MY PREGNANCY:
I did not have an easy pregnancy. I was sick all the time, was extremely tired and only gained 8 pounds though out the pregnancy. I remember telling her dad it really hurts when she kicks which was unlike my first pregnancy where everything was fine, I remember praying lord please let her stop kicking because I feel like she is bruising my organs . I knew that something was wrong about the 24 week when I had only gained 4 pounds and was still wearing my regular cloths. I went to the doctor and he said everything looks ok, but in the back of my mind I knew something was wrong. By the 30th week I was getting really uncomfortable had gained 6 pounds and still you could not tell I was pregnant it was at this time that they did an ultrasound and found that my amniotic fluid was extremely low and was put on bed rest. One night as I laid in bed praying I remember saying please if something is wrong show me and help me to be strong enough to stand up to my doctor and the next day at 31 weeks I went into labor.
RILEY’S BIRTH:
Riley Mae was born November 18, 2003 at 2:32 pm. She came into this world 6 weeks early weighing in at 5 lb 3 oz. My labor was 3 hours I pushed once and she was born. It was at that time my world seemed to come to an end. I remember the doctor holding her so tight that I told him not to squeeze her and when he cut her umbilical cord I was mad. I remember looking at everyone’s faces and seeing them crying and wondering, “why cry we should be happy?”. It was 35 minutes before they let me see her, at this point I knew nothing about her hands. When they brought her to my side I started to unwrap her from the blankets and the nurse told me not to, I knew something was terribly wrong . My mother came over and told us that she was missing some fingers from ABS. Looking back now it all makes sense, the reason why it hurt when she kicked was because the amniotic fluid was so low that she was basically kicking my organs which were so badly bruised I could not lift or really walk anymore.
RILEY’S HANDS:
I knew she had all ten fingers from the 30 week ultrasound. In one week the bands had wrapped around her hands:
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Right Hand:
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Left hand:
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She is doing great today she is now 6 months old and weighs 15 pounds her first surgery will be June 1, 2004 and then two months after she will have another. Doctors talked about stretching the bones but we have not done enough research about that to know if we will do it or not.
We thank God that she is here and alive and pray every night for all of the other families going though what we did and all of the families that will have to go through it in the future.
If you have any questions or know anything about stretching the bones please e-mail me. We live in GA, if anyone else does please e-mail me and tell me your story
