“I realized I had just watched my baby die. My seven-day-old flat lined and died in front of me. I couldn’t believe how calm they were. Completely restless and emotionally ruined, I posted in a local mom group. ‘I can’t leave my daughter alone, but I really need a coffee.'”
‘Her little chest was open. She was swollen, double her size. She didn’t look like my baby. A nurse calmly said, ‘I don’t feel a pulse.’ All I could say was, ‘NO!’ Over and over.’ Single mom touched by stranger’s act of kindness after hours spent in ER
‘I got pregnant too early in my relationship. I went home on my lunch break, positive test in my pocket. I was terrified to hand it over to him, but knew I had to. What were we going to do?’
“I started feeling ‘off’. I burst into tears. Everyone insisted I was just anxious. All I could do was pray my blood pressure went down, and my placenta hung in there. 30 seconds into my scheduled ultrasound, my doctor told me she was taking me to the operating room.”
‘Is he gone?!,’ I yelled. It wasn’t my husband. He was so excited to be a dad. He was born to be one. I held his hand, telling him how much his unborn son and I loved him.’
“Scott just started a new job. We bought a house and were moving. He started not feeling well, but we attributed it to the stress of everything changing in our life. He went to work after getting me settled in the hospital. When he came back, he looked pale. I told him to get some rest, I would be just fine.”
‘I looked at my daughter standing beside me. You could see the fear in her eyes. No one was talking. I finally yelled out ‘HELLO!’
“I kept thinking, ‘I just have to make it to the hospital, I just need to make it to the hospital.’ Her coloring was terrible. I entered the door carrying my limp daughter.”
‘There’s no way! She’s crazy. I’d know if my baby had a genetic syndrome.’ Woman discovers son’s heart condition after chance social media message
“The doctor squeezed his little heart between his fingers. He came back, but my baby didn’t look like my baby. He was blue, but pale at the same time. Machines beeped. Alarms sounded. I looked it up to see other children’s pictures. You know that feeling where you’re so shocked you could cry, but nothing comes out? That’s where I was. I wanted to scream.”
‘It’s the heart! Something is wrong with our baby’s heart’ The kicking and screaming slowly stopped and he was limp and asleep.
“We hugged and kissed and told SJ how much we love him. He was emotional this time. He cried and cried saying no more pokies mommy. I want to go home. With each tear that fell from his eyes my heart was crushed a little more.”
‘My healthy, 39-year-old husband said he felt ‘off.’ When I got to the hospital, 2 nurses came out, crying. ‘Is he DEAD?,’ I screamed. The words she uttered took my breath away.’
“My mom showed up and was hysterical. I thought to myself, ‘pull yourself together, I need you to be strong and support me.’ She immediately pulled me out into the hall. ‘Your sister died last night.’ What.”
‘Michael got news something had gone wrong. I was being put under anesthesia immediately. He wasn’t thinking he would have to worry about me too.’
“I was in disbelief. I thought he would be taken away from me like the girls were. I didn’t want to get attached. Even with a giant belly at 38 weeks, seeing him move wasn’t enough for me to believe. I wanted to protect myself and prepare for the worst.”
‘My husband announced he canceled his vasectomy, and was willing to ‘try for one more.’ I propped up in disbelief, listening to the Doppler’s drumming. Two babies? Twins!?’
“This was taking a long time. Had the last ultrasound been this quiet? My eyes scrutinized the facial expressions of each technician. Concern over whether or not our girls may have Down syndrome, outshone the fact that they without a doubt had heart defects.”
‘There’s no way you’re sick. You’re the picture of health,’ my husband said. I went 36 years feeling like I was dying, but doctors couldn’t give me answers.’ Woman diagnosed with POTS after being told she ‘just needs vitamins’
“The cardiologist asked me to take a seat. ‘We have good news, then some complicated news.’ I’d never been so nervous. I sat there, waiting to hear the worst, but I was relieved when I heard the words, ‘You have a healthy heart.’ I took a breath and released with ease. The next words to come changed my life forever. The cardiologist looked at me and said, ‘You were born with a rare condition called POTS.’”
