I've often wondered if I would ever be able to tell Luke's story. It is sometimes hard for me to discuss the details. His story is one of miracles, fighting, spirit, love, and pain. I've decided to split up the story, since it is a long explanation involving a lot of medical lingo and a span of several months.
In the fall of 2012, my husband and I learned that we were expecting twins. I remember sitting in the ultrasound room, stunned, as we weren't aware of any twin history in our family. Soon after, the news settled in and we began to get really excited. We talked of names, the special twin bond they would share, having the 3 children we had always dreamed of, etc.
A few weeks later our world was turned upside down. At a routine ultrasound, we discovered that "baby B" (who would later be named Lucas) had several serious complications. The doctor said he almost certainly had a chromosomal abnormality such as Down Syndrome, Trisomy 13, or Trisomy 18. They saw a heart defect and the amniotic fluid level was off. We were told he probably wouldn't survive the pregnancy and were asked if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy. We chose not to terminate.
Over the next few months it seemed like every time we went to an ultrasound they would find something else that was wrong. We saw specialists, including a pediatric cardiologist and a doctor who specializes in Twin-to-Twin-Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a serious complication for identical twins in which one baby has too much fluid and the other baby doesn't have enough. As is turned out, we did not have TTTS, thank goodness. It is very serious.
During all of this, I was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). HG is relentless nausea and vomiting to the point of dehydration and hospitalization. It is NOT morning sickness. I was throwing up 20+ times a day, in and out of the hospital for severe dehydration, lost 20+ pounds, pulled muscles in my chest from vomiting so much, and eroded parts of my esophagus. Maybe someday I will do a post about HG because it is so often misunderstood and played down as just bad morning sickness, when it is so much more than that.
I was also diagnosed with polyhydramnios. Basically this meant I had too much amniotic fluid. I remember at one doctor's visit he said I had enough amniotic fluid to support quadruplets. That's a lot. For me, polyhydramnios meant being really uncomfortable all the time, having difficulty breathing, and looking way further along than I was. At around 25 weeks pregnant, I was measuring at around 43 weeks if that gives you any idea. Granted I had two babies in there, but still. Polyhydramnios is more serious than just being uncomfortable though. It can cause preterm labor. If your water breaks, the sheer amount of fluid can make the cord come out before the baby which can be serious.
We already knew I would probably deliver the babies before they were full-term. Our goal was to hopefully deliver by c-section before my water broke.
On April 22, 2013 at a routine doctor's appointment I went into preterm labor. I was immediately checked into the hospital where I was given magnesium sulfate (awful stuff that makes you feel terrible!) to try and stop labor. After 7 hours of labor (with no pain meds whatsoever), it was determined that the magnesium sulfate was not working and the babies needed to be delivered via emergency c-section ASAP. I was given steroid shots to try and help their lung development and a little while later I was wheeled off to the OR to be prepped for surgery.
I never thought my babies would be born 11 weeks early. I was scared out of my mind.
The c-section was super quick and at 4:52 p.m. Miller James was the first twin to be born. Just seconds later, still at 4:52, Lucas Rolland was born. I got to see Miller for a split second before they rushed them both to the NICU.
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