In June Mike and I had decided that it
was the right time to try to have a
baby. It did not take long for us to
become pregnant. By mid July I
discovered I was pregnant. We were both
thrilled! I called the Doctor right away
to be seen. I have a condition called
anti JKA which is very rare. Basically
my pregnancy would need to be monitored
closely due to antibodies that my body
would produce that would basically find
the baby to be like a germ and attack.
It is something that happens later in
the pregnancy and by monitoring the baby
closely they can determine if the baby
is being affected. By my 6th week of
pregnancy I began spotting. I went
straight to the doctor and an ultrasound
was done. The baby was fine and they
could not determine where the bleeding
was coming from. There was basically
nothing they could do. Not something I
wanted to hear. A few weeks later I
began to bleed even more. Again an
ultrasound was done and they detected a
subchorionic hematoma. This was the
cause of the bleeding. I was sent home
again and told again that there was
nothing they could do. At 14 weeks I had
some major bleeding. I was at work when
it happened. I called Mike and my doctor
and was told to get right to the
hospital. At the hospital we waited
hours! Because the pregnancy was not
considered a viable pregnancy we were
not rushed to the Maternity Ward but
remained in the ER. When we were finally
taken back we were told that the baby
again was fine but this time I was put
on complete bedrest until the bleeding
stopped. I was told I could not work. I
continued to see both my OBGYN and a a
high risk doctor weekly. The pregnancy
was going great other then the bleeding.
I had all the normal bloodwork done and
when one test came back that I had a
high risk of down syndrome and Spinal
Bifidia I was told I should have an
amniocentisis done. Not only would they
test for both of the above but they
wanted to check the baby to see if he
tested positive for Anti JKA. On Oct
26th we had the amnio done. Everything
seemed to go well. One risk of having
the amnio done is that I could leak
amniotic fluid. I have had many of these
performed and never had any problem. On
Halloween, 6 days after my amnio, I was
sitting on the couch when I felt a gush
of fluid. I was so scared! I was not
sure what this was. I called my doctor
and he told me to get right to the
hospital. Mike was on his way home from
work and I called him to tell him what
happened. Once he got home we went right
to the hospital. They ran tests and told
me that the fluid was actually urine and
that my water did not break. They said
if I had another instance to call my
doctor right away. We did not even get
to the elevators when it happened again!
I turned right around and went back.
Again they ran tests and said it was
urine and that the baby was putting
pressure on my bladder. I went home and
went about my business but still out of
work. On Novemeber 16th I was scheduled
for my 20 week ultrasound. As soon as
the tech put the machine on I noticed
something was not right. The tech asked
me if I was leaking any fluid. I told
her yes and that I was told by the
hospital that it was urine. She then
told me that the baby barely had any
fluid. She called in the doctor. The
doctor had a horrible look on her face.
She said that I actually leaked all of
my amniotic fluid. I was then sent home
on strict bedrest. I was only allowed to
get up to go to the bathroom. I was told
to drink plenty of water and to come
back in one week. They were hoping the
hole in my amniotic sac would reseal and
the fluid would reaccumulate. This is
the day our nightmare began.
Mike took over doing everything in the
house including cooking dinner, doing
homework, cleaning the house, and being
a taxi for the kids. We went back one
week later and the tech said that there
was even less fluid around the baby. The
doctor came in and said that at this
point he did not believe the hole would
seal. He said basically that the baby
would not survive and I could go into
labor at anytime or develop an
infection. He recommended aborting the
pregnancy. I cried! I couldnt do it. I
wanted to talk to my OBGYN to see what
he thought. I called him and he said
that there is still a chance that it
could seal with strict bedrest. This
gave us hope. There was no way I could
abort a pregnancy in which our little
guy had a strong heartbeat. I was told
once I hit 24 weeks I would then be in
the hospital for the remainder of the
pregnancy. My doctor wanted me to make
it to at least 28 weeks for the baby to
have a better chance of survival. For
the next several weeks I was in bed.
Every morning before Mike left for work
he filled my jug with water and made
sure I had everything I needed. My mom
came over to take the kids to school. I
just laid in bed all day, everyday. On
December 4th I got up to go to the
bathroom. I noticed I was again bleeding
heavily. I was really scared and knew
something was wrong. Something just
didnt feel right. I called the doctor
and was again told to get to the
hospital. Because now the pregnancy was
considered viable I was taken right up
to the maternity ward. I was placed in
the triage room. The doctors came in and
did an internal exam. I saw the doctor's
face and she had a very upsetting
expression. She then said, "I see the
cord." The cord that was nourishing the
baby and giving him oxygen had dropped
down through the cervix. The baby's
heartbeat was irregular. Dropping down
to 90bpm and then up to over 200bpm. The
cord was compressed. The doctor who
examined me called my doctor. He wanted
to talk to one of us. I was too upset to
talk because I knew what he was going to
say. Mike talked to him on the phone and
was told that they would need to induce
labor. There was nothing more they could
do. The baby would not survive. It was
still our decision to wait or induce
however. I was admitted into the
hospital. Mike and I had to make a
decision. After a few hours I began to
have contractions. We decided to induce.
We both cried. At 4am on Dec 5th they
gave me the medications that would bring
labor on. I was then taken to labor and
delivery. At 4:38 am Michael was born.
He still had a heartbeat but was unable
to breath. He was not even trying to
take a breath. The lack on amniotic
fluid caused his lungs to not develop.
The pediatrician examined him and said
he could do nothing. We held Michael
when he died. We took many pictures of
him. are The nurse had said he was so
red from lack of amniotic fluid. I did
not even notice it. He was the most
beautiful baby I have ever seen. I know
he felt loved as he passed. Our little
angel is now watching down on us from
Heaven. Mike made a comment that he now
has a guardian angel.
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