Shortly after the loss of Asher, friends have been giving me addresses of other women's blogs who have experienced this type of loss and by reading their stories filled with such real and raw emotions. With tissues by my side, I realized I am not alone in this. These strangers have helped me in more ways than they know. They helped me to know what I am feeling is o.k. and is normal and that time heals all things. So, my theory is: If all these wonderful strangers have been such a help to me, why can't I help someone else who is hurting? And why not help myself heal in the process of recording my thoughts and emotions down? I am hoping in the days, weeks, months and years to come this tragedy will make me a better person, a more compassionate person. Below is something I wrote right after Asher left us. I never want to ever forget any detail of his nine months with us here on Earth and this is the only way I knew of documenting him.
My Baby Angel Asher
Asher’s journey
with us began on January 21, 2012. I still remembering waking up one Saturday
morning knowing that I would take a test that could possibly change our lives
forever. When I saw the “Pregnant” pop up on the digital pregnancy test, so
many emotions flooded me: happiness, hope, scared, anxious, excitement……the
list could go on. I let Darren sleep and wanted to surprise him when he woke
up. I put the test in his bathroom drawer by his toiletries so he had to see it
when getting ready that morning. I made sure I was in the bathroom to see his
reaction and that man literally went through the motions of getting ready and
didn’t even notice the test. He finally asked me why I was watching him get
ready and why I had a funny look on my face and that’s when he looked down and
saw the test. For the next 24-48 hours, I continuously went to the bathroom to
see the POSITIVE pregnancy test to make sure it was real, and it was. It was
one happy day for our family of three.
You see, in October
of 2011, we suffered a miscarriage, which was absolutely devastating. I wasn’t
angry, but I was confused. Was I being punished for something I had done wrong?
I grieved for a short period of time and threw myself back into work to keep my
mind distracted. At that time, I knew all that could fill that void was to keep
trying and never give up my dream of having a big family. The doctor gave
specific instructions of waiting two cycles of ovulation before trying again.
Darren and I decided to try immediately after since we didn’t know how long it
would take for us to get pregnant again. Which brings me back to January 21,
2012; with the help of God, we made our little miracle baby Asher and all the
feelings of sadness were gone and replaced with feelings of hope and new
beginning.
My pregnancy with
Asher wasn’t exactly easy. I worried and worried. I should have known better to
carry my burdens and worry on my shoulders when our God tells us to give all
that we worry to him and he will take care of the rest. It wasn’t until I felt
the first flutters of Asher inside my growing belly, in which my worries
started to subside. I felt lucky to be able to feel him so early on in the
pregnancy and still consider myself lucky because I got to feel every kick,
roll, shake, hiccup for almost six months. And then our 18 week anatomy scan
was here and we had found out Asher had a singular umbilical artery. And then
my worries came flooding back to a ten-fold. This condition is not common, but
there’s a 75% chance that babies born with this condition come out perfectly
healthy. An umbilical cord is supposed to have three vessels: two arteries and
a vein. Asher’s umbilical cord only had two: one artery and one vein. I was
immediately a high-risk pregnancy and was referred to a specialist in Macon. I remember sitting
in the waiting room with other women and thinking that there could be a
possibility that one of us would be walking out of the office that day with bad
news. I wasn’t one of them, praise the Lord. The doctor said Asher was
perfectly healthy and we could consider my pregnancy a normal one. My doctor
back at home was still going to take precautions and check on Asher with growth
checks and weekly NST’s to make sure her was receiving enough oxygen.
Everything was
going great. Asher did well on all his check-ups and was always above the 50th
percentile range. I washed all the baby clothes, cleaned out the nursery with
the help of family, and painted decorations to hang on the walls. By week 36 we
were ready to bring our baby boy home. Asher’s big brother, Ethan, was ready
too. We had told him about Asher throughout the pregnancy but had really
stepped it up the past month since we knew it could be any day now. He rocked
his Woody doll in the bassinet and gave mommy’s belly hugs and kisses. I was so
excited to watch these two boys grow up together and be the best of friends.
My pre-op
appointment was on Wednesday, September 5, 2012(37 weeks and 1 day). I spent
half the day in the doctor’s office getting blood work done, having my
NST(which looked great) and paperwork on top of paperwork. I was excited that
in a week and a half I would have this new blessing in my arms. Then Thursday
night rolled around. I got off a little early because I was so tired and
decided to pick up Ethan. Darren had to stay at work late so when we got home,
I didn’t rest since Ethan wanted mommy to play. How could I refuse playing with
the cutest 2 year old boy I know? When Darren got home, I retired and took a
nice, long shower and got into bed to finally rest. Fast forward to around 1AM.
Ethan started crying and I got up as fast as I could to his room. He was
sitting up and he said, “Baby.” I noticed it and thought it was funny for him
to say that, but really didn’t think anything of it. Ethan’s nose was stopped
up, so I let him sleep in my bed with me so I could listen to his breathing.
