Dominic’s Story: Part 4
No one has a baby and expects to walk out of the hospital with a shattered heart and empty arms. But that's exactly what I did.
No one has a baby and expects to walk out of the hospital with a shattered heart and empty arms. But that's exactly what I did.
The doctors explained what Treacher Collins was, to what degree they believed my son had it, and what it could possibly mean for delivery. I remember hearing cleft palate, small jaw, difficulty breathing, and tracheostomy. And I remember crying. That deep soul kind of crying where my very being wept with grief. I cried for myself. I cried for him. I cried for the dreams and hopes, plans, and desires I had unconsciously been holding onto so very tightly without even realizing it. And I cried because I was scared. Really scared.
With no time to think or process, we were quickly whisked away to the admitting department, and after another lengthy paperwork process, I had my hospital bracelet, the clothes on my back, and a starchy hospital bed up on the prenatal high-risk ward.
It was February 8th, 2011. The day before my 24th birthday and I was 24 weeks pregnant with my first child. Everything was new and so very exciting. I had just started to feel the baby move a few weeks earlier and as far as the pregnancy went everything was totally run-of-the-mill.