Anna Charlotte

When the boys were in the NICU I stayed on a pretty tight schedule at the hospital with visiting them and pumping in the pumping room.... this schedule was much like many of the other NICU moms. After running into the same ladies over and over I became friends with a few.

They tried to keep the pumping room very serene and quiet so there are lots of no cell phone signs and "quiet please" throughout the room. One morning I was the only person in there so I was chatting on my cell phone when I heard someone else come in. I am a big rule follower (although alot of other people broke the no cell phone rules all the time) so quickly I got off the phone when I hear from the other side of the curtain "no worries I use my phone all the time...". Through the curtain I "met" Kristy. We chatted about the nurses, our babies surprise early births and some of the struggles our babies were dealing with. Her daughter Anna Charlotte was born at 29 weeks at another hospital and was transferred to Fairfax since they were better suited to care for the smaller premiees. She told me the hardest part was watching the ambulance fly by her with the lights and sirens and knowing they had her tiny little baby inside.

We saw eachother often, getting updates on eachothers babies. She celebrated with me when Jamison came home and congratulated me when Weston did as well. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses to keep in touch and hope to get together for playdates when our babies were all home. Anna was born a few weeks after the boys and was a few weeks earlier so her NICU stay was going to be a bit longer.

Since I have been home we have exchanged emails checking in back and forth. She had a rough start in the beginning with multiple brain bleeds but was doing well, thriving and getting stronger everyday. Just before Christmas she told me Anna Charlotte was expected to be joining her family at home for the holidays. Last night I emailed her to see how they were doing............ I got the most devastating email back.....

Little Anna Charlotte passed away on December 23rd, just two days before she was to come home. She had came down with a sudden and aggressive case of NEC (no one knows what causes this disease but premiees are at high risk, NEC causes parts of the bowels to die, sometimes they can remove the effected area but unfortunately in 25% of cases its fatal).

I am so heartbroken for Kristy and her family. I can't imagine watching your precious baby suffer for so long in the NICU and to finally have overcome all obstacles and be so excited to have a date to bring your baby home and then to have a such a heartbreaking loss.....

Because of the NICU rules I never met this little baby, but I can assure you I will never forget her. She went through more in her short life then many will know in a lifetime and was taken from her family all to soon, but I know, as all things, God has a greater plan.

I am always grateful and thankful of how blessed our family is to have the boys come through their early birth, doing so well but times like this truly remind you how precious life is. Please keep Kristy and her family in your thoughts and prayers.