Once upon a time, in a land far, far away... Isn't that how all fairy tales begin? If you had told me 20 years ago that this is how my life course would go, I would have said that was a fairy tale. So I feel it's an apropos beginning.
We were married on April Fools Day which should have been an indication of how the rest of my married life would be~ a crazy rollercoaster. In March 1999 I got pregnant for the 1st time and had a miscarriage at 12 weeks. After a D&C, I was hospitalized for a week with an infection. My husband and I were devastated, but with our Faith and family, we moved on. In August 1999 I had my 2nd miscarriage. After the D&C, the doctors discovered it was boy/girl twins. Once again our hearts were broken. My OBGYN sent me for a work-up with a Rheumatologist to see if there were any reasons that my body might be attacking the pregnancies. He discovered I was ANA+ and placed me on a baby aspirin each day. We decided to try one more time, and then we would explore adoption. I just couldn't keep going through the heartache. On Christmas Day 1999 I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive! We were excited, but also very nervous. In early January on my husband's 30th birthday, we went to the doctor for an ultrasound to see if there was a heartbeat. As we waited with all the other smiling, pregnant couples, I couldn't relax. I was worried, anxious, terrified. What if there wasn't anything there?
The ultrasound tech called us back and prepped me for the vaginal ultrasound. Little did I know at that moment, but the wand would be my best friend for the next 28 weeks! At the time, I was a Postpartum Nurse, so I knew a little about how to read the ultrasound and watched the screen with hope. The tech started the procedure, got very quiet, and turned the screen away from me so I couldn't see it anymore. I glanced at my husband who was standing in the corner. Our eyes met and filled with dread and familiar sadness. I said in a soft voice, "Please tell me that you see a heartbeat this time." She paused for a long time, looked up at me on the table, and said those now-famous words, "Well, as a matter of fact, I see THREE heartbeats..." What, did I just hear her correctly? THREE HEARTBEATS? Surely I am hallucinating.
Suddenly I'm jolted from my stupor as I hear a loud "THUNK"!!! I look over to where my husband *had* been standing, and he's gone. Did he run out in horror? Left me here on the table? Where is he? I sit up, and he's lying on the floor passed out. He fainted! I watch it all in slow motion as the tech runs over to him, calls for help, and asks the doctor to bring smelling salts. As they fervently work with him, I'm still laying on the table. Hello? Hello? Bueller? Anyone? Um, woman pregnant with triplets laying on the cold table with her friend Mr. Wand still in place. Uh, I'm here in a compromising position! Bueller? Anyone? Nope, everyone is ignoring me. I shake my head and lay back down unable to comprehend the last 3 minutes. OMG, I'm having three babies at ONCE. And so our Fairy Tale begins with my husband and I both flat on our backs spinning...
