Imagines...

Imagine...The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are over and you are patting your self on the back for only gaining 3 pounds.

Imagine....your period is two weeks late in mid Jan and you are excited to be expecting again, especially after losing a son to stillbirth 2 years before. This is your 7th pregnancy.

Imagine....Your first prenatal appointment and the OB is upset that you waited so long to see him and you are clueless to what he's talking about, as you made the appointment right after getting the + HPT in mid Jan.

Imagine....The OB does an US in the office at that first appointment and it shows another boy who is 21 weeks along.

Imagine...5 weeks later having your son taken from your unconscious body by C-Section because of HELLP Syndrome.

Imagine... it being your son that is the reason that all the other parents are asked to leave the NICU, as they work over him, trying to get his heart to beat again. 10, 15 ,25,30 minutes go by before that heart starts again.

Imagine.... being asked afterwards whether you really want to keep this son alive any longer.

Imagine...waiting 6 weeks to hold him in your arms for the first time, for five minutes, only to find out the stress caused him to lose weight and have desats and bradys.

Imagine... getting back the homecoming pictures. There is one of your strapping 16 yr old holding his newest brother. Imagine that the first impression is that the older one has a spilled milk on his dark shirt until you see these tiny little legs and arms protruding from the "stain".

Imagine...The bill for the 11 wk NICU stay totals $750,000 and your son has a million dollar maximum health insurance policy.

Imagine...Going to work full time on a midnight shift because your need more health insurance for the family and midnight's are the only time you can work FT and still make the numerous medical appointments your son requires, not to mention ER trips and hospital admittance's.

Imagine...DH uncle sits on the medical benefits board of DH union and the uncle tell DH's brother who in turns tells DH's dad who in turn tells DH that your son has reached the Million dollar cut off point but no bothers to tell you first.

Imagine...All the phone calls needed to be made, phone tag, aggravation just to find out that the uncle didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Now however everyone knows your business but you.

Imagine....wouldn't it be nice to only have to imagine it and not live it.

Joanne