Alyson's Story - Part 1

When I was writing Alyson's story, it was getting rather lengthy but I didn't want to leave anything out. This is Alyson's journey, and these details I know I will forget someday but want to be able to share with my kids and others. I have broken it up into a few parts and will post it all over the next few days. :)

April 23, 2008 will be date (one of many) that is etched in my memory probably for the rest of my life. I was 19 weeks along in my pregnancy when we went to get the ultrasound done to measure the baby and see if we would be having a boy or a girl. We were going on vacation later that afternoon and the next time I would have been able to get in for an ultrasound was when I was 21 weeks. The suspense was killing us (or maybe more so for me) so the appointment was made for before we left.

Everything seemed normal with the ultrasound. The technician made multiple attempts to get the baby to uncross the legs so we could see…..we were having another GIRL! Nothing stands out in my mind with the technician taking a long time looking at specific areas with Alyson. It’s all a blur to me actually but I do remember the technician telling us that her right chamber looked smaller. She said it could probably because I was only 19 weeks along and if she grew a couple more weeks she would be bigger to get a better picture. She also said it was a possibility that she could have a hole in her heart and that's why it looked smaller. At that point, I started crying and worrying. A hole in her heart!?! Are you kidding me!?! She tried to console me by telling me her son was born with a hole in his heart and he is healthy and very active. I tried to find comfort in that but the last thing I wanted to do was leave that appointment finding out my baby could potentially be born with a problem. My doctor followed up with this information and told me he would get a follow up ultrasound scheduled for a few weeks later.

When we left the doctor, I called my friend Amy because she wanted to know what we were having when we found out. I called her and I was still in a crying frenzy when I called and said “We're having a girl!” She then asked “Are you crying because you're having another girl and not a boy?” That made me laugh and help calm me down a bit and I proceeded to tell her what was going on. I also called my mom and sister to let them know what was going on. Like everyone else, they told me to not stress out or worry because nothing was official and everything could come out okay with the next ultrasound. My sister told me that when she was pregnant with her twin boys, the technician didn't get a clear picture on one of the boys heart so she had to go back in and have another ultrasound done and found out everything was okay. This was all news to me as she never told me that when she was pregnant with them, but I know she told me now to help give me comfort that everything will be okay. Something didn't feel right to me though, I knew at the next ultrasound I wasn't going to be told that everything was perfectly fine with our sweet little girl.

We flew that afternoon down to my sister's place to spend the week with her and her family. If we didn't have pictures, I wouldn't remember much what we did on that trip. The only thing that stands out in my mind is always thinking about Alyson's potential heart problem. There was one day that I just felt so sad and depressed, I went up to the bedroom and laid down and sobbed. Frank came up to check on me after a little bit and laid down behind me and just hugged me while I whispered to him “I’m so scared to find out if something is wrong or not.”

PART 2