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Hi all, Adrienne here.
On Thursday, November 17 I was scheduled for a labor induction. There was a minor problem with the placenta and the doctors thought it would be better to get Persephone out eleven days early and healthy than to risk the placenta breaking down and causing problems for her.
At around a quarter after four that afternoon, they lost her heartbeat and rushed me in for an emergency c-section. After just a couple minutes knocked out, I woke up and asked if my baby was okay. My previously upbeat nurse, Marsha, replied that she "can't answer that question."
When I got back into my room, my mother, husband and in-laws were waiting with the most grim expressions I had ever seen on any of their faces. Needless to say, this sent me into a blind panic.
Soon after my in-laws left, my doctor came in and explained that Persephone's umbilical cord had separated from the placenta, causing her to lose most of her blood, which she inhaled and asphyxiated on. Luckily, a neo-natalogist, Doctor Mohica, had been on hand and started working on her immediately. Her first two Apgar scores were zero, meaning that she was essentially dead for between five and ten minutes.
A little while into all of this, they brought us a polaroid of a beautiful, but pale, little girl full of tubes and wires. Joe exclaimed "she's beautiful" and wept.
As I had never seen my husband cry before, this made the whole situation even more frightening.
Doctor Mohica had been able to get her respiration and heartbeat back and they, after a brief stop in my room so that I could see her, she was transported to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Camden. It was explained to me that, though Persephone's blood oxygen level was high once they'd revived her, her prognosis was not good.
It was very very scary.
At one am, we heard that Persephone was taken off her ventilator and breathing on her own (though, with oxygen). She was still in a bad way, but improving.
Later Friday morning, we heard that Persephone had stabilized further and my doctor admitted to me that, while they were still working on Persephone, she had told my mother and Joe that she wasn't going to make it and that, a few minutes later, the nurses had come out and given them the thumbs up and told them that she was getting ready for transport.
Poor Mom and Joe. I was glad not to have been awake for all of that.
Anyway, Since Persephone was at another hospital, my doctors lt me check out a few days early (on Saturday), so I could go see her. Joe had already had a few visits with her and the pictures showed a lovely, pink baby.
Every day, there was some improvement. She was gaining weight, eating and processing food and, on the day that they took her off the phenol barbitol (sp?), a very alert baby was transferred from the neonatal ICU to the transitional nursery. As of yesterday, she was off her oxygen and EVERYTHING, except a drug to get her blood count up. She's been giving appropriate responses to stimulation and doing very well. Especially given her rough start. The first time she flinched in response to a loud noise, I nearly cried. The first time I saw her awake and not loopy (after they'd taken her off the anti seizure meds), I did cry.
It now looks like she'll be coming "home" with us within the next couple of days.
Even though she seems to be doing very well, it will be years before we know what, if any, lasting neurological damage was done by her loss of blood and oxygen in her first minutes of life. Although this is not the birth story I wanted to have to tell about our little princess, I am very happy to finally be able to announce the birth of Persephone Elizabeth Dorner White on November 17 at 4:21 pm 5 lbs 9 oz
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2005-11-30
3:24 p.m.
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abwhite
