Raising God's Rainbow Makers: Birth of Child #3 - Shane (Mahlou)
Precerpt (excerpt from book prior to publication): Raising God's Rainbow Makers (Mahlou)
Shane almost didn’t see the light of day.
After Noelle’s birth and diagnosis of spina bifida, Donnie and I were told we had a 40% chance of future children having major birth defects. That number hung over us like a storm cloud. As my pregnancy with Shane progressed, the legal limit for abortion in Massachusetts loomed closer, and the doctors grew increasingly anxious. If a serious defect was detected, they advised termination. Their logic was clinical: we were already navigating one high-stress child-rearing situation. Why risk another?
But the test we needed—the alpha-fetoprotein analysis—was only available in New York at the time. And wouldn’t you know it? The equipment broke down. Temporarily, yes, but long enough to rob us of the chance to know whether Shane had a neural tube defect. We were left to make a life-altering decision without the one piece of information that could have made it easier.
Still, I knew. Just as I had with Lizzie and Noelle, I knew Shane’s gender and his health status with a certainty that defied science. With Lizzie, I never questioned her health—she was my first, and I was blissfully unaware of all the things that could go wrong in the womb. We bought girl clothes, picked girl names, and waited. With Noelle, though, I felt it in my bones: something wasn’t right. I tried to convince the doctor, but he refused to hear me. Thankfully, he was out on Memorial Day vacation—back then, it was always celebrated on May 30, Noelle’s birthday. Had he delivered her, he’d have gotten an earful from me.
With Shane, we hadn’t picked out any boy names—we couldn’t agree on one—but girl names were off the table. This was a boy. I also knew he was healthy. So, when the doctor suggested a preemptive abortion to avoid another “problem” child, I stood firm.
“This baby is healthy,” I insisted. And I was right. Shane turned out to be the healthiest of all four children. Just like Donnie, who, incredibly, experienced illness on only one day in his life—until cancer, diagnosed by surprise at age 72, took him from us in five months. Not young, but not old, either.
When Shane’s time came, he followed his sisters in making a dramatic entrance. Lizzie had gotten “stuck”—my cervix refused to dilate completely. After I had endured 18 hours of hard labor in a very rural hospital, the nurse suggested the doctor just reach in and pull Lizzie out. He did. (Ah, rural solutions!) Noelle’s labor lasted 72 hours. I slept through most of it—pain puts me to sleep. She was breech, and the doctor finally resorted to forceps. That may be why she was born with an open, torn meningomyelocele instead of a closed sac.
Now it was Shane’s turn.
He arrived after just 12 hours of labor—my quickest yet—but not without his own complication. The umbilical cord had wrapped around his neck. Thankfully, I had one of the best doctors imaginable: a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He appreciated my approach to labor—no screaming, no fussing, just laughter and banter with Donnie to distract from the seismic pain that hit every 30 to 40 seconds. He told me it was rare to see a patient so in control and asked if he could bring in a few of his newest students to observe. Screaming women unnerved them, apparently. (I assume they got used to it eventually.) I agreed, and I’m glad I did. As he explained everything to his students, I got to hear it all—and nothing was kept from me.
He noticed a slowdown in Shane’s heartbeat on the monitor and quickly pinpointed the cord as the culprit. He scratched his head for a couple of minutes, then stepped outside to consult the nurse who’d been with me since labor began. He wanted her opinion on whether I could stay in control. She gave him a confident yes.
Back in the room, he laid out his options: a c-section, which could take 45 minutes and risk Shane’s safety, or something more aggressive. He preferred the latter. His plan? Reach in, remove the cord, and get Shane out fast.
“Is there any chance you can do a sit-up?” he asked.
“I’m an Army officer,” I replied. “I had my annual PT test last week and passed with the maximum score—including 40 sit-ups. How many sit-ups would you like?”
Back then, I was one of the first women to get pregnant and stay in the Army. There were no maternity uniforms, no time off before birth, and definitely no exemption from physical requirements. I was still doing PT, still showing up, still pushing through.
So I did my Army sit-ups. It only took a couple before the doctor shouted, “Stop! We need to get to the delivery room immediately; this baby is going to be out in seconds.” And he was.
Funny thing—Shane, even as an infant, would do sit-ups if you held his ankles and chin-ups if you held his fingers. Just a few months old, and already mimicking my PT routine. For quite a while, he was the star of every Army party. “Bring the baby” was scribbled on every invitation.
Shane’s birth was a whirlwind of intuition, grit, and grace. He was the child who almost wasn’t—but who arrived with strength, humor, and a story that still makes people laugh and marvel. And yes, he’s still the healthiest of the bunch.
Book Description:
A Family Memoir of Grace, Grit, and Growing Up Different
What happens when a military family welcomes four children—each with wildly different needs—into a world not always built to support them?
In Raising God’s Rainbow Makers, one mother shares the remarkable journey of raising two children with complex disabilities—one with spina bifida, one with CHARGE Syndrome—and two intellectually gifted children, all born in different states during years of military life. Through medical crises, educational challenges, and societal roadblocks (both intentional and unintentional), this honest and inspiring memoir tells the story of how one family built a life of strength, compassion, and resilience.
With warmth and unflinching honesty, the author reflects on emergency surgeries, IEP battles, unexpected victories, and the fierce sibling bonds that formed in the face of it all. The children—now grown—bear witness to the power of support, faith, and never giving up.
This is not just a story of survival. It is a celebration of difference, a chronicle of hope, and a powerful testament to what love and determination can build when the world says "impossible."
Keywords:
Parenting memoir; Special needs parenting; Raising children with disabilities; Military family life; Family resilience; Inspirational family story; Faith-based memoir; Coping with medical challenges; Sibling support stories; Gifted children; Spina bifida; CHARGE Syndrome; Hydrocephalus; Congenital disabilities; Complex medical needs; Pediatric neurosurgery; IEP and special education; Gifted education; Educational advocacy; Inclusive education; Hope and healing; Courage and strength; Love and perseverance; Raising different children; Disability acceptance; Parenting through adversity; Overcoming barriers; Finding joy in hardship; Special needs journey; Family unity and support; For parents of disabled children; For parents of gifted children; For educators and therapists; Christian parenting memoir; For families facing rare diagnoses; Real-life parenting stories; Memoirs about raising children; Stories of medical miracles
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