My miracle boy

Jodi - 04:15am Dec 1, 2004 EST

Hi, my name is Jodi and here is my story....I started bleeding 6wks into my pregnancy. I had a subchorionic hemorrhage that increased in size over several weeks. My general practitioner sent me to a specialist. At 15 wks, the baby was found to have an omphalocele (umbilical hernia where the intestines and liver can protrude into the cord). My doctor suggested I have an amniocentesis the next week. I agreed. The night of the amnio,at 16 wks, I lost all my amniotic fluid (Premature Rupture of Membranes). I never sealed over or reaccumulated. I was advised to terminate the pregnancy because there was a 90% chance that his lungs wouldn't develop to sustain life (hypoplastic lungs). The amniocentesis results came back normal. Now I really had a tough decision to make. After waiting until the last minute (can terminate up until 24 wks in my state) I decided I couldn't possibly terminate and I would let nature take it's course. I was admitted to the hosp. at 24 wks so they could keep an eye on me and the baby. At 27 wks I had a scare...increased braxton hicks and a little bleeding. After 2 more amniocenteses, it was determined that I didn't have an infection. At 31 wks, I finally went into labor on my own. I had a C-section and delivered a 3lb 7oz. baby boy named Anthony Christopher. He was 15 inches long. He was placed on the ventilator, but he pulled out the tube on the 3rd day. His omphalocele corrected itself with gravity, so it wasn't an issue. He was found to have Tetralogy of Fallot...a heart defect that included a hole in the heart. I was told he will have to have open heart surgery at some point. After 6 wks in the NICU, he was finally weaned off the oxygen and able to come home. He weighed 4lbs 9oz. He had his heart surgery on 10/18/04 at 5 months of age. He has recovered well. He also has a dislocated hip that he will have surgery on next week. It's amazing what doctors can do! My miracle boy is such a fighter. I am so blessed! I've really become much more aware of the seriousness of prematurity and am thankful of the work the March of Dimes is doing to prevent and treat prematurity.
Thanks for letting me share my story.
Jodi