A Blessing May Arrive in An Unexpected Way (continued)
Tuesday, April 4, 2000. The Delivery.
The small delivery room seemed to be packed. Three pediatricians,
an anesthesiologist, 2 obstetricians,
a few nurses and seemingly hundreds of other people hovered around
me. My last memory of my delivery room experience was gasping for
air. I received anesthesia that was supposed to numb me from the
abdominal area down so that I would remain alert during the procedure.
However, for some reason I felt the affects of the anesthesia in
my chest area, making it difficult to breathe. I felt panic; but
because of the anesthesia I could not express the panic. I wondered
if I was dying. I did not know what was going on. I tried to tell
the doctors that I was having difficulty breathing, but could not
Harold walked into the room as he wanted to be present for the delivery.
He was beaming. I know he was excited about the birth of our child.
But I also think he was amused at having to "scrub in"
and wear surgical scrubs. He sat next to me. I turned to the left
to look at him. With much difficulty I pleaded, "I can't breathe
--- Help me!!" By that time the doctors had realized that I
was in distress and gave me general anesthesia. They rushed Harold
out of the room. A few seconds later, I was unconscious.
Tuesday, April 4, 2000. Welcome to the World, Isaiah!
When I opened my eyes I was back in my room. It took me a few seconds
to realize that I had had a baby. My sister, Trina, was in my room.
She told me that I had a boy and that he weighed 1 pound 14 ounces.
One pound, 14 ounces. I was stunned. I could not imagine what a
baby that small would look like. That a baby so small could survive.
We named him Isaiah Jack Burnham Montgomery. Trina told me that
she saw him and that he looked just like Harold.
I asked the nurse to see him. Because of my condition, I had to
be wheeled on a gurney. That was kind of amusing. The gurney was
huge compared to Isaiah's tiny bed in Nursery C of the Special Care
Nursery (SCN).
There was a sign over his bed identifying him as "Isaiah."
He was absolutely beautiful. He did look like Harold. The nurse
picked him up so that I could see him better. He opened his eyes
for a couple of seconds. They were deep blue. He was long and really
skinny. His rib cage pressed against his thin skin. His feet were
huge. I laughed and told my sister that he looked like a little
chicken!
I was very happy after that visit. Isaiah was small and at risk.
So far he was doing well. However, the
doctors predicted that Isaiah would not be able to come home until
around his "due date"-- June 19th---another 2- 1/2 months.
That did not matter. At that moment I was just happy to be a mommy.
Stacey
Montgomery is the publisher of CelebratingChildren.com. She is the
proud mother of 4 year old Isaiah-- born 2 1/2 months early. He
is now in perfect health. He is enjoying preschool.
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November 8, 2004
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