Very early on the morning of February 10th, 2007, I awoke to find myself bleeding. I was 36 weeks and 2 days pregnant and had had a perfect pregnancy until then. However, a 20 week ultrasound revealed a low-lying placenta that would probably, I was told, correct itself.

As I quickly sat up in bed, more blood began to gush out. I shook my husband awake and we stumbled to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and yet more blood poured out of me. I believe that my water had broken then, and I sat there counting the long seconds until it stopped. The water in the toilet was bright red and I noticed a few clots as I climbed over to the bathtub. That's when I calmly but quickly announced to my husband- "Call 911, then get dressed. Get your wallet, keys, my purse, and make sure the front door is open." Before he had even finished completing those tasks, the paramedics arrived.

Against protocol, they brought me to a different hospital- one with a level 3 NICU. It was not the hospital I was registered with, but due to all the blood loss I had experienced, they broke the rules, and we headed to the large hospital in town, thankfully. Painful pelvic examinations were inconclusive and my baby's heart rate was in the 190s- very high. A placental abruption was suspected. When the head OB arrived, she told me we would be having my baby that day. The nurses prepped me for surgery and I was soon wheeled into the O.R.

My daughter, Elizabeth, was pulled from me white as a ghost and limp. She was handed over to the NICU team and I wouldn't see her again until late that night. The doctors discovered velamentous insertion of the umblical cord and a succenturiate placental lobe. The umbilical cord was white. I heard a nurse announce, "There's no blood in the cord".. They couldn't even sample it for testing. In the recovery room, my nurse said, "I'm so glad they decided to operate on you so quickly. I saw this happen a few years ago, to another patient, and it did not end well".

Elizabeth had lost about 40% of her blood. She received 2 blood transfusions and a platelet transfusion as well. She was diagnosed with perinatal hypovolemic shock, was hypotensive and had metabolic acidosis. She sustained damage to her liver, kidneys and bowels, and her blood would not clot. For two days, the NICU doctors and nurses would not give us any kind of prognosis, saying, "Let's take it day by day".

On day three, it all turned around. Elizabeth began to recover slowly but steadily. We were able to bring her home just 7 days after she was born. She is a healthy and happy 20 month old today. And, as you can imagine, she is so very precious to me.

A few months ago, I was finally able to contact the OB who performed my c-section. I thanked her many times and we went over my hospital records together. She believes that Elizabeth was not instantly and fatally compromised by the rupture because the tear had been a small one- but one that still managed to cause her to lose almost half of her blood. So that, and an amazing succession of well-timed events as well as fast-acting paramedics, nurses, and doctors, are responsible for the amazing, statistics-defying life of my daughter. Not a day goes by where I am not humbled by those odds. And so with all my heart, my sympathy goes out to all those parents who have lost their babies. I'm so very sorry.

~ Tiffany McCunn