March of Dimes

Most of the time we don’t understand why things happen.  If we have a strong faith, we know that all things happen for good. 

Last year my sister was pregnant with her second child – a girl.  My sister had a bad pregnancy with severe morning sickness that lasted pretty much the entire pregnancy.  She also ended up having Preeclampsia, which is a medical condition characterized by high blood pressure and significant amounts of protein in the urine of a pregnant woman.  My sister was due to have her baby on October 17, however, after a visit to the hospital for false labor, she actually ended up having an emergency C-section.

Aliana Henriquez was born on September 4 - six weeks earlier than her projected birth date.

My sister had went to the hospital on – wait for it – Labor Day.  I had the day off, so I of course went to be with her in the hospital.  My dad had taken her to the hospital because her husband was actually out of town for work.  My dad and I were there until her husband Erick arrived. The doctors wanted to monitor her closely before they released her.  She ended up staying overnight and we thought she would be released the next day.  The next day came and I ended up getting a call from Erick who was crying uncontrollably on the other end.  I was unable to understand what he was saying, so I kept having to ask him to repeat what he was saying.  Under the cries, I heard him say, “They took Angie.  They didn’t let me go in.”  I immediately felt my heart drop.  I left work at that moment and rushed to get to my sister.  Halfway to the hospital, I got the call from Erick that Aliana had been born and that Angie had to receive an emergency C-section, but that everything went well.  I was relieved to hear that my sister and niece were OK. 

When I arrived to the hospital, my parents and Erick’s mom were there.  We were trying to figure what was going on and we were so anxious to see my sister and the baby.  They were not allowing us to see the baby so we started to worry.  The doctor actually took pictures of Aliana because Erick wasn’t allowed in the hospital room. Erick was eventually allowed to go see the baby and he came back proudly showing us the pictures.  Erick told us that she was healthy and fine but they were taking her to NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) to monitor her because her of lungs.  The grandmas had decided to go get coffee when the OK came from the doctor's to see Aliana, so I jumped at the chance to be one of the first to see her.  Since only two people could go in at a time, I took the spot with Erick.  I was so excited to see my little niece and Erick was still nervous and anxious and trying to collect himself from everything that was going on.  When we got to the NICU, we washed our hands and entered the area anxiously.  When we got to Aliana, both Erick and I were shocked at how many tubes were on her. I had this immediate sadness in my heart from seeing her like this.  What was going on?  They said she was fine.  Why did she have all this stuff on?  Erick immediately broke down.  I tried to console him and let him know that everything was going to be fine and that baby girl would get through this. I took a couple pictures of Ali and then we left.  The walk back to see our family seemed like forever.  What was I going to tell my mom?  It didn’t look good.

We got to the room and Erick proceeded to take my mom and his mom to see the baby.  My sister had been sent to the C-section recovery room and I was told it was okay to go see her.  In this room there were about 3 other mothers.  They were all sitting up and able to hold their baby. Since my sister had an emergency c-section, she was completely put out, whereas the other mothers were awake when they had their c-section.  I went to my sister and she was somewhat awake.  I asked her how she was doing and she mentioned she was in pain.  She asked about the baby and I told her she was fine and that I had actually just seen her.  I took Erick's camera that the doctor had used to take pictures and I showed those to her.  She got teary eyed.  I got teary eyed.  I remember her saying that it was scary, that they just took her and didn't allow Erick to go in and she felt horrible as if Aliana was born alone without having her mom and dad there to witness it. That moment was stolen from her and Erick, but it was due to an emergency and the doctors had to do what was best for them.  I tried to be as positive as I could and I didn't want to alarm her or get her worried.  I stayed there until they were ready to move her.  

I wish there was a separate room for mothers who had emergency C Sections to recover.  Being in a room with other mothers who had their babies with them didn’t seem fair.  All I heard was congratulations, he/she is so adorable, ooohs and ahhhhs and all the happy things you normally say at a time like that.  Well, here I am sitting in a chair next to my sister and she doesn’t have her baby and we aren’t able to be as joyful.   It just didn’t seem fair. 

Once my sister was cleared out of recovery, they rolled her on the hospital bed to the NICU to go see Aliana.  She wasn't even allowed to hold her because she was hooked up to the breathing machine. It was literally an in and out meet and greet.  It felt so wrong. I remember the sadness I felt for my sister and Erick because this isn't what you expect the birth of your child to be like.  It was a couple of days before my sister was able to hold her.  Not seconds, minutes, or hours, but days later. 

We expected Aliana to possibly be in the hospital for a week or so since her lungs were premature, however, one week turned into 6.  For an entire month and a half my sister was without her child.  For a month and a half my sister had to go to the hospital and pay for parking - which isn't cheap and not always so affordable when you’re not working and you have a newborn.  It was tough to say the least and very emotionally draining.

Aliana was hooked onto oxygen and then she had to learn how to suck in order to eat.  When she finally was able to suck and drink her bottle she was ready to go home.

My sister and her family didn’t expect this to happen to them.  They didn’t expect a complicated pregnancy, labor and a preemie baby, but like I said in the beginning, when you trust in God you know that all things work for good.  My sister took this negative situation and turned it into a positive by signing up for March for Babies, a charitable walking event which gives proceeds to help fund research to prevent premature births, defects and infant mortality.  She decided not to dwell on her situation, but to use it for good to help other babies and families.  Each year more than half a million babies are born prematurely and more than 120,000 are born with serious birth defects in the United States.  My sister has raised $1000 and I can’t express how proud I am of her.  She is definitely on her Gentlewoman Evolution!  She has shown great character in proving that bumps in the road don’t define our lives and they shouldn’t take over us.  When something like this happens, we get up and we use it towards good. 

If you have the chance, I have included the team page below.  Any donation amount will help.

http://www.marchforbabies.org/s_team_page.asp?seid=1960316&bt=15

The Dallas March of Dimes will take place this Saturday.  I’m really looking forward to this wonderful experience.