Dylan
This week eight years ago, Dylan's mom had an ultrasound and the doctor commented "There's almost enough fluid for me to be concerned."
With that he sent her home. She was scheduled for an induction in a matter of days, anyway. The fluid remained in her womb with her full term baby boy.
But before the scheduled induction, Dylan's mom experienced a an unnerving and shocking sudden pain from within her belly. It made her feel like her insides were going to fall out. She was forced to crawl on her knees for the pain was unbearable. She was also quickly losing strength.
She called the doctor and was told, "If you aren't in labor, we'll have to send you home." She and her husband raced to the hospital immediately and no one was waiting for their arrival. It seemed to the doctor(s) that there was no emergency. She made it to the hospital.
Then waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Dylan's mom had insurance.
Yet, she still waited an interminably long few hours before her doctor came. Before any provider decided to check her baby. When they did put the Doppler on her belly there was no sound. Silence. Stillness.
Dylan's mom had suffered a placental abruption. Her placenta ripped away from the wall of the uterus and she lost a great deal of blood. She had hemorrhaged the whole time, about two and a half hours. During the C-section, the blood came out in buckets all over the floor. Six units of blood were slowly put back in.
It was too late for baby Dylan.
He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz. He had a full head of blond hair. Dylan's mom had suffered a placental abruption.
Dylan's mom treasures the memories and pictures she does have of her son. I was honored to know him through her. She would hold his picture, run her fingers over the Kodacolor of his bare shoulder and remark, "He still had his peach fuzz."
Dylan's mom would search for answers, conversation, and some communication with her doctors. It never came to be. No lawyer could take the case. No doctor would step up to try and alleviate her anger, her shame and her sorrow.
Dylan was born still on July 29, 2001.
Just days prior, July 26, 2001 her doctor had said "there's almost enough fluid for me too be worried." That July was also the first Patient Safety Day. A day to pause for a moment of silence at Noon or at 6PM and remember the lives lost and injured from preventable medical errors.
It is also a moment to remember the providers who are actively and with integrity working to make the system safer for patients.
***Special thanks to Elaine Bernard for her help in writing this piece about her son, Dylan. She can be reached at beannbearsmom@comcast.net .
With that he sent her home. She was scheduled for an induction in a matter of days, anyway. The fluid remained in her womb with her full term baby boy.
But before the scheduled induction, Dylan's mom experienced a an unnerving and shocking sudden pain from within her belly. It made her feel like her insides were going to fall out. She was forced to crawl on her knees for the pain was unbearable. She was also quickly losing strength.
She called the doctor and was told, "If you aren't in labor, we'll have to send you home." She and her husband raced to the hospital immediately and no one was waiting for their arrival. It seemed to the doctor(s) that there was no emergency. She made it to the hospital.
Then waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Dylan's mom had insurance.
Yet, she still waited an interminably long few hours before her doctor came. Before any provider decided to check her baby. When they did put the Doppler on her belly there was no sound. Silence. Stillness.
Dylan's mom had suffered a placental abruption. Her placenta ripped away from the wall of the uterus and she lost a great deal of blood. She had hemorrhaged the whole time, about two and a half hours. During the C-section, the blood came out in buckets all over the floor. Six units of blood were slowly put back in.
It was too late for baby Dylan.
He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz. He had a full head of blond hair. Dylan's mom had suffered a placental abruption.
Dylan's mom treasures the memories and pictures she does have of her son. I was honored to know him through her. She would hold his picture, run her fingers over the Kodacolor of his bare shoulder and remark, "He still had his peach fuzz."
Dylan's mom would search for answers, conversation, and some communication with her doctors. It never came to be. No lawyer could take the case. No doctor would step up to try and alleviate her anger, her shame and her sorrow.
Dylan was born still on July 29, 2001.
Just days prior, July 26, 2001 her doctor had said "there's almost enough fluid for me too be worried." That July was also the first Patient Safety Day. A day to pause for a moment of silence at Noon or at 6PM and remember the lives lost and injured from preventable medical errors.
It is also a moment to remember the providers who are actively and with integrity working to make the system safer for patients.
***Special thanks to Elaine Bernard for her help in writing this piece about her son, Dylan. She can be reached at beannbearsmom@comcast.net .
In A Mother's Words:
ReplyDelete(Written by Dylan's mom, Elaine)
I will start with that fateful day when things should have been done, but weren't. I figured I'd email you since it might be easier than trying to catch up with each other tonight.
I was due in just 6 days with our second son, Dylan is his name. I had to have an ultrasound because I was measuring large for gestational age. In the ultrasound, the technician observed and mentioned to me that there was "excess fluid". What does that mean?, I asked. He asked when I was due and I told him in 6 days I was going to have a c section but will be going immediately following the u/s to my ob/gyn appointment to confirm the date for delivery. He said, you should be ok, I will give you a letter to give to your doctor about the excess fluid.
So I head downstairs to my doctor appointment. While waiting, I give the letter from the u/s tech to the nurse and I mentioned that he wrote about excess fluid and wanted the doctor to see it.
While in the exam room, the doctor comes in and says, so you are now scheduled to have the baby in six days, do you want me to examine you? I replied, should you, or do you need to?She said no she didn't have to. I didn't mention the letter, assuming she had read it. She never mentioned it. I left feeling pretty good and looking forward to the birth of my second son. This was all on Thursday, July 26th, 2001. The night before, we had put up Noah's Ark borders in the room specially designed for our Dylan boy with new carpet and curtains,etc.
On Sunday July 29th, I woke up after sleeping in and sat and read the paper. I got up to get something to eat and something didn't feel right, I felt lightheaded and went and sat in the bathroom.I felt pressure as if in labor. I told my husband that something was wrong and that we needed to call the doctor. I went in the bedroom and called her and said that something was very wrong and she said that if i was in false labor she was just going to send me home. I told her we were coming in.It's about 4 miles away and I remember vomiting out the car window and telling my husband to not stop at the lights and he didn't. When we got there no one was waiting for us. We sat in the ER for about 10 minutes while I spoke with the triage nurse and she kept telling me not to get up (I was in a wheelchair at this point) but I told her the pressure was so bad I could not sit. I was wheeled upstairs and we went and waited in a room for my doctor. and we waited...
Finally after about 45 minutes a nurse came in and gave me an ultrasound with a portable machine. My child lay there still as could be and I couldn't believe it. She said that the baby had no heartbeat and my husband covered his face and cried. I told him not to worry that they were wrong and that they were going to hurry and deliver him. Just over two hours later I was given a c section. I had been hemmoraging the whole time and my husband said that blood poured out of me in buckets all over the floor. Our beautiful, 7 lb 14 oz boy was gone just 3 days before he was due to be born. I know that if they had kept me after seeing the excess fluid, or even delivered him that day that he'd be here. He was ready. He was HERE. He was even clapping his knuckles together in that last ultrasound. Dylan would be 8 1/2 years old now.