The Day My Life Changed Forever (Part 2)

Yesterday I wrote about the story of Colton's birth in honor of November being Prematurity Awareness Month. Here is the second part of that story.

The paramedics and nurses began to prep me for transport to UK Hospital by ambulance. Seth told me he was going to ride with my parents and that they were leaving now so they could make it there the same time the ambulance did. I was horrified that he could not ride with me but a nurse from our local hospital was required to ride with us due to the face that I was in labor and with her, me and the 3 paramedics the ambulance was already too crowded. I don't remember much about the ride. I remember squeezing the poor nurses hand harder and harder with every contraction as well as the agonizing pain of "jumping" train tracks in the back of an ambulance while in labor. The pain was worsening and they could not give me anything to lessen it, I was too far along. When we were just minutes from the hospital, I started to feel extreme pressure. I literally crossed my legs under the blanket and told the nurse he was coming. She convinced me that we were close and begged me not to push, not just yet. I didn't push, instead I closed my eyes and prayed. "We're here" the nurse exclaimed, "we made it". I could tell by her voice that she was just as relieved as I was. We had made it and now my son's survival chances increased from 0 to 12%, not much, but that 12% made all the difference to me.

As we stepped (well, I was rolled) off the elevators on the 3rd floor of UK Hospital, I heard my Mother announce "there she is". I was so happy to know that my family was with me and my baby again. I couldn't see them, I was strapped to a bed, but I could hear them. I was rushed to a delivery room and seen by a new Doctor. They raised the bottom of the bed so that my feet were in the air and my head was practically on the ground. New monitors were placed on me, as literally 25 nurses and doctors rushed around the room. I signed a few forms (certainly not legibly) and offered up my thumb so a nurse could ink it and place it on a piece of paper for my prints. Seth stayed on the phone calling everyone who needed to be called, letting them know that we were having a baby. Most of whom replied "yes, I already know Crystal is pregnant" to which he responded "no, the baby is coming, NOW". About 30 minutes after we arrived the doctor came back in to check how I was doing, I uncrossed my legs to let her examine me. "Okay, we are having this baby" was her response to the bit of head she spotted peeking out at her, "We're going to push now". It took one, swift, hard push to bring our tiny boy into this world.

I felt a sudden calm race through my body, the pain was gone. Then in an instant the physical pain was replaced by overwhelming emotional pain. I heard no noise, everyone was silently running around the room doing their individual duties "Is he going to cry?" I asked the closest nurse. "Not right now, sweetie" was her response. I didn't even lay eyes on my son after his birth, by the time I knew what was happening, he was whisked away to a small room off of mine, the door was shut. I looked up at Seth, tears were streaming down his face, this was only the second time I had ever seen him cry. My sister, overcome with emotion, had to leave the room, my Mom followed after her to provide comfort. Seth and I sat crying in silence for some time. I didn't know it then but just feet away in that tiny room my son was fighting for his life. They were doing all they could to get him breathing on the ventilator and stable enough to make the short trip upstairs to the NICU. A Doctor came in the room to speak with us about what exactly was going on, the only thing I remember him saying is, "we are doing all we can and that may or may not be enough, as hard as it may be for the next couple hours you are just going to have to wait." And that is exactly what we did...

Part 3