Andrew's Story

Andrew's Story, Part 1

I know on these blogs many people write thier stories. What happened and when. It's something I've actually been writing in a word document...it goes back to my fear of forgetting any details.

I've gotten a few e-mails asking what happened to Andrew so I wanted to share briefly what happened. As I've mentioned a few times, I found comfort in reading others stories, but in particular stories like mine. I wanted to learn about how others dealth with the same news I got.

Andrew died of Group B Strep Sepsis. I wanted to know what happened, but no news comes without a mix of emotions. The most difficult part of this news was knowing that Andrew was healthy. He was healthy, growing at pace, and very active. I remember sitting at work one day, pregnant, and shooting Adam an e-mail asking if it was too early to say that our son is hyper active. The Dr's estimate is that Andrew got GBS about 7 days earlier, but once it turned into sepsis, he faded off within 24 hours.

I'm no expert on Group B Strep, but it's pretty safe to say that I've read more about GBS than the average person (my husband would beg me to stop reading about it). So, if you have any questions, shoot me an e-mail. msm2jmu@yahoo.com


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Andrew's Story, Part 2
uploaded 11/9/2011

I will always, always remember that moment with Andrew when Adam and I looked at each and realized that something really could be wrong.

I hadn't felt Andrew move for a while (meaning a few hours) and called the Dr's office around 3:30. I left work around 4:00 (normal time), picked up Katelyn and headed home. After talking to the Dr and doing all the typical tricks (eat something, drink something with sugar, lay on your left side...), the Dr told us to head in to be checked. I dropped Katelyn off at my sister Maureens, thinking I would be back shortly to pick her up for bedtime. I then called Adam - it was his first day at a new job. I told him something like "I'm sure I'm over reacting, but I haven't felt the baby move and am going to meet the Dr at the hospital". He left work and meet me there.

We were brought to a room where the first nurse tried to find the heartbeat. When she couldn't, we still didn't think anything of it. She told us that she needed to get more gel, left the room, and came back with a second nurse. That nurse couldn't find one either. They had me lay on my side telling me that sometimes the baby just needed to switch positions. We still were not worried. Then, a third nurse came in. Again, she could not find a heartbeat. I think at this point the nurse was Carol, the best nurse I could ever have.

It was at that point that I looked over to Adam and our eyes met. He was sitting to my left, his head slightly above mine. I looked up and it's as if we both new at the same time. That is certainly a moment we will never forget.

After that, I have forgotten some details. A Dr came in (not my Dr, she was still on her way into the hospital). He did a sonogram and said "see, this is where it should be"...meaning, the heartbeat. I am not freakin kidding, this is how that guy told us! "This is where it should be." Makes me so mad. Then our Dr arrived, it felt like my best friend who I hadn't seen in years walking through the door. She confirmed the news. I remember sitting up saying to myself "what the hell just happened? What is going on? What the hell?" It's like those were the only thoughts I could form. Carol helped me reach my parents, who were at the beach house, and then moved us into a room. Again, so many details are fuzzy to me. My parents got in the car right away and drove from Bethany straight to Fair Oaks, about a 3 hour drive, getting there sometime close to midnight. Ann was at the beach with her kids as well. She too hoped in her car and drove home. They started the induction process and then I was given 2 ambien and feel asleep. I didn't want to take the ambien, but I guess Carol knew best. I needed the rest. The next day I would be delivering Andrew.