quick clicks

babies today articles

babies today q&a

toddlers today articles

toddlers today q&a

breastfeed.com articles

breastfeed.com q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Miracle Birth Stories of Very Premature Babies

An Excerpt

Part Two

By Timothy Smith

What choice did they have? One child was lost, but they had a handy diversion, one worth clinging on to. "We just channeled everything into Derrick. We channeled all of our energy, and that really helped us get through the loss of Torrey," Dave explained.

Being pregnant with a second child, for Rebecca and Earl Hampton, was almost dreamlike itself. The medical outlook was pretty good for the expectant mom and the tiny fetus inside her belly as the winter of 1993-94 rolled on. Pretty soon, 3-year-old Hannah would have a baby brother or sister. Pretty soon, the Hampton's suburban Detroit household would be a little noisier, but a lot happier.

Rebecca was chugging right along into week 26, following the successful pattern of her previous pregnancy. But, without warning, the Hamptons were rocked out of their blissful dream.

The pregnant mom discovered her water broke. She summoned Earl from his job and they hurried over to the hospital, thinking the absolute worst. "I was bawling all the way to the hospital thinking that we had lost this child," Rebecca said in late 1996, in the living room of the Hampton's new homestead. They now live on 50 acres of farmland in northern Kentucky -- a much more relaxed, tranquil place to raise a family.

Added Earl, "We were driving to the hospital and discussing that this pregnancy terminated itself, and we didn't know why." Of course, they soon found out the pregnancy had not been so callously stopped, that there was some hope. That was on Wednesday, February 9, 1994. For the foreseeable future, until a C-section could be performed, it would be bed rest for Rebecca. The eventual diagnosis was influenza-B, with the accompanying symptoms -- increased white blood cell count, fever, aches and pains. The waiting period turned out to be just two days. Rebecca felt cold and clammy the morning of Friday, February 11, so cold that she called for the nurse to come in and see what was wrong. Visiting in the room was her sister, Kathy.