Miscarriage and Stillbirth Delivery
Donation protected
Those of you who know Michael and Emily know they had waited for years for just the right time to start their family. Finally, at the end of October 2017, Emily surprised Michael with the news that she was expecting their first child. They were so excited at the chance to finally become parents.
When they first found out, Emily was about 7-8 weeks along. She was having some pains that made the doctor worry if the baby had implanted somewhere besides the uterus, so they were scheduled for their first ultrasound early on.
All their worry was for nothing though, and they were relieved to learn the baby was right where it needed to be safe and sound--and they even got to hear the heartbeat for the first time!
Having cleared that huge hurdle, the rest of the first trimester continued to be very challenging as Emily had severe, near-daily morning sickness. Nevertheless, as the weeks slowly ticked by, each time they went in for their prenatal visits, they were greeted with the same strong heartbeat of their growing baby that made it all worthwhile.
At long last, Emily reached her second trimester. At first, things seemed to be getting easier and Emily finally got a few weeks of relief from her sickness. With each successful day, she and Michael became more and more excited. And, in just a few more short weeks, they'd be able to find out the gender, start picking out names, and planning their nursery.
However, New Year's weekend, Emily got very sick again; this time even worse than in previous weeks. For days, nothing she ate would stay down and, at one point, she even developed a slight fever.
Doing the right thing, Emily called the on-call OBGYN to review her situation. The doctor was helpful and sympathetic to her needs and worked with her over the phone on a new plan to combat the nausea. The doctor suggested that Emily try to move up her next checkup appointment for good measure, but was not concerned enough to send Emily to the ER.
The following morning when Emily got up to use the bathroom, she emptied her bladder as normal though suddenly felt an unfamiliar reservoir with additional fluid open and release.
Since Emily was unsure what that was, and was needing to move up her appointment anyway, she called her clinic to discuss her symptoms.
During the call, the clinic seemed concerned. Emily's regular doctor had the day off, but after consulting with the on-call doctor, the clinic got her scheduled for an appointment that same morning.
Michael was able to accompany her and, together, they got to hear their baby's heartbeat one last time before learning that the additional fluid that Emily had felt was actually her water that had unexpectedly ruptured at just 16 weeks.
At 16 weeks, there was no option that would result in Michael and Emily having a healthy, living child. In an instant, all their dreams were destroyed and they were hit with the reality that their baby would not survive. They hadn't even learned the gender yet and they never got to feel any first kicks.
They were then admitted into the Birth and Delivery unit so Emily could be induced into early labor to terminate the pregnancy. She was hooked up to an IV, given an epidural, and administered medication that would induce delivery.
Even though she wasn't in pain, Emily suffered all night with another fever and the sadness of what was to come. All throughout the night, the nurses continued to administer the medications to keep her labor progressing. Michael stayed by her side offering her unwaivering love and support.
The following morning, during the next shift change, Emily's regular doctor arrived to check on her progress. It was then that her doctor said they should prepare for delivery. After instructing Emily to push, within seconds, their lifeless baby was born. During the trauma of inducing the early labor, their baby had passed away.
After delivering, Michael and Emily had learned it had been a boy; they had lost a son. As a tribute, they decided to name their son Michael.
The nurses helped to clean him up as best they could. They took his tiny hand and footprints and let the grieving parents hold him. He was so small and had the most perfect, little nose and hands.
The next thing Michael and Emily knew, they were deciding on what to do with the remains and filling out their only child's death certificate.
This ordeal was sudden leaving the once-wishful parents-to-be unprepared for the emotional and financial hardship. They went through all the motions of labor without the joy of bringing a healthy baby home with them. Michael and Emily would appreciate any support you are able offer to help them cover the costs of an unfortunate miscarriage, the unexpected premature labor, and medical fees to test for any underlying causes of their miscarriage.
To view Michael, Jr.'s obituary, please click on the link: Obituary Notice
When they first found out, Emily was about 7-8 weeks along. She was having some pains that made the doctor worry if the baby had implanted somewhere besides the uterus, so they were scheduled for their first ultrasound early on.
All their worry was for nothing though, and they were relieved to learn the baby was right where it needed to be safe and sound--and they even got to hear the heartbeat for the first time!
Having cleared that huge hurdle, the rest of the first trimester continued to be very challenging as Emily had severe, near-daily morning sickness. Nevertheless, as the weeks slowly ticked by, each time they went in for their prenatal visits, they were greeted with the same strong heartbeat of their growing baby that made it all worthwhile.
At long last, Emily reached her second trimester. At first, things seemed to be getting easier and Emily finally got a few weeks of relief from her sickness. With each successful day, she and Michael became more and more excited. And, in just a few more short weeks, they'd be able to find out the gender, start picking out names, and planning their nursery.
However, New Year's weekend, Emily got very sick again; this time even worse than in previous weeks. For days, nothing she ate would stay down and, at one point, she even developed a slight fever.
Doing the right thing, Emily called the on-call OBGYN to review her situation. The doctor was helpful and sympathetic to her needs and worked with her over the phone on a new plan to combat the nausea. The doctor suggested that Emily try to move up her next checkup appointment for good measure, but was not concerned enough to send Emily to the ER.
The following morning when Emily got up to use the bathroom, she emptied her bladder as normal though suddenly felt an unfamiliar reservoir with additional fluid open and release.
Since Emily was unsure what that was, and was needing to move up her appointment anyway, she called her clinic to discuss her symptoms.
During the call, the clinic seemed concerned. Emily's regular doctor had the day off, but after consulting with the on-call doctor, the clinic got her scheduled for an appointment that same morning.
Michael was able to accompany her and, together, they got to hear their baby's heartbeat one last time before learning that the additional fluid that Emily had felt was actually her water that had unexpectedly ruptured at just 16 weeks.
At 16 weeks, there was no option that would result in Michael and Emily having a healthy, living child. In an instant, all their dreams were destroyed and they were hit with the reality that their baby would not survive. They hadn't even learned the gender yet and they never got to feel any first kicks.
They were then admitted into the Birth and Delivery unit so Emily could be induced into early labor to terminate the pregnancy. She was hooked up to an IV, given an epidural, and administered medication that would induce delivery.
Even though she wasn't in pain, Emily suffered all night with another fever and the sadness of what was to come. All throughout the night, the nurses continued to administer the medications to keep her labor progressing. Michael stayed by her side offering her unwaivering love and support.
The following morning, during the next shift change, Emily's regular doctor arrived to check on her progress. It was then that her doctor said they should prepare for delivery. After instructing Emily to push, within seconds, their lifeless baby was born. During the trauma of inducing the early labor, their baby had passed away.
After delivering, Michael and Emily had learned it had been a boy; they had lost a son. As a tribute, they decided to name their son Michael.
The nurses helped to clean him up as best they could. They took his tiny hand and footprints and let the grieving parents hold him. He was so small and had the most perfect, little nose and hands.
The next thing Michael and Emily knew, they were deciding on what to do with the remains and filling out their only child's death certificate.
This ordeal was sudden leaving the once-wishful parents-to-be unprepared for the emotional and financial hardship. They went through all the motions of labor without the joy of bringing a healthy baby home with them. Michael and Emily would appreciate any support you are able offer to help them cover the costs of an unfortunate miscarriage, the unexpected premature labor, and medical fees to test for any underlying causes of their miscarriage.
To view Michael, Jr.'s obituary, please click on the link: Obituary Notice
Organizer
Emily Engelmann
Organizer
Hillsboro, OR
