February 14, 1991. A day we will always remember.
Ellen and I were sitting in the old “Clinic ‘C’” at Riley
Hospital for Children. The room was rather dark and outdated. Mickey Mouse
sheets adorned the small bed where Ellen was laying. A small curtain separated
us from other tiny patients being seen in this outpatient clinic. We didn't have a baby…..yet.
Ellen was about 7 months pregnant and a previous ultrasound
done by the regular OB was suspect, so we were sent to Riley for an echo-cardiogram That day we met Dr. Robert Darragh and begin a very long
relationship with him, his colleagues, and Riley Hospital for Children.
“I have to tell you that your baby has a very serious heart
defect.” Or something to that effect. The exact words are lost over time and
the fog that such an announcement brings to one’s head. Our first baby.
Serious. Cardiac. Stopped in our tracks like hitting a wall.
Dr. Darragh said some things about switching to a high risk
OB at Indiana University Medical. He said something about after the baby was
born they would have to monitor him/her to see how things went to determine the
next step. However, the next steps would involve multiple surgeries to help the
baby live. During this time we merely called the fetus “Buuud” because we didn't know its name yet!
1991. This was before the Internet was available to us.
Before Google searches. We spent some time at the IU Medical Library looking up
Single Ventricle, Pulmonary Stenosis, Transposition of the Great Vessels. The
texts were not very friendly to my non-medical background. Ellen had a medical
background and educated me about the heart.
As I recall we stopped on the way home to have a chocolate
milkshake and then played Scrabble. It’s interesting the things you do when you
are in shock. We couldn’t email our family or post a Facebook status. So some
painful phone calls took place, followed by explanatory letters outlining Buuud’s
condition and the proposed plan of action at birth. It was out of our hands.
God had a plan and we had to see what would unfold. We have never asked "Why?"
February 14, 2013 ----- We are so thankful that we get to spend another Valentine’s
Day with Buuud ---- aka Alex Miller.
