The Thursday Before:
We went to High Risk Dr for routine checkup. The tech/nurse that did the ultrasound said everything looked great except Asher was measuring 6 days behind in growth (IUGR).
Based on experience and intuition, Monica asked them to check her amniotic fluid levels, the umbilical cord and the size of her placenta.
That’s when they saw that there was more blood going out than coming in. So we rushed to the hospital for 24hr monitoring.
His heart rate was dropping a little then flatlining (flatline at 140bpm).
The Friday Before, 3AM
I woke up to a room full of dr’s telling us that we needed to go into emergency c-section NOW!
Asher’s heart rate had dropped to 60bpm for 1-2 min a couple of times.
Monica was shaking uncontrollably. She was so scared. My heart was breaking.
After calming down a bit, asking a bazillion questions, We decided against the dr’s orders as it felt rushed. Especially since his heart rate was now stable.
We were not here for delivery, but now that he’s being monitored and stable, we decided to keep him inside moms tummy for as long as possible. 24 hours at a time.
The high risk dr came in later to do a biometric scan. They gave Asher 10 out of 10. Perfect!
His perfect score came at 9:30am.
The Saturday before
9:30am rolls around and we’ve had 24 hours with stable heart rate and no flatlining.
Monica’s exhausted from the constant monitoring, readjusting her body, readjusting the monitors, every 15 min.
Asher remained stable for most of the day today. A couple quick drops in heart rate was all (from 140 to 120 then back up again). Nothing to be alarmed about.
Sunday, the calm before the storm
Sunday started off looking a lot like Saturday.
We’re exhausted from the constant adjustments and listening to the heart monitor.
Asher, as far as we know, is doing well.
Biometric scan came back 10/10 again, so we were relieved.
Sunday, From 10am-2pm
The OB on call came into the room with an update around 2pm. She said that his heart rate had dropped 14 times over the last four hours, and his we flatlining.
After discussing the spiritual aspects of this decision and the fears of making the wrong decision with our pastor, we decided to move forward with delivery.
We cried after we agreed. Watching my wife weep while laying there being prepped for surgery was excruciating. We both felt helpless and afraid.
Part of me felt like we had failed our baby boy.
The Operation
The staff here at Summerlin hospital, during every phase, has been absolutely amazing!
After we agreed to deliver, they moved like a high octane, well oiled machine.
They prepped her and started wheeling her down the longest hallway in the world. Felt like it could’ve been in the Shining or Silent Hill.
The nurse walking next to me asked how I was doing. I told her “as good as I can be” holding back tears.
She put her hand on my shoulder for reassurance that everything was going to be ok. (This same nurse was holding mine and Monica’s hand during the entire operation.)
They have me wait outside of the OR for a few minutes while they finish getting her prepped.
They called me back to a scene from a movie.
The entire process lasted for about 30min.
Watching surgeons cut, tug and pull on my wife was tough. Even though she was numb, she still felt the massive amounts of pressure. Her face said it all.
They told me to stand up as they were about to bring Asher out.
He came out feet first, then butt in the air.
So far so good.
But his head was stuck. The drs seemed to be alarmed and started doing everything to get his head out.
With one final pull and the sound of a pop gun he was out.
One thing I noticed was something wrapped around his neck. It was his umbilical cord. It had wrapped his neck twice, which is something the drs didn’t see in the bio scan.
After the operation the OB said that the cord around his neck is what was probably causing the repertory issues along with the placenta beginning to separate from the uterus. (Couldn’t see either of those until the operation was over).
At this point, it’s as if we had received an answer to a prayer we hadn’t had the foresight to pray.
