Charlene Lopez
10-16-2005, 03:36 PM
Daniel was a very special and we couldn't wait for him to be a part of our family. As soon as we learned we were pregnant with him we told everyone, we couldn't wait one moment to share with the world that we would be proud parents. As soon as we learned we were having a boy we wanted to name him. After much deliberation we named him Daniel, he was already known to us and our friends and family so he was a member of the family long before he physically came into the world.
Looking back now, I relish those days before he was born. I didn't know at the time, but that was it, that was the only time we would have to share his heartbeat and movements, it was wonderful, he was so very loved and he made us so happy.
My husband and I tried for 3-4 years to become pregnant with him. We were taking fertility medicine and thinking about the next possible steps to conceive when we finally learned we were pregnant with him in July of 2004, we were ecstatic. We had a very normal pregnancy. I even exercised daily doing prenatal yoga and walking. I felt great; everyone said I looked wonderful, glowing and happy. All of the ultra sounds and tests showed that he would be a perfect, healthy little boy.
In my 5th month there was some light bleeding and we were told it was placenta abruption, nothing to worry about and to resume my normal activities after a few days of rest. 2 weeks later there was another episode of bleeding that was much more severe. I was put on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy. There was no more bleeding and the remaining tests and ultra sounds were all normal so we began to relax and prepare for his arrival.
We had a baby shower, put together is beautiful room, happily washed and put away little outfits, sock, hats, blankets. We were stocked up with diapers, lotion, bottles, car seats, the whole works. Daniel had everything he needed and so many people to love him.
My water broke around midnight on Wednesday, March 24th; it was the 38th week. We were immediately concerned because there was tons of blood and clots. We were at the emergency room within 20 minutes and were put on monitors only to be reassured that everything was fine, his heartbeat was fine, again, nothing to worry about. Around 5:00am Thursday morning his heartbeat stopped, the nurses came rushing in, repositioned me and his heartbeat started up again. Once again we were told everything was fine, nothing to worry about. At 6:30 his heartbeat slowed way down again so they decided to do an emergency c-section.
He was out within minutes and looked perfectly pink with big blue eyes but he never cried. I was so worried something was wrong, wasn’t he supposed to cry? I got to look at him briefly, he was so beautiful, and then they rushed him away for tests. I never got to hold him. A couple of hours later they said he needed to be rushed to Children’s Hospital where they would be able to get him stable. He was in an incubator with tubes everywhere so I still couldn’t hold him. He had low blood pressure and slowed brain activity due to not enough oxygen and too much blood loss during labor. Over the next several hours they learned that none of his organs were functioning, he was only being kept alive by life support.
My sister who had a relationship with Sandy from Expressions Photography asked her to come take pictures of Daniel for us that day because he wouldn’t be there the next day. She was so kind to make the time out of her busy schedule and she took several pictures. Even though there were tubes and wires everywhere, they are the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. Pictures of his tiny feet, hands, nose….he looks perfect, he's absolutely beautiful. For a moment we were just a family having our portraits taken. That night, he was taken off life support and our future suddenly ended.
The next day Sandy put together a beautiful DVD of the pictures she took set to “Daniels Song” by Elton John. It was amazing and we watched it over and over. We shared it with our family and friends. He is our beautiful son, we are so proud of him and now we have a wonderful way to show him off and to see him whenever we want. We played the DVD during the memorial, it was a beautiful celebration of who he was and everyone was moved by it.
We were later able to go in to the studio and choose whichever pictures we wanted of him from the only day we had with him. We chose several pictures for our home as well as some to give as mother’s day gifts and some to carry with us as we go about our days. We’re so grateful to have these beautiful memories of Daniel; they are helping us heal. We can see him anytime we want. We can show him off to others. He may not be in our arms, but he’ll always be in our view and in our hearts.
