Things have definitely been a whirlwind around here lately. Spring sports are in full swing. I have picked up some exciting new responsibilities at school that are starting to keep me very busy. Between looking for jobs closer together, whether it be here or there, it seems like the clock has started to spin out of control. To update on the last few months...
Adam and I were so blessed to find out in September that we were expecting. We had decided to go ahead and start to try to have a family. Being teachers, the summers are a prime time to schedule such a wonderful period off with a newborn, so we agreed we were ready to try. We were so blessed to find out that it took one month for us to conceive for the first time. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Disease while in college and we were forwarned that we could have a difficult time when we were ready to have kids. That being said, we scheduled our first 8 week Dr. appointment on Adam's open week of football. At the appointment we had our first anxious moment. During the first part of the scan, my Dr. found what looked to be two sacks... he believed we could possibly be having TWINS! After a 45 minute wait to be squeezed in with the high-resolution ultrasound tech, we talked about all the amazing and scary things that flash through your mind in that moment. After the next set of scans, they told us that we were expecting just one child with a healthy heartbeat! We left that appointment high on life. We could not wait to be parents to such a wonderful blessing. We agreed to wait until we were through our 12 week appointment to let our family members know. The next appointment went well and we were able to spread the news the following weekend. Checkups from then on remained normal and as the wedding approached, we were so very excited to receive our Christmas present the week before. We had planned our anatomy scan for the week prior to Christmas so that we could tell our families while we were together. As the day approached we became very anxious. December 19th was the day everything changed. We went in for the scan only to walk out with heavy hearts. The scans revealed the baby was surrounded by little-to-no amniotic fluid. At the time, they couldn't tell us the reasons and referred us to a genetic specialist in Austin. We held our breath as Wednesday the 21st approached. The scan we had done in Austin took a long time and revealed a catastrophic diagnosis. They believed our child had either Bilateral Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease or Bilateral Multicystic Kidney Disease. They explained that neither condition would allow the baby to survive after birth. We were devastated. The toughest decision came next. We both agreed to give birth to our child early in order to have a few moments before passing on. We believed that it was best to not prolong any suffering or pain. On January 28th, they induced labor, and at 11:39 a.m., we gave birth to Lexi Aurrellia Watson. She was everything we could have asked for. She stayed with us for a few moments and then became our angel. She weighed 1 pound 5 ounces. We had a wonderful organization called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" come and take pictures of us so that we would always have her memory with us. Although this was the most difficult thing we have ever faced, it has given us such an understanding of how each and every moment in this life should be cherished.
Through this time, we were blessed with so many prayers and well wishes. We could not have gotten through this time without our amazing families and friends. In the past few months, we have seen our wonderful friends bring their son into this world, and in the next few months I will be blessed with a beautiful nephew. Life to us will never be the same, but for what was such a dark cloud has now grown into a beautiful rainbow.
Park City Utah
4 years ago
