May 23, 2019. Just a normal day for most people. For us, it was the day our second daughter, Adalyn, was born too early at 21 weeks and died. She was our second loss in a row, my third pregnancy. We had lost her brother, Wyatt, on August 15, 2018 while 9 weeks pregnant. We have one living child, Zoey, who will be 3 years old on the very last day of the year.
Scott, my husband, and I had gone to a follow up 20-week anatomy scan appointment on May 20. This appointment was not supposed to happen, but the Radiologist 3 weeks prior didn’t get good heart views and wanted us to do a follow up. When the ultrasound tech didn’t come back for a while, I began to get very anxious and filled with dread. Scott tried reassuring me that everything was fine, the Radiologist was probably just busy. The tech came back and gave us the news: my cervix was very short, our doctor had been called, and we were to go to Hoag Hospital where they were expecting us.
We met with my ob and a perinatologist at Hoag and were told our options. I tried being strong and not falling apart, but I did cry once the news sunk in. My cervix was shortening, we could lose Adalyn. I was kept there for observation and told the next day they would do a rescue cerclage, if possible, to try and save her. The cerclage was put in and everything was going well. We were discussing going home soon and what the rest of the pregnancy would look like.
As per usual for me while pregnant, I threw up. I felt a small gush and my heart sank. The nurse testing my fluids and at the last minute, the test turned positive for amniotic fluid. This meant that I was leaking amniotic fluid, but no one knew if my water had broken, was torn, or if it was a small leak that would fix itself. I started dilating and having contractions. We had to make the heartbreaking decision to remove the cerclage and see what happens next, to avoid damaging my cervix or an infection that could harm myself or the baby.
At 7:50 AM on May 23, Adalyn arrived into this world. She did not move, nor was she breathing. She was still, warm and light. She looked like her big sister’s twin. She took our breath away. The wonderful nurses and doctors cried with us throughout our 4-day hospital stay, they guided us through Adalyn’s birth and death with kind, gentle hearts and ensured we never felt alone.
Adalyn was cremated at Natural Grace Funerals and Cremations. They remembered us from when we had Wyatt cremated less than a year ago. They went above and beyond to help us and were so kind to us too. We cannot thank them enough for how they took care of us through this heartbreaking time.
Shortly after Adalyn died, I found The Cooper Project on Instagram. She is a loss mom from New York who makes necklaces for other loss moms. Her son, Cooper, died while she was pregnant with him at 39 weeks. She actually saw his heartbeat disappear on the monitor while at the doctor’s office. In honor of him, she has made necklaces for other loss moms and uses the money from necklaces sold on her Etsy shop to make more necklaces for free for loss moms. Not only does she do this, she also created the Pink and Blue Awareness project. She asked for volunteers to help make pink and blue friendship bracelets and send them to her, so she can send them out to people all over the U.S. to raise awareness during the month of October, which is Pregnancy and Infant loss awareness month. To say she is amazing is an understatement. This year, she collected over 30,000 bracelets.
Scott and I made 500 bracelets for this project and we wanted to continue to make more bracelets for Forever Footprints. We want to continue to honor the memory of our two children we have lost too soon. So please feel free to reach out and grab a bracelet for yourself or anyone else you know. We are hoping to continue to make bracelets year-round, not just for October. – Lisa Sato
Forever Footprints would like to thank the Sato Family for sharing their precious babies and their journey with our readers. With every bracelet made they are honoring and celebrating Adalyn and Wyatt. Sending our support and gratitude to the “The Cooper Project” for the advocacy they are bringing to the loss community.
You can stop into the Forever Footprints Office in Orange, Ca and pick up a Pregnancy and Infant Loss bracelet made lovingly by Lisa and Scott. Email info@foreverfootprints.org for more info or call (714) 509-0065. They have donated 500 to Forever Footprints and we are so grateful. You can follow Lisa on Instagram @mother_trucker13. You can follow “The Cooper Project” on Instagram @thecooperproject141