By: Carolyn Coleman
This is the word I think of when I think of my son. My son turned 16 a few days ago and I thank GOD every day for such an amazing gift. I look at him and I see joy and happiness; I see a young man with a great heart and a kind spirit. Even at 16, he is the kid that can become friends with anyone he meets. I still find it refreshing to go to a parent teacher conference and hear his teachers tell me how great he is and what a pleasure he is to have in class.
Let me step back as to how this gift came about. After being married for almost ten years and helping my husband raise his twin boys, I had been trying, unsuccessfully, for several years to get pregnant. After several trips to the doctors and seeing specialist, I was finally told the only way I would be able to get pregnant would be through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). So this would be the route my husband and I would take. After a few attempts with IVF, I was finally pregnant, but only to find out that it was an ectopic pregnancy. My doctor at that time decided to treat me with a medication to dissolve the pregnancy. In January of 1998 I was rushed to then Brockton City Hospital by ambulance because the ectopic pregnancy had ruptured. Although I knew this pregnancy would not last, I was heartbroken about my loss. That night in the emergency room I was devastated. I remember being in a lot of pain, and the nurses telling me that they were waiting for the on call ER OB GYN to come in to see me. When this OB GYN came in I remember her talking to my husband and me, and telling us that I need to have emergency surgery to have both of my fallopian tubes removed. I was devastated because I was sure that I would have no chance of ever carrying a baby. The next morning the OB GYB who performed the surgery came in my room to talk to me and I was crying because I was certain I would not be able to ever have a baby. Well this doctor assured me that I would be able to carry a pregnancy and give birth. From that moment I called her my Guardian Angel, this was the most sympathetic doctor I had ever meet. Once I left the hospital I went to see her and she became my new OB GYN. When we decided to try again, she was with me through the entire IVF process she and always gave me reassurance that everything would be OK. Without her I don’t know if I would have tried to get pregnant again. She delivered my baby at Brockton City Hospital and 16 years later she is still my OB GYN.
My son is doing normal 16 year old things; he has his learner’s permit, he’s working hard in school and still playing on an elite basketball team.
Special Thanks to my OB GYN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Community Voices for Health 