A Sad Day

We write this blog post with heavy hearts and saddened spirits. Our beloved baby boy has gone home to join the Lord after a short but unforgettable 17 weeks. However, it is best to start this post with a short history about our previous attempts at starting our family.

After being married a short five months, we found out we were pregnant. We actually weren't planning on getting pregnant that soon, but realized that it was God's plan. We became super excited and couldn't wait for our first appointment. Valentine's Day 2010, we received devastating news. The baby didn't have a heartbeat. I had a D&C the following day. At our follow-up appointments, the doctor said that we could try again and JJ and I were ready. We got pregnant again in April 2010. This time was a little different. I had some bleeding and a heartbeat was detected early on, however there was a blood clot and the following appointment the baby didn't have a heartbeat. I then had another D&C. JJ and I struggled for a while trying to figure out why this was happening. We had many unanswered questions and wondered how God could let this happen to us. That summer, we switched doctors. We wanted to find someone who specialized in high-risk pregnancies and multiple miscarriages. I had numerous work-ups done to see if anything seemed abnormal or strange. Nothing major came back. We tried again and found out I was pregnant. This time, I had blood work done weekly as soon as I found out and had our first sonogram at 8 weeks with no heartbeat again. The doctor had the fetal tissue sent off for genetic testing. The results came back and indicated the baby had a chromosome abnormality known as Trisomy 15 which was incompatible with life. Our doctor was worried at this point that JJ or I had something wrong genetically and sent us to see a genetic counselor. All of our results came back normal. We also had some further blood testing done because of a platelet antibody that showed up on a previous screening. The results came back that JJ and I had a platelet incompatibility which would cause my platelets to attack the baby's, resulting in the baby having bleeding on the brain and being born with a low platelet count. The previous three miscarriages had nothing to do with this particular condition. This was a condition that would be treated with steroids starting at 20 weeks. We found out we were pregnant again last August and I was watched starting at 4 weeks through blood work. We had our first sonogram at 6 weeks with a strong heartbeat. Went back the next week and still had a heartbeat. We went back the following week to find out that the baby didn't have a heartbeat. I had my fourth D&C and the fetal tissue came back with a different Trisomy. We were then advised to possibly use donor sperm or adopt even though we didn't have any answers. We just couldn't do that. In November 2011, we decided to see a doctor at CARE, Center for Assisted Reproduction, since they had treated people with multiple miscarriages. We had many tests done. I had a hysteroscopy done and JJ had further testing done. Those came back normal. They also wanted to have the fetal tissue from our first two miscarriages sent off for genetic testing to compare them to the third and fourth. One came back a healthy male and the other wasn't able to be tested because it was tissue from me and not the baby. So, there were more questions we had. We had one that came back normal, two Trisomies, and one that we were unsure on. After consulting with the doctor, we decided to try again. In April 2012, we found out we were pregnant a fifth time. We immediately were seen at 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, and 10 weeks at CARE. A heartbeat was found from 6 weeks on. Everything was looking great! We were still super nervous. I had my first appointment with my regular OB around 11 weeks and everything was progressing as should. My last appointment was on July 2nd, the day before flying to see my parents in Connecticut. My brother, grandma, her husband, and I flew up to help pack my parents up to move back to Texas. Everything looked good and I was scheduled to go back for two appointments on the 11th and 12th. While in Connecticut, I began to have some weird pains that I felt went away. We began our driving journey back to Texas this past Saturday. I began leaking fluid that day, but wasn't too sure what exactly was going on. We stayed in a hotel in Roanoke, Virginia that night. The next morning I had fluid leaking and some light bleeding. My grandma, her husband, and my brother headed on to Texas while my mom and dad took me to the nearest ER. Once admitted, I had an exam done to find out that I was already having signs of preterm labor. I was told that I was going to have to deliver at an early 17 weeks. I was in complete shock! I delivered shortly after 4 pm on Sunday. JJ flew up and got there as soon as he could. We decided to name him David Aaron, from the Hebrew for "Beloved" and "Strength." We both held him for closure, which was by far the hardest thing we have ever had to do. However we know he is with the Lord now!

Certificate of Memory for David Aaron Diehl

Throughout this journey, we are staying strong knowing that God does have a plan for us. We obviously aren't sure what that is at this moment, but will continue to trust Him! Please continue to pray for us! -Amanda and JJ