MELONIE

HI!! MY NAME IS MELONIE. I FOUND OUT I WAS EXPECTING IN NOV. 1997. I WORKED IN A REMANUFACTORING PLANT DOING HEAVY LIFTING. I WAS ALREADY 2 MONTHS ALONG! THIS WOULD BE MY 2ND CHILD! I HAD NO COMPLICATIONS DURING PREGANCY AND HAD 3 SONOGRAMS. EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE FINE! I WAS VERY ACTIVE AND PLAYED HACKY SAC THREE TIMES A DAY UP TO THE DAY BEFORE MY DOCTOR DECIDED TO INDUCE LABOR.(ONE WEEK AFTER DUE DATE) THATS WHEN MY PREGANCY TOOK A TURN FOR THE WORST! I WENT IN AT FIVE IN THE MORNING TO GET THE BALL ROLLING AND AT 7:45 THE CHARGE NURSE CAME IN TO CHECK ME. I WAS AT A 4 CM AND THEY DECIDED TO BREAK MY WATER! WITH WHAT YOU KNOW NOW ABOUT VESA PREVIA THIS WAS NOT A GOOD THING!! I HAD TO HAVE MY WATER BROKE WITH MY FIRST CHILD AND IT WAS NOT FEELING THE SAME ESPECIALLY WHEN I WAS LISTENING TO THE BABY'S HEARTBEAT AND THEN THERE WASN'T ONE! MY DOCTOR WAS VERY CALM TO TELL ME THERE WAS MORE BLOOD THAN HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE WITH A PROCEDURE LIKE THAT AND THEY WERE GOING TO DO AN EMERGENCY C-SECTION. I LOOKED AT THE BED AND I REMEMBER THINKING THEY MUST HAVE POKED A HOLE IN HER HEAD OR SOMETHING BECAUSE MY BED WAS SOAKED RED! AT ABOUT 10:00 I WAS AWAKENED BY THE MOST HORRIBLE WORDS I HAD EVER HEARD! ANOTHER OB/GYN WAS LEANING OVER ME TELLING ME SHE HAD GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS!! SHE SAID THE GOODS NEWS WAS THAT I HAD A BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL BUT THE BAD NEWS WAS THAT SHE WAS BORN WITH NO BLOOD AND NOT BREATHING! NOW I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT WITH THAT KIND OF NEWS,LET ALONE NOT BEING ABLE TO SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE OF A TUBE STUFFED DOWN YOUR THROAT, NOT TO MENTION STILL BEING OUT OF IT FROM SURGERY I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT SHEUL WAS TELLING ME. I WENT BACK OUT OF IT! I WAS TRYING MY HARDEST TO STAY AWAKE BUT COULDN'T! I FINALLY CONVINCED MYSELF THAT SHE WAS TELLING ME SHE WASN'T ALIVE!! I FINALLY CAME TO ABOUT 11:00 AND THEY INFORMED ME OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS THAT WHEN THEY BROKE MY WATER HER BLOOD SUPPLY WAS DRAINED! THEY DID A BLOOD TRANSFUSION ON HER AND GAVE HER CPR FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF BEFORE SHE STARTED BREATHING AGAIN! SHE WAS THEN CAREFLIGHTED TO A LARGER HOSPITAL WHERE I JOINED HER 3 DAYS LATER AND WE CAME HOME 8 DAYS LATER! AFTER THAT SCARE WAS OVER THEN THERE WAS THE FRIGHT OF BRAIN DAMAGE WE HAD TO DEAL WITH! WE KNOW SHE WAS WITHOUT BLOOD AND OXYGEN FOR AT LEAST 6 MINUTES (MAYBE LONGER) SO THAT WAS OUR NEXT CONCERNS! TEST AFTER TEST,DOCTOR AFTER DOCTOR SHE WAS FINALLY RELEASED FROM THE NEUROLOGIST WHEN SHE WAS 14 MONTHS OLD! SHE SEEMS TO BE PERFECT AND HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF ENERGY!!! I THANK GOD EVERY DAY FOR LETTING HER STAY HERE WITH US.

I'M NOT SURE WHERE I READ YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH JULIA. I WAS JUST SURFIN' THE WEB AND CAME ACROSS IT. I'M TRULY SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS. I WISH EVERYONE WAS AS LUCKY AS ME TO STILL HAVE THEIR CHILD. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL BABY! WHOEVER TOOK THE PICTURES DID A WONDERFUL JOB! I DON'T THINK I COULD HAVE HANDLED IT IF I WERE IN YOUR SHOES.

MY THOUGHTS ARE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!

MELONIE IN TEXAS