We found out that I was pregnant in
October of 2002. At 43, I had figured
that my conceiving days were over. So
we were surprised but very happy. Our
son Chris, who is now 8, was thrilled
when we found out in late November
that we were having a boy! We had CVS
done because of my age. About a week
after the procedure, I started
bleeding. They checked via ultrasound
and found that I had a subchorionic
hematoma, which reaborbed within a
couple of weeks. However, I was still
bleeding on and off. My AFP test came
back positive, so I had a Level III
ultrasound at the beginning of January
2003. It showed that everything was
fine and the baby was growing
well.
Life changed forever on January 13. I
was standing at the stove making
dinner when I felt the gush. I knew
what had happened and called the
doctor right away. She sent me to the
hospital, where they did tests to
determine if this was indeed a
membrane rupture. I was told that it
definitely was NOT and sent home. In
my heart, I knew better, so I called
the doctor again the next morning and
got an appointment right away. As I'd
had an ultrasound the day before, she
decided to do a comparison that day.
Proof positive - where there had been
fluid 24 hours before, there was no
longer fluid. Apparently the bleeding
can negate the tests.
I was admitted to the hospital that
day and given IV antibiotics, then
sent home on bedrest at the end of the
week. During the 5+ weeks I was on
bedrest, I continued to bleed and leak
fluid. The baby was doing well, but
whatever fluid he generated leaked out
of me. At 24 weeks, I started to feel
what I thought were contractions. Off
we went to the hospital, where they
monitored me in L&D for 2 days. The
contractions subsided, I was given a
series of 4 steroid shots and settled
into my same antepartum room to
continue growing this baby as long as
possible.
On February 21, I had a backache all
day. I was dealing with constipation
and figured that this was all a part
of that problem. I went to sleep that
night and awoke at 2:45 AM with the
feeling that all was not right. I had
them come in and check me - sure
enough, the resident saw fetal parts.
By this time the baby's heartrate had
disappeared. They searched for 45
minutes and finally found it via
transvaginal ultrasound - it was in
the 60's. Things went into overdrive
at that point. I was whisked off to
the OR, got general anesthetic and had
an emergency c-section, where our son
Jeffrey Daniel was born at 4:24 AM on
Feb. 22. He weighed 1 lb. 7 oz. and
was 11 1/2 inches long. My husband
went to the NICU and was with him when
he was baptized. They took me to see
him after I awoke in recovery, then
called a couple of hours later and
told us his heart rate was dropping.
I managed to get into a wheelchair and
we went to hold him. He was so
precious. Jeffrey died that day at
10:55 AM. I'll always be grateful for
the time we were able to spend with
him here on earth. God is good and is
cradling our precious boy in his arms
until we meet again.
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