My precious baby was conceived on Oct. 16, 1999. I didn't know that I was pregnant until my taste buds started changing. I could no longer eat Pop-Tarts, and I used to love them. I secretly took a pregnancy test at my best friend's house. The test came back positive, but I didn't believe it. So I did another one. It too came back positive. I was so happy, but I didn't want to tell my husband until after I went to the doctor. On the way home from the Dr.'s office, I stopped by the mall to get him a gift. I found a plaque that said "To My Husband" and a gold round medallion that said "God Bless Our Baby." I put the medal in the bottom of the box so he wouldn't see it first. He liked his plaque, but then set the box down. I asked him if there was anything else in the box. He saw the medal and started grinning. He said, "is it time?" I then said, "it's past time." He was so happy. Everything was going well, but I was measuring "big" every time I went for a check up. Dr. Pope told us he thought I might be having twins. We went for an ultrasound and took a tape to record our baby or babies. Twins were ruled out, but the tech left the room after scanning the baby's head. Another tech came in to get "better pictures." Then the radiologist came in. I told Keith on the way back to work that I didn't like them taking so many pictures of the baby's head. By the time I got back to work, there was a message on my voice mail. I called Dr. Pope and he said something might be wrong with the baby. The baby's head was measuring big along with the fold on the back of the baby's neck. He made me an appointment with an high risk ob. Dr. Harper was so nice! She scanned my belly for an hour! She told us she saw the shape of the baby's head, the fold on the back of the neck, and she also saw a cyst in the brain. She suggested I have an amniocentesis. I had the amnio that day to rule out Down's Syndrome and found out that we were have a baby boy. We wanted to call him by name if something was wrong. Matthew Alan Campbell would be his name....Matthew meaning "A gift from God." We passed the Down's Syndrome test, but when I went for my next check up Dr. Pope took me to his office. He told me that Matthew had a chromosomal disorder, and that he was going to die. Matthew had a trisomy 1 and balanced transolcation 14. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was all alone at the office, and I had to drive 30 minutes home to tell Keith.
My heart was broken! Keith and I cried all night long. We prayed every night for Matthew. I don't think any baby has ever been loved so much. I wouldn't terminate the pregnancy because I looked at it as killing my baby. If this was my test from God, I was surely going to pass. God gave Matthew his first breath and he could take his last breath. Pastor Yount helped me so much during this difficult time. I was in his office more than one time crying and asking questions, but he always there for me. He was there for Keith and I until the end. I was now going between doctor's offices every two weeks. My belly was growing bigger and bigger. On March 22 I went back to see Dr. Harper. She informed us that Matthew was very sick. He now had fluid in his belly, fluid in his chest, and more fluid in his head. She said his chest would probably fill with fluid and restrict his heart from beating. Keith asked her if I would go full term and she said probably not. My uterus was growing so fast because Matthew was filling with fluid, that I would probably go into labor on my own. I prayed so hard for God to take Matthew before he suffered. I couldn't stand the thought of him having a stomach ache or chest pains. I told God then that I would take all the suffering for him, just please don't let my son hurt. On March
25th me, my mom, my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law went shopping for Matthew's outfit. I wanted something heavenly to bury him in. When I saw the white gown with blue trim I just started balling in the middle of the store. It hit me that I was going to bury my son. On Sunday the 26th, I had mom take some pictures of me being pregnant. My belly was big, but I loved it. On Tuesday the 28th, I was put into observation at the hospital I was dilated at 2. I was 26 weeks pregnant, but I was measuring 38 weeks. My bag of water was tight, and Dr. Pope said that it wouldn't be long. Nothing happened that night, and I was released from the hospital with Matthew's heart rate at 140 bpm. On Thursday the 30th, I woke up at 3:30 am wide awake. At 4:30am my back started hurting me. At 6:30 am I woke my husband up. He felt my uterus and said that I was in labor. I finally got to the hospital at 9:15am and I was fully dilated to 10. My precious Baby Matthew was stillborn at 10:00am. It seemed like a dream. Everything happened so fast. I was expecting to be in labor for hours, but I wasn't. He weighed 3lbs. and 1/2 oz. and was 13 1/2 inches long. You could see the fluid in his little body, but he was beautiful to me. He had big hands and big feet just like his Daddy. He was my first born. I held him and got pictures of him. His little neck was leaking blood and fluid so I didn't hold him much. Our family and friends were so supportive and great to us. The funeral was Saturday, April 1st. I wanted someone to hop out and say April Fools, but I knew it
wouldn't happen. We buried Matthew with the gold medallion that I had given Keith. How perfect for it to say "God Bless Our Baby."
God had taken Matthew because his lesson was through. Keith and I are in church as a family now. We are closer now than we
have ever been. We know that Matthew's purpose in life was to get his Mommy and Daddy to realize what a special love they truly had and not to throw it away. Matthew did more for us in 6 months than he could have done in a life time. I believe God took Matthew at 3:30am when I woke up wide awake. God was telling me then that it was time. I thank God for the special time that we had with Matthew, and one day we will be together again!
Matthew was our gift from God. |
