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Evan's Birth Story By Dave |
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Birth Stories -
Complicated Birth Stories
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Monday, 24 November 2008 08:20 |
While all succesful birth stories are to be celebrated, I would like to share my son's story.
Evan, my first born, is now a super active 5 year old. He has started kindergarten, plays on his computer and is on the under 6 soccer team I coach. It was not always that easy.
My wife's blood pressure had rocketed up, was in advance stages of preaclampsia and toxemia. (excuse the spelling) Her white count was so low they wouldn't operate, for fear of her bleeding to death. So they induced her. Twenty four and a half hours, contractions four minutes apart. Fetal monitoring, constant white counts, injections, IV's. I realized that my tiny premature son would not survive a natural birth. The doctors, thinking of the health of my wife, hinted at aborting. Suddenly her white count was above normal, "Can't be right, check again!" Again the count came back high. "Let's go with a C section, NOW!"
I left to call family, and when I came back the LDR was empty. The doctors lost my sons heart beat, had switched to an Emergency C section, but on the way to the OR got the heart beat back again. 15 minutes in the OR and the tiniest baby I would ever want to see, was wheeled quickly past on his way to the NICU. Big dark eyes, stared out at me, tiny fingers and toes, skin so thin you could see through it. I waited until my wife was wheeled to recovery and walked up to the NICU. There, without the usual protocol they ushered me in to see him. On a warming bed, tubes everywhere, lights and alarms a constant reminder. Of the twenty three hospital people in the OR that evening, twenty one didn't think he would make it through the night. We almost lost him the first weekend. A staff infection shut down all his organs but his heart and brain. No output for over twenty hours, a tiny collection tube covering his penis to catch any specimens. Doctors working miracles, on this tiny child. Precise doses of medications, family prayers, divine intervention.
Suddenly one of his nurses running from his isolation room, yelling softly, "He peeing, he's peeing"!
He has progressed smoothly from there, coming home after 118 days. At a weight around 6.5 pounds. The total bill at the hospital, over $500,000. Thankfully all covered by insurance.
Nine months later he was joined by his sister, born just two weeks early at 8 pounds 1 ounce. She was named Courtney, after Evans primary nurse, who we have continued to be in contact with and have become good friends.
God was watching over this child, with all that was against him, and things that were tried, he has survived. No he had thrived, and I thank God every day for his prescence here in my life.
A very proud Dad, Dave Babcock
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Complicated Births 
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