The Premie, Part 2

The pictures above are still shots taken from our home videos. Lane was 2 years old before he started to walk or talk, and he had a speech and play therapist to help him hone his motor skills, something that is harder for premie babies than other kids. 

Here is the continued birth story of my brother, as told by my mom. Read Part 1 of this miraculous birth story here.  

"So I’m laying in a hospital room, not having contractions, and worried about our future (mine and baby’s).  I would rub my stomach and tell him how good he was doing and we were still together and to hold on, obviously a bit stressed that we could still lose him.  As I lay alone, I heard a voice very clearly say, “You will know when it’s time and it will be okay.”

What comfort that gave me.  I remember making lots of phone calls because I was very bored.  My best friend, Diane, was getting married and I was the Matron of Honor. Not happening now. She and her new husband, Tom, stopped by the hospital with a piece of cake as they were on their way to the airport to go on their honeymoon. Very sweet. James also brought the kids to see me. That was stressful because they were 2, 4, and 6. Lots of energy in a little room.

I also craved a bath. One of the nurse’s aids helped me get clean a couple of times, but I couldn't do my hair.  Remember, no bathroom privileges still.  I did end up going back into labor and needing to go back to LDR to get back on the medicine and it did stop labor again.  Then back down to the private room to wait some more.

I started getting terrible headaches and my back was killing me, probably from the angle of the bed.  Phone calls were of no interest to me.  I was just trying to survive and didn't even want company.  I felt miserable.

On day 6, I was on the phone with James hoping he could come and visit.  The hospital was one hour from home.  He was in the Bishopric with our church and had a meeting that night.  I told him I really needed him and we were going back and forth.  I then noticed I was bleeding again and told him he needed to come right away and then I hung up.  (Horribly stressful for James).  I had also insisted that he bring a camera.  He didn't want to, but I told him even if the baby died I would want a picture of him for my own memory.  I think he thought that was a bit morbid, but he brought it anyway.

As soon as I realized I was bleeding, I called the nurse in.  She pulled back the sheet and I was in a pool of blood. She began to panic. I calmly told her I needed to get down to LDR and she needed to get someone to take me right away. Once I got to an LDR room, the next nurse tried to put a monitor on my belly to keep track of the baby’s heart and other vitals.  She could not locate a heart beat.  I again calmly told her to get the doctor because I was baring down. I was transferred to an Operating Room and began to push, but I tried to fight the pain.  The doctor told me to push through the pain.  He then put his hand in my birth canal to protect the baby’s head as he came out. 

There was a lot of rushing around the room.  I asked if the baby had taken a breath.  When they said yes I was calm because I knew he was mine for eternity even if he died. His APGAR was 3.  His birth weight was 800 grams or 1 pound 8 ounces.  He was 12 inches long.  But he was alive.

I was then told that my placenta had stuck to my uterus and they would need to put me out and perform a D & C.  I wasn't too surprised because of the blessing James had given me.  That priesthood can be awfully strong!  I came to in recovery with a very bad sore throat.  They had to intubate me for the procedure.  They took me back to my room on a gernie.  When I got to the room, James was asleep on the floor in the corner in fetal position.  He didn't know if he would lose one or both of us and the stress was huge.

They wanted me to get into bed, but I insisted on seeing my baby first.  I had lost 3 units of blood and was prone to fainting, but the nurse brought smelling salts, put me in a wheelchair, and off we went to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).  Our baby (we didn't actually name him for a month) was already in an incubator with a line going through his umbilical cord to his body. I can’t remember what this was for, but it was very new technology at the time.

I had to stand to see him, sat back down, and fainted. But I had seen him. It was worth it. We went back to my room and the next phase of keeping Lane alive had begun." 

Part 3 coming soon!

Lane had a very turbulent start to life. He was incubated for almost 4 months before he came home, and even after that, he was on oxygen for a good chunk of his first year. On Monday, he turned 17. He has no defects or health problems despite being born so early (other than vision issues, which he probably would have had anyway). Modern technology and medicine allowed this person to be part of our family.