When Lawrence was born, he came to us through a natural delivery and only 9 days early. The week before he was born I started spotting. This was worrisome for us because a year earlier I had miscarried and it started out with the spotting. After going in to the hospital to check it out, the doctor trusted the hospital ultrasound techs when they told him everything was fine. Immediately when Lawrence was born I knew something was wrong. He was very tiny and it scared me. 3 pounds 11 oz. How can a baby be that small and be ok I would think to myself. After 9 days in the NICU and some exams later we found that my placenta had started to age and my little boy was actually losing weight in the womb. The doctor swears had it been 1 day later, we would have had a delivery but nothing good would have come of it. My heart broke. I swore I would never go through that again. Little did we know...
In January of 2009 I had some pain in my hip. I went to the doctor and we thought it was sciatic nerve issues so he gave me some vicodin. A week later I was laid up and could not walk. My leg had swollen so big I could not get pants on. So, I decided we had to go back to the doctor and see what was up. I have never seen a look like the doctor gave me. He immediately said there was a clot in my leg and scheduled an emergency ultrasound. They found a DVT that ran from my abdomen all the way to my foot. I was immediately admitted to the hospital and had surgery to remove the massive clot. At that time I was told that my contraceptive had most likely caused the clot and that I was lucky to be alive. We went to the doctor in May to get clearance to have another baby. They said yep everything is ok. You are good to go! Yay, we were so excited! By September we found out we were expecting... that's when the fun began.
Shortly after I learned I was pregnant I was diagnosed with a blood disorder. MTHFR. This disorder is known to be the main cause of miscarriages and placenta tears and aging. This explained Lawrence's issues. Now what do we do? I can't get rid of this baby because I am scared! My doctor started taking preventive measures immediately. I was required to give myself a blood thinner shot in my stomach every day and had regular ultrasounds every other week. 1 month before Kherington was to be born the doctors found a clot in her cord. I was scheduled for induction 3 days later.
When I went to the hospital to start my induction they found I had dilated so they decided to just put me on monitors and start the process in the morning. We were sitting around the room visiting and watching TV and all of the sudden a rush of doctors and nurses ran into my room. I was instructed to immediately lay on my left side and they put an oxygen mask over my face. What was going on!? I have never been so scared in my life. My poor baby was in distress. Her heartbeat was low and she was no longer kicking. She was dying inside of me and I could do nothing about it! They rushed me to the delivery room and decided to induce me right away. That wasn't going to work, she was too high up to come out. Then the discussions came for an emergency C-Section. There was 1 problem. My blood disorder. As I am crying and holding the oxygen mask on my face the anesthesiologist came in the room and started giving us options for the procedure. He said if I were to be completely put out it would cause a problem with the delivery and cause a lot of stress to the baby. However, if I chose to be awake I was at risk of blood clots in my spine and permanent damage. What do I do? My amazing doctor sat by my bedside and started to calm me down. He filled the anesthesiologist in on all of my blood problems and then he told me we needed to address if I was going to go through with getting my tubes tied. I had never even though this was an issue. Now he is telling me we can't guarantee that the baby will live and did I really want to tie my tubes in case something bad happened. I had accepted the worst and we opted out of the tube tying. What was about to happen?!
The doctor sat by my bedside for the next 20 minutes while they prepped the OR. Emergency C-Section was the solution and I was not allowed to be awake because it had to happen that fast. I was being given all kinds of medications to prep me for the surgery, my Mom was running around to find my Dad so he could take Lawrence. Leon was running around to find his dad and get Lawrence from him to pass him off to my Dad. I was left with my doctor. He truly was my light through the whole thing. I remember crying and looking at him telling him I was scared. He patted my hand and promised he would make it ok. By 8:15 they were wheeling me into the OR. I was moved over to the operating table and given a bigger more secure oxygen mask. Something was wrong, the monitors were not beeping. They worked quickly and got me all prepped. I had 3 anesthesiologist around my head. One was holding my IV, one was holding my mask and another one had his fingers on my throat prepping me for the tubes. By 8:28 they were ready, I looked at the clock they told me to count backwards from 10 and breathe deep. I woke up at around 10.
I was a mommy again! I had a beautiful baby girl. She was in the NICU which we expected because she was so early. She weighed 4 lb 2 oz. She was amazing. Still not knowing anything horrible I was relieved. Then the stories started coming in. Kherington was born at 8:34, 8 minutes after I looked at the clock. She came out with no heart rate and not breathing. They had to resuscitate her. She needed oxygen and heart monitors. Her NICU visit would be totally different than Lawrence. My baby had actually tried to leave me, but she came back. God knew that I needed my little girl more than he did that day. My doctor still to this day reminds me what a miracle she is and had we waited one day longer we would have had a tragedy. I am so lucky to have found such a great doctor and he will forever be someone I thank on a daily basis for both of my kids.
Today I sit and think, how lucky am I to have both of my miracles. My dear friend lost her little girl, and it is horrible that I didn't even realize what that was like until mine was almost gone. Be thankful to God and to your doctor for your children. I may complain a lot but my kids are my world. I wouldn't give them up for anything and I don't know what I would have done had one of them not made it through.
Thank you Lord for blessing me with such wonderful kids and a loving husband. When I live that day over and over again in my head, I know my faith has brought me through this. Once my miracles were born, I knew immediately I had to express my love for them by getting their names put permanently onto my body. Ty Armstrong did an amazing job making sure that I always carry my kids on my shoulders.
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