As time goes on we realize what an impact having these pictures has made in our lives and in our healing process. We have Daniels pictures around the house, we pull them out of our wallets and share them with everyone. My husband carries a "brag book" with him everywhere he goes. What an amazing gift from my sister and what an amazing organization that Cheryl and Sandy have grown together. It's more than the pictures, it's the support, the understanding and the friendships as well.
Looking back now, I relish those days before he was born. I didn't know at the time, but that was it, that was the only time we would have to share his heartbeat and movements, it was wonderful, he was so very loved and he made us so happy.
My husband and I tried for 3-4 years to become pregnant with him. We were taking fertility medicine and thinking about the next possible steps to conceive when we finally learned we were pregnant with him in July of 2004, we were ecstatic. We had a very normal pregnancy. I even exercised daily doing prenatal yoga and walking. I felt great; everyone said I looked wonderful, glowing and happy. All of the ultra sounds and tests showed that he would be a perfect, healthy little boy.
In my 5th month there was some light bleeding and we were told it was placenta abruption, nothing to worry about and to resume my normal activities after a few days of rest. 2 weeks later there was another episode of bleeding that was much more severe. I was put on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy. There was no more bleeding and the remaining tests and ultra sounds were all normal so we began to relax and prepare for his arrival.
We had a baby shower, put together is beautiful room, happily washed and put away little outfits, sock, hats, blankets. We were stocked up with diapers, lotion, bottles, car seats, the whole works. Daniel had everything he needed and so many people to love him.
My water broke around midnight on Wednesday, March 24th; it was the 38th week. We were immediately concerned because there was tons of blood and clots. We were at the emergency room within 20 minutes and were put on monitors only to be reassured that everything was fine, his heartbeat was fine, again, nothing to worry about. Around 5:00am Thursday morning his heartbeat stopped, the nurses came rushing in, repositioned me and his heartbeat started up again. Once again we were told everything was fine, nothing to worry about. At 6:30 his heartbeat slowed way down again so they decided to do an emergency c-section.
He was out within minutes and looked perfectly pink with big blue eyes but he never cried. I was so worried something was wrong, wasn’t he supposed to cry? I got to look at him briefly, he was so beautiful, and then they rushed him away for tests. I never got to hold him. A couple of hours later they said he needed to be rushed to Children’s Hospital where they would be able to get him stable. He was in an incubator with tubes everywhere so I still couldn’t hold him. He had low blood pressure and slowed brain activity due to not enough oxygen and too much blood loss during labor. Over the next several hours they learned that none of his organs were functioning, he was only being kept alive by life support.
My sister who had a relationship with Sandy from Expressions Photography asked her to come take pictures of Daniel for us that day because he wouldn’t be there the next day. She was so kind to make the time out of her busy schedule and she took several pictures. Even though there were tubes and wires everywhere, they are the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. Pictures of his tiny feet, hands, nose….he looks perfect, he's absolutely beautiful. For a moment we were just a family having our portraits taken. That night, he was taken off life support and our future suddenly ended.
The next day Sandy put together a beautiful DVD of the pictures she took set to “Daniels Song” by Elton John. It was amazing and we watched it over and over. We shared it with our family and friends. He is our beautiful son, we are so proud of him and now we have a wonderful way to show him off and to see him whenever we want. We played the DVD during the memorial, it was a beautiful celebration of who he was and everyone was moved by it.
We were later able to go in to the studio and choose whichever pictures we wanted of him from the only day we had with him. We chose several pictures for our home as well as some to give as mother’s day gifts and some to carry with us as we go about our days. We’re so grateful to have these beautiful memories of Daniel; they are helping us heal. We can see him anytime we want. We can show him off to others. He may not be in our arms, but he’ll always be in our view and in our hearts.
As time goes on we realize what an impact having these pictures has made in our lives and in our healing process. We have Daniels pictures around the house, we pull them out of our wallets and share them with everyone. My husband carries a "brag book" with him everywhere he goes. What an amazing gift from my sister and what an amazing organization that Cheryl and Sandy have grown together. It's more than the pictures, it's the support, the understanding and the friendships as well.