Angela’s Story: Part 1

Written by Afton Mower

Parent Highlight

The next six posts will be dedicated to sharing one couple’s struggle to have children and then the survival of their preemie twins plus their third preemie baby. They are currently expecting again and are taking new steps toward achieving a full-term delivery. This is Angela’s Story.

Brett and I were married on January 26, 2001, with the idea that we would take a full year to be “newlyweds” before we attempted to have a baby. About six months into our marriage the yearning for a baby was almost overwhelming to me. My entire life all I wanted to be was a mom. Brett was still hesitant, but when a little girl with beautiful blue eyes came and sat on his lap one day in church and smiled at him, he was hooked and agreed to start trying for a baby.

It took a short two months for me to get that positive pregnancy test. We were thrilled! I couldn’t wait for each upcoming doctor’s appointment. I loved hearing the heartbeat. I never once thought of anything going wrong. The day finally came for the big 20-week ultrasound. We were going to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. Brett came with me to the appointment, and we got all set up for the ultrasound to begin. The technician placed the probe on my belly, and I could see a full profile of our baby. The technician silently started taking measurements. Having never had an ultrasound before, I wasn’t aware that there was something missing on that screen. There was no little flashing of a baby’s heart and no movements. The technician finished taking her measurements and told us to just wait right there, and she would be back. Brett started to cry, knowing that something was wrong. I still refused to see or hear the truth. After what seemed an eternity, the nurse from my doctor’s office arrived and took us upstairs into an examination room. She then broke the news to us that our baby had died. I was shocked. This couldn’t happen to me. I was healthy and young.