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Our Story Don and I were married April 25, 1998. September 13, 2000 we found we were pregnant with Alex. I set up an appointment with my OB-GYN and heard the heart beat for the first time - 144 beats per minute. So overwhelmed with happiness. Unfortunately, the overwhelming happiness would soon turn into overwhelming sadness. On November 30, 2000, at 19 weeks pregnant had the first ultrasound . I brought my video tape to record every minute - only 30 seconds was recorded. The technician proceeded with the scan but wasn't getting good pictures. She couldn't even get the routine pictures. So she called the doctor in for a second opinion. He confirmed her suspicion - low amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios). We then followed the doctor into his office where an appointment for a more detailed ultrasound was to be made. At first, we were going to have to wait a week for the second ultrasound. After my doctor's office gave them a detailed explanation, we got an appointment for that same day. We asked the doctor what could cause low fluid. He explained that something could be wrong with Alex's kidneys. I immediately called my parents and my mom went with us for the second ultrasound. My husband also contacted his parents who came that same day. Well, after traveling approximately 2 hours, we were having the second more detailed ultrasound that confirmed Alex had bilateral renal agenesis (no kidneys) also known as Potters Syndrome. We then followed another doctor to his office where he explained everything and gave us our options. All of this within a 3 - 4 hour period. After considering these options, we decided to set up an appointment on December 6, 2000 for a third ultrasound. This ultrasound went a step further by looking for arteries where the kidneys should be but there were none. There was no way the kidneys could form without those arteries. (The fluid is produced by the baby after approximately 16 weeks, the fluid is then ingested by the baby to help form the lungs and other vital organs.) We had made an appointment for induction of labor on December 6, 2000. I was in labor for approximately 37 hours. On December 7, 2000 (my birthday) our little precious angel, Alex, was born at 8:08 PM. Because he was much smaller (160 grams - 6.5 ounces) and more fragile than we had assumed, he did not live through the delivery. We held a funeral on December 9, 2000 and placed him in a memorial park 5 - 10 miles from our home. Momentos The hospital chaplain came to give us the blessing and later mailed us a Certificate of Blessing. All of the nurses signed a card with Alex's hand-footprints. We also were given a Memorial Birth Certificate, his blanket, pictures, hospital ID bracelets, "In Loving Memory" book, donated outfit and blanket, etc... I kept the program and cards from Alex's funeral, bows from his casket, I asked my doctor's office for Alex's ultrasound pictures. I also kept the rubbing sample from Alex's gravestone plaque. We also placed - one of my wedding bands, a picture of our wedding day, a small bible , two stuffed animals from my husbands parents, a pair of booties one of my aunts gave Alex as a gift, a squeaky train toy another one of my aunts gave Alex as a gift, an embroidered handkerchief from my grandmother and my husband's grandmother, a personally crocheted blanket from my husband's other grandmother, and a baby name book used to pick out Alex's name - in his casket. From Alex's Funeral Program ~Little Angels~ When God calls little children to dwell with Him above, We mortals sometimes question the wisdom of His love. For no heartache compares with the death of one small child Who does so much to make our world seem wonderful and mild Perhaps God tires of calling the aged to His fold, So He picks a rosebud before it can grow old. God knows how much we need them and so He takes but few To make the land of Heaven more beautiful to view. Believing this is difficult, still somehow we must try. The saddest word mankind knows will always be "Goodbye" So when a little child departs, we who are left behind Must realize God loves children, Angels are hard to find. Thanks Our parents were there with us through this whole ordeal - Thank You. We held him for about 45 minutes - which will never seem long enough. We took pictures - that we will always treasure. We cried - we will never completely heal. We had to say goodbye - we deal with that everyday. We had geneic tests done on a sample of Alex's tissue but they were inconclusive. We are currently having a chromsomal analysis of our blood to determine whether or not it is genetic. ~There are some people who may not agree with the decisions that we made but they were OUR decisions to make with the information we had at the time.~ ~Click here to go back to my main page~ |
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