pPROM Awareness Month

We've been a pretty open book about our circumstances over the last few months.  At this point, you may be thinking, "lady, FOR THE LOVE, we know you had a baby.  And it was crazy.  We got you."  We know others may have chosen to not be so public about the struggle, and that's ok, too. 

But, we shared Dex's story long before we knew his name because we wanted to share hope.   

Seven months ago, I had never heard the phrase Pre-Viability pPROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes).  In layman's terms, my water broke before our baby was at an age at which he could be born and have any chance of survival.  My water broke at 38 weeks with both of my girls and they were born that same day, so I had no idea that your water could break and you could remain pregnant.  Maybe you didn't know that, either.  When the doctor told me that my son would either pass away in utero or I would deliver him within the next few days, I was left without an ounce of hope because I didn't know there was a third possibility.  I turned down being induced and asked for the most aggressive action to prolong the pregnancy, but was told it likely wouldn't help.  It wasn't until I asked for prayers for our little guy on Facebook that a friend from middle school youth group put me in contact with a mom whose water broke early and now has a healthy two year old daughter.  While I was crying in my hospital bed, that mama encouraged me to be grateful that at that very second, I was still pregnant and that's all I could ask.  She sent me information on the pPROM Regimen and charged me to prepare to fight for my baby's life, that we could be the ones to beat the odds.  I don't know what I would have done without that conversation, but I certainly want to pay it forward.  When someone hears of a situations similar to ours, I want them to be able to offer hope.  I want them to be able to say "this girl I went to high school with/my old coworker/my friend's daughter, etc. Her water broke at 17 weeks and her baby lived."  Where there is a heartbeat, THERE IS HOPE.

I also believe that sharing about our circumstances is one of the reasons we made it through.  Literally thousands of people have prayed for my son.  People we have never met and probably never will have been cheering on our little guy.  It allowed our family, friends, colleagues, and church to come alongside us.  Our devastation was mitigated by a sea of helpers (read more about that here).  I don't know how someone could get through this experience on their own.

And now that he's home, we still get the chance to share about his journey.  Just yesterday, we were sitting outside for lunch on the patio of Mac & Bob's.  Though we try to keep our distance, Dex naturally gets some extra gazes as he has a few more accessories than the average baby.  The sweet couple next to us began asking about him, and we got to share about his miraculous little life.  We are so proud of him.  As we went to leave, the waitress let us know that our check had been taken care of.  We don't know who did it, but we are so grateful, and it brings me so much joy to see others celebrate my little boy, too.  

So, I'm sorry in advance for all the times you'll hear about pPROM and how it has changed our lives.  We are hoping that in sharing, it can change someone else's, too.  

For more information on pPROM, visit aapprom.org.