Sadie's Story

First of all, thank you for being here. The Lord impressed upon my heart to start this blog not only as a means to easily share updates and prayer needs but as a testimony of our baby’s life. I pray that this site will be a ministry and that God will use Sadie’s story to further His Kingdom!

So, let’s start at the very beginning. Hi, I'm Jenny. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant with our daughter, Sadie Hampton. My husband, Drew, and I have been married for 6 years and have an almost 4 year old son, Grant. We have had 3 miscarriages in the past (one before Grant, and two after). After our 3rd miscarriage we were referred to a Reproductive Endocrinologist to get more answers as to why this kept happening to us. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and given medication to help my body be able to sustain a pregnancy. After a few weeks on 1000mg of Metformin, I found out I was pregnant. Thankfully, everything seemed to be going really well, so at 14 weeks we announced our pregnancy to the world via social media. Just a few weeks later we had our 16 week ultrasound where we were told we were expecting a little girl. At that appointment we were told her femur was measuring a little small but it was still on track so nothing to be concerned with. Or so we thought...

This brings us to where we are now...
May 3, 2018 - (18 weeks and 2 days pregnant) I went into my doctors office for a little spotting. It wasn't too frightening because I had experienced spotting when I was pregnant with Grant, but for my own peace of mind I decided an ultrasound would make me feel better since I hadn't felt her kick yet. My doctor was out of the office so they scheduled me for an ultrasound and nurse visit. When they turned on the ultrasound machine I could immediately see her moving around and all fear was gone. I had noticed that the tech was taking a little longer than normal. She measured the babies femur at least 4 times. Each measurement came back about 4 weeks behind where it should have been.  After she was through with the scan, she asked if I was scheduled to see a doctor, I replied no, that today was only supposed to be a nurse visit. She said "Okay, I'm going to see if there is another doctor that can speak with you..." This was my first inclination something wasn't quite right. I immediately felt more concerned than when I went in. The nurse came in and explained that my doctor was out of town but that she had another doctor look and he doesn't see anything wrong with the bleeding... She said nothing of the measurements. When I asked, she would only respond with "I'm going to have Dr. G call you in the morning." or "Your doctor will be able to give you more information...". Believe me, I know this is how she is required to respond but at that point I KNEW something wasn't right and I wanted to know what it was! When I got in my car I began googling to see what these particular measurements could mean...most of what I was finding was Trisomy 13,18 and 21. Of course my heart wasn't prepared for any of these but I had become okay with the thought of our baby having Down Syndrome, as long as it wasn't lethal like the other two...

The next morning (Friday, May 4, 2018) at 8:15am while eating breakfast at Chick-Fil-A with some friends the doctor called from his cell phone.  He explained that the baby's femur and humerus measurements were weeks behind where they needed to be and that he wanted me to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor. He then explained that he had already set an appointment that same day 9:45am because he didn't think I needed to go through the weekend wondering what was going on. Thankfully, Drew and his mom, Brenda, were able to meet me at the doctor's office. Little did I know the next hour of my life would be the worst yet. They did an ultrasound first, it took about an hour...I noticed the technician measuring and remeasuring the same bones they were worried about the day before. We could see on the screen that things didn't look exactly right...but at this point we still had no idea what was in store. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor came in. She was so soft spoken and kind. She began asking if anyone in our family had any birth defects or mental retardation. I began sobbing. She told us that the baby's bones were not developing properly and that she had a form a Skeletal Dysplasia. I began asking what that meant and how that would affect her into childhood. She gently put her hand on my knee and softly explained that the type our baby is presenting would likely take her life before she is born, and if she does make it to birth, she won't likely live for more than a few hours. I squeezed Drew's hand with what little strength I had left. He held on tightly as if to say, I'm not going anywhere, I'm here and we will get through this.  The hours that followed were a complete blur...we met with a genetic counselor that went over additional testing we needed to have done, we called family, but mostly we wept together over the life of our girl.

We want nothing more than to have her here with us on earth, to watch her grow up, to take her to ballet lessons, to watch her walk down the aisle to marry the man of her dreams, and watch her become a mother herself but the Lord has made clear to us that He has other plans. We still don't know what lies ahead. Even day to day, how things will change, but we are praying for grace and strength to take each day as it comes. We ask for your prayers...prayers for healing for our girl. We know that God is the great physician and that with one breath He can restore our baby here on earth, but we also know that He may choose to ultimately heal her by taking her to Heaven. We are accepting His will. Its hard to comprehend at times like this but God loves her even more than Drew and I, and if her heavenly father decides to bring her home to glory, than we know that there is a purpose in that as well. God has big plans for her life, no matter how long or short it is.

As I mourn, the words of the old hymn It is Well replay in my mind, "Whatever my lot, Thou hast  taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul." It is so hard to surrender control and say "Whatever my lot"...whatever I have, whatever comes my way You, Jesus, have taught me to say, it is well with my soul. I am not fully there yet but I am working to get there, I want the Lord to be honored with how we, as a family, choose to respond to this devastation in our life. Jesus is a God of restoration and I know in His timing He will bring beauty from these ashes.

"When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well, with my soul

It is well

With my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul."

Jenny