Chad & Brooke's Story
We are Chad and Brooke. We are the parents of five wonderful boys and one very special little girl. All of our boys were born at term and were healthy. We got pregnant again and were very excited, but sadly I miscarried. It was a sad time, but several months later we decided to try again. We were delighted when we found out I was pregnant again. I was really worried that I would miscarry again, so I tried to be very careful with everything I did. The pregnancy went smoothly until April 1st. We had just returned from a vacation to Washington DC. I went to bed that night feeling good, but tired. Around midnight I woke up to a familiar sensation - It felt like my water had broken. I wasn't exactly sure if that's what had happened (plus I was only 27 weeks), so I went back to bed for a little while. At around 4:30 am, I was definitely sure that my water had broken, so I woke Chad up. We said a prayer and then we called the hospital.
I was worried because I figured that since my water had broken I would have to deliver our baby that day. At the Triage of The Women’s Hospital it was confirmed that my water had indeed ruptured. Despite the news I felt at peace and felt that everything would turn out well. I was surprised when they told me, that instead of delivering my baby, I would be admitted and could be there a little while. I later found out that I would be there until I had the baby. We were told that most women who rupture at this point usually deliver within two weeks (90%). I wasn't having any contractions or showing any signs of labor, so we hoped I would be in the 10% of the population that stays pregnant longer – it was too early to meet our little girl.
After I was admitted, they quickly took me down to get an ultrasound. It was a relief to hear our baby's heartbeat and see her on the screen. I was also very relieved to find out that I had sufficient amniotic fluid left. The baby had enough fluid to survive for a while, so we just had to play the waiting game. The goal was to make it to 34 weeks. At that point the doctors would go ahead and deliver our baby.
I was given a steroid injection to help Ashlyn’s lungs develop faster, since she would most likely be born early. We were very blessed that Ashlyn stayed inside of me for five more weeks. She was born at 31 weeks and 6 days. She weighed 3 pounds 15 ounces and was 16 and ¾ inches long. Shortly after she was born she was given Surfactant and put on oxygen, something we had expected.
Ashlyn was quickly taken to the NICU into the loving and capable hands of Doctor Hermann and his wonderful team of nurses. We expected to be able to go see Ashlyn shortly after her arrival in the NICU. Unfortunately, instead of seeing her, we were told that there had been a complication. When they were inserting a tube into the end of her umbilical cord, her body reacted by losing circulation. Dark bruising, caused by the oxygen deprivation, immediately covered her whole body. They quickly massaged her and she returned to her normal coloring, all except for her right arm below her elbow and her right foot below the ankle. It was first believed to be caused by an air bubble that had entered her body through the tube, but after further testing that was ruled out. The underlying cause of the circulatory issues Ashlyn had are still unknown.
Because of her early start in life and her loss of circulation, Ashlyn spent 5 weeks in the NICU. We are forever grateful for the care Ashlyn received at The Women’s Hospital and for the generous support of The March of Dimes. It is through their care and research that our little girl and many other babies are able to survive and thrive premature births.
