Michelle Victor
Edna Jackson, Instructor
ENG 101—English Composition
Assignment: Write a personal essay.
The Miraculous Birth of My Daughter
The birth of my daughter was the most extraordinary event that has happened in my life so far. As soon to be new parents for the second time, my husband and I were veterans and ready for the big birth day but nothing could have prepared us for the events that were about to unfold on September 5th 1996. Having gone through one very healthy andnormal pregnancy and childbirth, we just thought the second would be a textbook birth. I took all of my vitamins, stayed active, ate the right foods, and read all the prenatal books.How could anything go wrong when we had followed all of the rules for seven months?We had been through our second childbirth class; we took our son to the special class toprepare him for his new sister. We stocked our shelves with formula, diapers, Baby wipes and everything you could possible need for a newborn baby. I’m quite sure webought plenty of supplies that we would never need but just to be prepared to bring home ournew bundle of joy. When you are in your third trimester of pregnancy your Obstetrician usually advises you to not travel for any unnecessary reason. My story tells you one reason why this advice is given.
The day started out just like every other day that week. I owned and ran my own business so I could be a stay at home mom. I was seven months pregnant and growing larger by the minute. Keeping up with a four year old and trying to work at home was not an easy task for me. I was always on the move playing with Keegan, cleaning the house, going to the grocery store, etc. Physically I tried to do everything I did when I was not pregnant, which it turns out is not a good idea. On the afternoon of September 5th 1996, I was stepping over a child safety gate in our house when I felt something strange happen. I felt as though I lost some of my bladder control which is very common during your last trimester of pregnancy. Knowing this I just laughed and brushed it off and went back to what I was doing. Then it happened again, and again, until I felt quite a large amount of fluid being released. At that moment I knew I did not lose bladder control. What I was losing was fluid from the sack in my uterus that was holding my precious little baby.
It was almost surreal at first; I could not believe anything like this could be happening to me. I followed the rules, I dotted every “I”, crossed every “T”, I listened to my doctor’s orders; this couldn’t be happening to me. I returned to reality shortly after my pity party and called my husband who worked only minutes away. Immediately after hanging up with my husband I called my Obstetrician, who needed to see me right away. My husband arrived at our house and took our son to the neighbors and we were off to the Doctor’s office a few blocks away. Our baby was alive but my doctor looked grim. I was almost 28 weeks along which is was too early for me to deliver at the local hospital so we got in car and headed downtown. I was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital that afternoon not knowing what was going to happen.
After being admitted the examinations began. The doctors came with their medical treatments, lab tests, and medications. They were able to stop my Contractions, for the time being, and they put me on bed rest. I “rested” for 25 days in the Hospital. Since my amniotic sac was broken I could not go home for risk of infection. My body is an incredible machine. It replaced the fluid I lost every time I stood up with new amniotic fluid my body produced. The days were all the same; blood draws, shots, ultrasounds, day or night it didn’t matter. They would wake you up at 3:00 am to draw your blood. I knew the longer my baby stayed inside of me the healthier she would be, but staying in the hospital is a very depressing and emotionally draining process. I terribly missed seeing my husband and son everyday. I wanted to have a healthy baby and go home.
The morning of September 20th 1996, I would get my wish. I went to shower, just like I did every day, and I noticed something different. Since my amniotic sac was open nothing was holding my baby in. I reached down between my legs and felt something soft and then it moved and a little hand with five fingers opened up. My daughter had just gotten her arm through the birth canal. The rest of her was still inside, thank goodness. I never thought I would have to pull the emergency cord in the hospital bathroom until that day. The nurses came in, they were much calmer than I was, and put me on a gurney and wheeled me into the operation room where I had an emergency cesarean section. At 2:30 that afternoon Makenna Emily Victor was born weighing in at 4 pounds even. She stayed in the Hospital for about a month to feed and grow. I only had to stay in the hospital for five days after her birth and then I finally was able to go home.
I look back at that time and I realize what a small but very important time of my life that was. The time away from home was very difficult to endure for a young mother with a life and family waiting at home for her. The rewards for my endurance far outweigh the time I spent in the Hospital. We just celebrated Makenna’s tenth birthday this month and we are so grateful for the blessing of having her in our lives. You truly cannot know what will happen from one day to the next, so my advice is to enjoy each and every day and be thankful for all of the blessing you have in your life.