#30DaysofBrave Story- Dottie
"We were naive first time parents- we were past 13 weeks- nothing could go wrong. Our sweet baby was very little at 20 weeks so they wanted a follow up. We came back at 24 weeks and our baby has barely gown 5 oz. Without any conversation, I am asked to go to L&D. As I get hooked up to an NST machine, my husband was holding my hand as our eyes fill with worry. We were just in ultra sound and our little baby was moving and grooving and hiccuping the entire time.
A doctor comes in about an hour later. We get the news we are in Jeopardy of losing our child and we have a 20% chance of survival and we need to be transported to a higher tier hospital for the best odds.
I am able to stay pregnant for 5 weeks! The true maternal instincts have kicked in. I have 2 rounds of steroids, twice daily shots, blood draws, NSTs, lots of ultrasounds, and a pretty lonely stay. (Due to covid I was allowed only my husband in the hospital) I am thankful for the nurses who cared for me and became my best friends. At 29 & 3 we were told it was time to meet our baby. Soon after we are told I have HELLP syndrome and things moved even faster. Before I know it I'm hunched over a table, holding an angel of a nurse's hand as they prep me for surgery. I'm praying things progress how we want and that my husband can rejoin me and I can be awake to meet our child. They get the baby out and I feel the most nausea I've felt my entire pregnancy and all of a sudden time feels like it stands still I feel nothing. They show my husband our baby and he proudly says it's a girl. Two breaths later this tiny kitten cry comes out and I begin to ball my eyes out. So many uncertain things but that cry was what I needed. They are able to show me our Hershey bar sized baby before they rush her up to the NICU. I wait what feels like days (28 hours) before I am well enough to go see our daughter. We can't hold her but with help from an incredible NICU staff we are able to help care for our daughter for the 1st time.
When she is 3 days old we could do Kangaroo care for the 1st time. We then rode the NICU roller coast for roughly 2.5 months. After a lot of praying , learning and hoping we get the news she is coming home. During this time we celebrated our birthdays , our 1st wedding anniversary and the miracle God gave us.
We owe many thanks to the wonderful men & women at Hershey hospital. They were there for a lot of firsts and still support us 1 year later. We are thankful for the friendships and family it brought us and showing us God's miracles. Two people I love dearly are here because of the NICU. My daughter is a NICU grad just like her dad. Although opposite journeys, they are both strong NICU babies."