Stars Align

Evie's Birth, Part II  (March 18, 2013)

So I was going to have a c-section.  Before we knew it there were 3 doctors,  3 nurses, and 1 anesthesiologist prepping me for surgery.  I got a catheter and a shave within minutes.  I got magnesium in the IV to reduce the risk of effects on Evie's brain/nervous system from an early delivery.  The magnesium made me feel terribly hot, and yet I was shivering in fear. . . In another 2 minutes we were rolled into the operating room where I got a spinal block.  I was laid on my back and I promptly went numb from the chest down.  Kabir sat near my head.  Dr. Moeller put up a big blue screen and set about her work.  It was go time.

Here's how the stars aligned for Evie:  By chance, a superb neonatologist named Dr. Horst happened to be staying late at Avista after a meeting.  Unbeknownst to me, my OB was able to track him down just as he was walking out the door.  He came to the OR and was ready to help Evie the minute she was born.  Also by chance, our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Steitz, was finishing up some paperwork in his office downstairs.  He came running up to the OR to assist as well.  We were so incredibly lucky to have these two amazing doctors there to help Evie survive!

Once the C-section began, I looked deep into Kabir's eyes and prayed that Evie would be ok.  Kabir smiled and reassured me (without mentioning the giant cup filling with blood behind my head.)  The second I felt pressure and knew Evie was born, I made Kabir run to her side.  I could hear the doctors fast at work reviving my tiny baby.  At one point I heard a little wimper, and I began to cry- I realized she might make it after all!  Kabir sat by Evie's side where he took a short video clip of her to show me later.  Evie was very, very sick.  Her body was covered with tiny spots and bruises, her belly was swollen like a giant balloon, and she could not breathe without help.  She even got a bruise when the doctors touched her gently with a stethoscope. . . Here is a photo of our tiny, sick little peanut:

Back in the recovery room, I waited in a daze for the feeling to return to my body.  Soon they wheeled Evie in so I could see her before they transferred her to the NICU at St. Luke's.  All I could see was a tiny, tiny face through a window in a giant red case.  I began to sob. . . "Please," I begged, "transfer me to St. Luke's too.  I need to be near my baby!"  Kabir rode with Evie in the ambulance to St. Luke's; and I was transferred within an hour.  The rest of the night was pretty foggy- Did I sleep?  I don't really know.

The next morning Kabir took me in a wheelchair to visit my tiny one.  Little Evie had a million tubes and wires attached to her little body, but she was ALIVE.  And so began Evie's precious life outside the womb. . .