WABASHA — Ellendale is a long, long way from the Philippines.

And while Wabasha resident Matthew Gordon and is wife, Irish, spent this Christmas in that tiny southern Minnesota community about 10 miles north of Albert Lea, last Christmas in the Phillipines halfway around the world, perhaps no one made a longer journey from last year to this than their son, Waylen.

A year ago on Christmas, miracle baby Waylen was in an incubator at the Makati Medical Center in Manila. He spent more than two months there and finally went home with his mother last Jan. 11. At the time he weighed 2.4 pounds. He was 13.38 inches long when he was born on Veterans Day 2007.

On Dec. 25, 2008, little Waylen isn’t all that little anymore, thankfully. He now weighs 18.8 pounds, remarkable progress for someone who was born 11 weeks early and has had such a long road to travel to get a solid foothold on life, and he spent Christmas with his mother and father, and his family, in Ellendale. According to Matt’s reports, Waylen and all of his new family enjoyed a very nice, but just a very typical, Midwestern Christmas.

For that, the Gordons, and anyone who may read this story and can understand what this family has gone through, are certainly very thankful. Few Christmas gifts, if any, can compare to watching a child grow and enjoy good health.

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This story actually begins, though, in the spring of 2007. Matt, a native of Albert Lea, was living in Owatonna and was working in Waseca at the federal prison there. He had met his future wife, Irish, online, and decided to travel to the Philippines that spring to meet her in person. Well, as the story so often goes, they fell in love and were married. Soon, a baby was on the way.

Ahhh, but Matt had to return to the United States that October as he was on a six-month visa, and the baby didn’t want to wait for the standard “full term,” it seemed and suddenly, on the morning of Nove. 6, 2007, Irish was sent to St. Claire’s hospital in Manila, due to hypertension. She was 27 weeks pregnant.

After a week of staying in St. Claire’s, Irish was transferred to the Makati Medical Center in Manila to undergo an emergency Caesarean delivery for the new baby. Remember, Matt was not there to be the comforting husband, though he wishes he could have been.

Waylen was born very premature and so he was extremely vulnerable to infection and other illnesses.

“He almost died right after being born,” Matthew said. “Doctors insured that Waylen would not remove his oxygen tubes by tying down his hands and feet.”

And Irish almost died of the hypertension, which is why the doctors finally chose to do the C-section.

“Her blood pressure gradually began to climb to the point that by the end of October, she began havingregular nose bleeds. After 24 hours of trying to deliver the natural way, her blood pressure went way up to 170/140 and that was nearly fatal — which is what led them to make that difficult decision.”

So, little Waylen celebrated his first Christmas and New Year in an incubator. He was in the incubator, in the hospital with his mother, for more than two months.

After spending the first five months of his life with his mother in the Philippines, Waylen and mom returned to the United States in April.

“I flew back to the Phillipines to get them (Irish and the baby),” Matt continued. “We moved to Wabasha at that time, as I had gone into sales for Solem-Kreye Realty.”

This past week they all spent Christmas with Matt’s family in Ellendale.

“We may try to go to the Philippines next Christmas, but that’s a long way off yet,” Matt said.

Indeed. It wasn’t time to stop celebrating this Christmas yet. Even an ordinary family Christmas, with all the ordinary food and traditions, is worth savoring after all this family had been through.

Because when you’ve spent your first one in an incubator, or the previous one by your premature baby’s side in the hospital, or alone while your wife and child were thousands of miles away — any Christmas that’s close to normal would be a welcome change.

And it certainly makes everyone who has experienced the holidays with a newborn stop and think — and give thanks a little bit — when hanging ornaments on the Christmas tree, or when placing precious photos in an album labeled “Baby’s First Christmas.”