Mother: Florrena Parker
Hometown: Texas
Induced early
Elise Marie’s Story
I found out I was pregnant in March of 2014. Having 2 normal pregnancies in the past I was excited and told family and friends but why not? I knew my pregnancy would be a breeze. My husband and I went to our scheduled appts. full of joy and finally it was time for me to take the regular blood screening test which I knew would come back normal. I remember the dreadful call like it was yesterday. It was a Friday, July 18th I was at work. My doctor told me my results for down syndrome was negative but I was 1 in 10 for Trisomy 18. Not understanding what that meant she briefly explained, but everything was a blurr after she told me it was incompatible with life. I don’t know how I held it together that day but after work I drove home in tears.
I laid on the couch all weekend on the internet reading blogs and crying trying to understand WHY ME? I’m only 30 years old. It was the longest weekend ever! That following Thursday I was soon scheduled for an appointment with a genetic counselor followed by an amniocentesis which was very painful along with the doctor telling me that they found 3 markers which was her low weight, chlorid plexus on both parts of her brain, and one clenched fist. I remembered going to the restroom and dropping on my knees to pray. I requested the FISH results which came back the next day, July 25th by 5pm. I was told over the phone that my precious little girl had TRISOMY 18. I cried and cried. I didn’t understand why this was happening to me. My husband held me outside away from our two kids and we both cried together. I called my job to take a leave of absence. Right after, my genetic counselor told me someone would call me on Monday to perform a D & E. Finally, an insensitive woman called to tell me about the procedure and I knew I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t going to allow someone to take my precious little girl out of me in pieces. She did not deserve that type of treatment. I asked my genetic counselor if my doctor could perform an induction so my husband and I could bond with her and give her a proper cremation. My doctor agreed, she wanted me to be in control of my birth plan but the hardest part was before the induction the doctor needed to stop her heartbeat and after she would induce. Again, I cried and cried wondering why I was getting hit back to back. Why? I had to pray about the decision and put everything into perspective.
Do I carry my precious baby to term only for her to pass or suffer or do I terminate? I sat for a week trying to decide and also reading the internet about other parents who went through the same thing as me. Finally, I made the decision for my precious baby to go to Heaven. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. August 4th finally arrived and at 2:15pm I was scheduled to have my little girl heart stopped. I had to be sedated. The doctor tried comforting me by telling me since my baby was so small her nerves wasn’t developed so she wouldn’t feel a thing. That didn’t comfort me one bit, my only comfort was prayer. After that was over I was told to go to the hospital at 8pm for the induction.
The hospital team was GREAT! I was in labor for 15 hours and finally on August 5th at 2:15pm Elise Marie was born. The hospital staff had a special purple hat and blanket to wrap her into after birth. She had the characteristics of a Trisomy 18 baby. My precious girl intestines was growing on the outside of her body, small chin, clubbed feet, she did not have clenched fist but she was PERFECT to me. She was beautiful and peaceful. My husband and I cried. The Chaplain came in and said a prayer over Elise my precious girl. I held her for hours and took pictures of her hands.
I was soon moved to recovery and I told the Nurses they could finally take her away. Soon after, I cried and cried and the Nurse told me she could definitely bring my little baby back if I wish. I told her yes please bring my baby back. I laid with her for a couple of hours until I was administered a sleeping pill. The next morning I cried still missing my little girl. The Nurses comforted me and told me before I am discharged I could definitely see her again. Before I left the hospital I asked for my precious baby again and cried over her and prayed over her. I kissed her and finally said goodbye. I was given a box with her keep sakes. They gave me her purple hat and blanket back along with her name tag, a small ring in remembrance of her, and a small pink bracelet that I will cherish until I die.
I miss her so much!! I don’t know why this happened to me but I know God has a plan. I am happy to know that my child received a free ticket to Heaven. I will never forget this experience. I finally received the results that my precious baby had full trisomy and not partial or mosaic. It was just a fluke. I was told that if I decide to get pregnant again the chances of this happening again would be really low and that my doctor would do the screening as early as 10 weeks. As of now I’m uncertain about future pregnancies because this was a bit traumatizing. I am now aware of Trisomy 18 and would like would to be a testimony to other parents out there battling the same situation. Just trust God and he will direct your path. God Bless…