Melonie was born.I remember thinking how dark she looked. She was laid on my tummy for a brief moment, while Dr. Hughes cut the cord, then she was surrounded by the doctor and nurses on a near-by table. I could see them sticking something down her throat. I was concerned about what was happening but I was in too much pain to be bothered too much.
I was told she had to be taken to another hospital where they had more sophisticated equipment. She had swallowed her stool and had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. The mucus in her lungs prevented her from breathing properly. They brought her to me in an incubator for a quick look. She looked so helpless with all those tubes running in and out of her little body. I never got to hold her; just look. Then, they took her away.
( From a journal written for me by my mother.)
