now. I hope this is interesting if you decide to follow the blog. I think this blog will provide me with an outlet to "Vent" without saying a word.

Doug