Well, I couldn’t go back to sleep because I started thinking about him saying
“baby.” And that’s when I noticed Asher hadn’t moved since Ethan woke up. But,
then I tried to calm myself in knowing that Asher wasn’t a big mover during the
night and he was probably sleeping. Around 2:17 AM, I felt the urge to go to
the bathroom. I pulled my maternity pillow over my head and it literally knocked
the electrical sockets out of the wall causing all of my electronics on the
side of my bed to flicker and shut off. I am not one of superstitions, but I
was really scared that this was a sign. Again, I calmed myself and tried to
sleep. When I woke up around 6:30 AM, Ethan was breathing a lot better, but my
Asher still wasn’t moving. I tried not to panic. Instead I tried to use logic
along with prayer and chugged ice cold water, took a hot shower, ate a sugary
breakfast, and lie on my right side. Nothing was working. I called the doctor’s
office which they had to call me back. By now it was around 8:30 in the
morning. I tried one last trick of putting a baking sheet on my belly and
dropping my keys to see if it would startle him, but that didn’t work. I still
hadn’t heard back from the doctor’s office so I headed in the car and picked up
Darren on the way.
Pulled up to the
doctor’s office and I was more scared than I had ever been in my whole life.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, they hooked me up to an NST and
had trouble finding Asher’s heartbeat. And then they found it: it was between
110-125, but the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound. Little did I know that
wasn’t Asher’s heartbeat; it was my own….racing. We walked to the ultrasound
room and that’s when the horror began. They pulled him up on the screen and
there was his heart…..with no flicker. The doctor asked to turn on the noise
from the Doppler and again, no noise but the inside of my stomach and the
steady noise of static. The ultrasound tech just put her head down and said,
“I’m so sorry.” I can’t even re-call what the doctor said to me. My sweet baby
boy that I was supposed to meet in a week was now gone. I.WAS.IN.SHOCK. I got
up and went over to Darren who was already crying and all I could keep saying
was that I was sorry, so very sorry. I had no tears. All I could think to
myself was that I was a failure and that I couldn’t even keep my own children
alive. I was numb. I don’t think it hit me until we were at the hospital and I just
cried and cried and cried.
Asher James Ellis
was born on September 7, 2012 at 3:54PM. He weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces, was 21
inches long and every part of him was perfect. He had Ethan’s nose and lips and
a head full of dark hair. His skin was so soft and still warm to the touch. I
held him in my arms and cried, and cried. I asked God why he had to take my
child? Why me? Why do bad things happen to good people? I was so angry but at
the same time I was overflowing with sadness that I would never be able to hear
my child laugh, cry or talk. There were times where I was holding him and
admiring him that I had almost thought maybe, with an ounce of hope, that he
would open his eyes and everything would be fine, but he never did. I held him
as long as I could and memorized every ounce of him that I could. I don’t ever
want to forget my second-born son. If I could sit here and imagine what my son
would be like, I would guess that he would be very laid back, care-free and
easy going; just like his daddy. I had dreams of him being a leader and
inspiring people to follow the Lord. I drew a painting over his dresser with
the verse; Matthew 4:19 “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I
know Asher is gone now, but this verse of his has made me want to follow Him in
every way possible to come to the gates of Heaven. I know I will meet my son
one day and pick up right where we left off. I know I am needed here on Earth.
I have two beautiful earth angels to take care of; my beautiful Ethan and my
adoring husband, Darren. I know he is resting and is in a place where
everything is perfect such as he was. God has given me comfort and each day
gives me one more ounce of peace. I pray that he continues to give us comfort,
peace and hope in the days ahead.
At this time, I am
incredibly thankful for our supportive friends and family. The love that has
been shown to us is more than I could every possibly hope for. My sweet Asher
may have not been on this Earth long, but I know he will make an everlasting
impact on many people’s lives. I am so proud and in awe of my husband. He is my
rock and has carried me through this tragedy. He is such a strong man and I am
so blessed to call him my husband. And my son here on Earth, Ethan. I know he’s
only two years old, but this little boy of mine is years beyond his age. He
asked to see his baby brother Asher(which we let him), gave him a kiss and even
stroked his face ever so gently. He is and always will be the best big brother
there ever was. I can only hope that my sweet Asher sends me little signs that
he is o.k. and that he is smiling down upon us throughout the years to come. We
love you sweet Angel Asher and cannot wait to hold you in our arms once again.
I love you Nikki. My heart goes out for you and your family. You are such an incredible person and your story is going to reach and help so many more than you can ever imagine. There are so many blessings headed your way every single day. <3 xo
ReplyDeleteBeautiful story Nikki. Thank you for sharing! After losing my brother when I was 11 and all the experience of that, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. God will use you and your experience.
ReplyDeleteNikki,
ReplyDeleteYou are such an extraordinary person. I am proud to call you my sister, my best friend, and my role model. I love you with all my heart.
Your words are beautiful. You are such an inspiration to others. I know this blog will help a lot of people in many ways. You family will always be in my prayers and on my mind.
ReplyDeleteMy sweet, sweet Nikki...this is absolutely beautiful. I am typing through tears right now and I commend you for your strength. You are truly an amazing person! Asher, Ethan, and Darren are some of the luckiest guys I know. I will continue to send prayers your way and know I am here for you in any possible way I can. All my love, Dana
ReplyDeleteMiss you so much Nikki and I am so proud of you. You are an amazing and strong woman. So proud of your journey with our Lord and wish you, Darren and Ethan peace... I love you soo much! Ms Karen:)
ReplyDelete2 Corinthians 1:3-4
You are so strong, Nikki. I admire you so much and I know that Asher is smiling down on you from Heaven with his beautiful baby smile.
ReplyDeleteLove you, Nikki. Thanks for sharing Asher's story with us. Like you said, Asher may not have been here on earth very long, but he will definitely touch many people's lives thru his/your testimony. I pray that God heals you and your family as only He can. Asher is beautiful. Just perfect.
ReplyDelete