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| Sydney's Story |
| Thursday, September 14, 2000 - I had noticed a little bit of pink discharge a few times throughout the day, but I tried to convince myself it was nothing. I told Brian about it and he wanted me to call the doctor. I told him I would if I noticed it again. I ended up calling the hospital and talking with Dr. P around 9:15 PM. I explained what was going on and he told me as long as I was not having contractions and my membranes had not ruptured, I was okay. I decided to take it easy the rest of the evening. I was laying on the couch talking on the phone at around 9:30 PM when I felt a pop and a gush of water. My water had broken! I hurriedly got off the phone and yelled at Brian to bring me a towel. He ran in with two towels but they were quickly soaked. He ran to get more but it still was not enough; the water was still gushing. I had not experienced this with Kelsea so I didn�t know what to do. Brian and I both panicked. He kept bringing more towels and I kept telling him it was not enough. I was so thankful Kelsea was already in bed for the night because I know she would have been frightened. Brian decided he should call an ambulance. By then my parents had arrived, I had called them first, and were trying to help the best they could. I told them I was not ready for this to happen yet. I searched for something to wear and finally decided on my red and white striped pooh bear shirt and Brian�s red jogging pants. The pants were soaked as soon as I put them on. We went outside to wait for the ambulance. The team of First Responders arrived within 5 minutes and they took my vitals. Our driveway was soon packed with medical people and concerned neighbors. The ambulance finally arrived after what seemed like forever even though it was probably less than 10 minutes. I got onto the stretcher and was put into the ambulance where they proceeded to hook up an IV. After that was finished they began the trip to the hospital. Brian had to ride up front with the driver because there was no room in the back. The trip to the hospital seemed to take forever. It's normally a 40-minute drive and I think it took at least that long. They did not run the lights or siren and took great care in driving safely. I had 2 or 3 contractions in the ambulance. I felt a little light-headed but they gave me something through the IV that helped me. Once we arrived at the hospital, I was taken to the labor and delivery floor immediately. The nurse told me to go into the examining room so she could check me. As I was putting on my gown, she changed her mind. She said it was quite obvious that my water had broken by the puddle on the floor around my feet so she went ahead and took me to my room. Brian was downstairs at this time getting me admitted and registered since I was only 29 weeks and had not even thought about doing that yet. I was hooked up to another IV and told to lie down on my bed. Brian finally came upstairs with me. Dr. P came in and asked if I had been checked and the nurse told him it was obvious my water had broken. He then said he was not wanting to monitor the baby. I was shocked. I just sat there dumbfounded and Dr. P left. The nurse then asked if we understood what he had said. We said we did but did not agree with it. She then told us that if we wanted Sydney monitored, then she could be monitored. She would talk to Dr. P and if he didn�t agree, she could go to higher authorities. We told her that was what we wanted. About half an hour later, Dr. P came back into my room and said the nurse had told him we wanted Sydney monitored. We said yes, that is what we wanted. He asked, "Are you sure?" Yes, we were. He then went on to explain that if Sydney was monitored, even if she went into distress, he would do nothing. He would not intervene. He would not try to do anything to save her. He asked if we understood what that meant. I said, "It means that we will be able to hear Sydney�s heartbeat, and if it starts to go away, you�re not going to do anything. We�re just going to have to sit here and listen to her die." That was exactly what he meant. By this point, we didn�t know what to do. I didn�t know what my rights were and I could not believe we were being treated this way. Dr. P had been the one who had given us all the information after the u/s. He was the specialist. How could he be so cruel? I desperately wanted my OB, but he was out of the country and would not return until October. I was stuck with this evil man. The nurse strapped the belts to my belly. I had one to monitor my contractions and one to monitor Sydney. My contractions still were not very strong. However, Sydney�s heartbeat was. I loved hearing it! I didn�t get much sleep that night because every time I moved, the belts would slip. The nurse would have to wake me and ask me to let her re-adjust them. She kept apologizing but I was so thankful she was doing her job so well. She actually cared. |
| 9/14/00 |