Letters
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Dear Jo,
First of all, many thanks for your web site and my condolences about Cody's death. Also please apologise my English if I make any grammar mistake.
We are experiencing a very difficult moment in our lives, plenty of feelings (doubts, questions, fury), but, we have to be 'strong' specially for Isabel, our three and a half year old beautiful daughter. She is our best therapy.
I will try to give you a brief. Eli becomes pregnant at the end of September 2005, so everything was normal in the ultrasound studies. No abnormal situations were detected.
Eli and me were at the ultrasound clinic for 5 times, including a doppler 3 dimensional study. The only suspicious indicator was the weight, a bit lower than expected for the pregnancy time. As the report mentioned one week under the estimation.
Last June the 15th, during night (3 to 5 am) and 9 days before the due date for delivery, Eli noted something was wrong with Maria and she stopped moving. Eli thought about the previous phase of the delivery (nest syndrome). Next day in the morning, Eli and me being afraid of the cruel reality, we went to the hospital and no heartbeat was detected. Maria was dead. You can imagine the terrible time what the delivery was. We felt our lives were stopped during few time. Maria was perfectly formed and her weight was 2,200 Kg., a bit under the normal 2,5 Kg. and 40 cms. long.
The plancenta was right, but a Velamentous insertion was detected just taking a look into the cord. Also the cord and the placenta were sent to the laboratory for a deeper analysis. The result was a two vessels cord.
What can we do? We think and also the Dr. Oettel does, that this should be detected in ultrasound (Ecografia) and possibly Maria could have survived and she could be now with us.
I am totally convinced that this occurs when an Ultrasound clinic is seen by their owners only as a 'Money machine'.
Thanks a lot in advance for your help,
I hope to keep the contact with you.
Regards.
Ricardo Vicente (via e-mail)
