Our names are David & Sarah Robinson and on 28th November 2002 we will have been married for 10 years
I'm (Sarah) 30
David is 34
We decided back in September 2001 to embark on a new life together by turning our friendship, relationship, partnership into a family.
By November 2001 we were on our way to fulfilling our dreams of becoming a family as I became pregnant.
Throughout the pregnancy I'd had my up's and down's and many visits to the hospital only to be reassured that the baby's fine it's just you - I could live with that...
We could see through the downs by concentrating on our future as a
Sunday 21 July and another lovely sunny day and only 2 weeks and 2 days to go before our baby was due. We went on our last trip to Mothercare before our baby was born for yet more baby and maternity products.
Monday 22 July at a routine 38wk antenatal checkup with one of the community midwives on examination she felt that there was something wrong with our baby, and asked one of the other midwives for a second opinion.
On examination she decided to carry out and ultrasound on a very small portable scanner. This is when our lives began a whole new direction... the scan showed that there was a dark area in the scull which should'nt be there.
We were referred immediately to the local hospital (Airedal General Hospital and the Antinatal Day Assessment Unit for further assessment where it was confirmed that there was an abnormality in our baby's scull, this was in fact showing as a 7cm cyst in the left heisphere.
This was as much information they could give us and we were given an appointment for Thursday 25 July at the Fetal Assessment Unit at LGI
After an agonising few days Thursday 25 July arrived and so did we at LGI... We were taken into a room where there was a large scan machine which seemed to be capable of investigating so much... we were then shown into another room where we were asked to wait while they compiled the results.
We both admit now that we knew what was coming and didn't really want to hear it.
We were told that they were ever so sorry... but our baby's brain had suffered so much damage from the cyst that the prognosis was very clear... our baby was going to die.
Our feelings at this point are indescribable.
After many discussions with the team at LGI we came to a heartbreaking decision to let our baby sleep forever. We feel she died in a familiar and comfortable environment without pain and distress.
Our baby was then deliverd the following day at AGH, Sophie was deliverd by C-section, which would have been the inevitable method of delivery due to her head being so swollen. As soon as she was deliverd they held her up and announced "it's a Girl". She was then handed stright to us all warm and so beautiful and perfect. The delivery experience was in every way what we'd asked for and more... it was still a fantastic and emotional experience.
26 July 2002 at 11:32am we had a beautiful baby girl - Sophie Rae Robinson, 7lb 3oz and we spent the next 24h hours with her and they were the morst memorable 24 hours we have ever had.
We are so proud to have given birth to such a beautiful baby girl, just sad that we couldn't keep her.
The hospital is also very well prepared for situations like ours, they took hand and footprints and a lock of hair as well as numerous photos. These we will treasure forever and are happy to share with you.
Coming home was one of the many terrible experiences we have had to deal with - we came home empty handed to the empty cot , the empty nursery, now known as Sophies room until we are blessed with new life to fill it. The immediate feeling is of empty arms. They ache from wanting to hold your newborn baby and there is nothing there.
