Rough Beginnings

May 20^th, 2015 was a day that will go down in my own personal infamy.  I shudder to think how devastating it could have been.  The events that unfolded in the city of Laguna, Philippines as I sat nervously pacing in Somerset, New Jersey were on the verge of tragic, only I had no idea how close.  The next month would, in my eyes, be the closest thing to a miracle that I would ever be a part of or witness.

Jen set up an appointment on May 20^th to go visit a cardiologist at a hospital close to her home.  She had been dealing with a worsening case of pre-eclampsia and edema had begun to affect her eyes and vision. The cardiologist noted that she was not looking good. The doctors were highly alarmed that her blood pressure was at about 180/100. They gave her medicine to try and get it down. Jen became extremely sick.  Over the next hour, Jen’s blood pressure had plummeted to 70/40 and she slipped into a coma. The doctors made a decision to perform an emergency C-Section.  It was not looking good, for either Jen or Rhythm. Survival was not a guarantee for either one.

In a later conversation, Jen relayed to me her experience during this time.  She said she felt peaceful, as if all the pain had gone away.  She wanted to let go.  But she decided to fight for her life, for two reasons.  She wanted to be there for Rhythm.  And she didn’t want me to be “forever sad”.  The two of us stayed in her thoughts as she battled.

Back in New Jersey, I finally got the news from Jen's sister. Here it is, word for word: “Patrick, I’m not sure if this sounds like good news to you but, Rhythm is out now.  She’s fine and she’s safe.  Jen’s also doing better now.  Though the baby of course still needs to fully develop her organs.  But they are doing better now.  Jen’s blood pressure has finally been stabilized.  Congratulations, Patrick.  Hope everything gets better.” 

Rhythm had been taken to the NICU and immediately placed on oxygen due to her undeveloped lungs.  Her APGAR scores were low.  Her color was not good.  Rhythm would be fighting for her life for several weeks.  Jen began to awake from her coma and learn what had happened.  She immediately wanted to go to the NICU to see our daughter.  It didn’t take long before she willed herself to do just that.  Jen was an incredibly strong woman.

Over the next two weeks, I received pictures and updates from Jen at he hospital.  There were some ups and downs.  Rhythm had trouble with her oxygen levels and with blood infections that required multiple transfusions.  But she was strong, and made it through and improved every day.  As she began opening her eyes and looking around, I could see the life growing each and every day.  She was connected to so many tubes to help with breathing and feeding, that those were permanent fixtures in those first few weeks of pictures.  She began to smile, which melted all of our hearts.

Week 1 - Touch and Go

 Week 2 - Battling

 Week 3 - Gaining Strength

 Week 4 - Going Home

I arrived in the Philippines to meet this brave little girl who fought for her life and won and her brave mommy who did the same.  We watched Rhythm improve each day, breathing on her own and feeding without the assistance of the feeding tube.  The timing was setting up so that Rhythm was going to be released to go home about three days before I was set to return to the US.  Rhythm was checked out by several doctors, and was finally cleared to be released.

On June 20^th, Rhythm was discharged from the hospital and we were able to bring her home.  I spent my final 3 days holding on to and playing with Rhythm, and had an early birthday celebration for Jen, who said her only birthday present wish had already been granted.  She and Rhythm were home, safe and sound.

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