I was born at Christ Community Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
My mom was in labor for 36 hours. 24 of which were in the hospital and 12 hours of hard labor she has told me. On Thursday June 20th, 1974 at 2:00AM I was finally born.
The doctors quickly diagnosed me with Patent Ductis Arteriosus (PDA) and a heart murmur. PDA is the blood vessel the baby uses while still developing that lets blood bypass the lungs since the baby gets all its oxygen from the mother. After birth the valve closes on its own.
Mine did not close. I was placed in an incubator to monitor my difficulty breathing since blood was now being pumped into my lungs. The doctors told my mom I had about 24 hours to live unless the valve closed on its own.
And to make matters worse, a tornado decided to touch ground right by the hospital. All the windows to the nursery were blown out and all the newborns were pushed into the hallways for the rest of their stay. Thank goodness I was in an incubator!!
My 24 hour window passed and the valve had still not closed. My mom has told me that at this time the doctors told her my valve would not close now and I would be gone within 12 hours. Sometime in that next 12 hours my valve did close all on its own and my heart murmur was gone too, much to my moms relief I am sure.
My parents named me Melissa Charlotte. My mom has told my that my father picked it out because it was different. And let me tell you, I grew up HATING my name. I wanted a popular name like all the other girls like Jenny or Amy. And I also refused to tell people my middle name. All the other girls had middle names like Anne or Marie.But now I am older and wiser, haha. And I no longer have name issues.
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7 comments:
Just shows you that doctors don't know everything, much as they would like to believe they did ;)
Great story, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to hearing more in the coming weeks :)
Um- did you just get over your name issue b/c u never want to discuss your middle name Mel-Char?? Olivia also had PDA and a heart murmur, but it must not be a dig deal anymore b/c they told us it would close on it's own and to not ever worry about it. I have her follow up app't with the cardiologist next Friday. Why do I never get published? Do you even see these? Lovely?? That is all you have to say???
And now your here with children of your own - what a miracle!! I look forward to learning more about you and your childhood in the weeks to come!
Wow, what a beginning you had! I too had name issues as a kid. I hated my name and I wanted a popular name too like Jessica. I remember that so vividly! I can't wait to read more about your story!
How scary for your parents! I always wanted a popular name, too; I was the only Sheri I knew of for years.
As I read your story, it brought back memories of when our youngest was born with an often fatal heart defect. Ironically, the valve that should have closed at birth didn't and this is what kept him alive. I always hated my name when I was growing up too, and I too wanted one of the "popular" names. I guess it's okay now - because I rarely meet anyone with my name. I'm looking forward to reading more of your story!
What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing it!
You were quite a cute baby and I love your name!
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