Dot`sThoughts

Here it is, another rainy day. Rained yesterday and most of the night. Now we expect it to cool down more and the rain to change over to snow. Here it is already Springtime, and we are expecting more snow. I think someone forgot to tell the old weatherman that winter is over and Spring has arrived. But, we have had snow in April before, so it really isn`t anything new. I just keep thinking it is time to educate mr old Winter and tell him it is time for him to take a siesta and forego the snow.
Here it is another busy month with lots of birthdays, and an Anniversary- but then with a big family, every month is a busy one. March 31st would have been my Dad`s Birthday. April fools day was a bro-in-laws birthday. My Dad used to pick on him and tell him that his mother sure got fooled. Then the next day, April 2nd. was my Twins birthday- 51 already- WOW, no wonder I have days when I feel so old. HaaHaa. I sure remember the day they were born. I was living in the families old farmhouse at the time. Hubby was working 2nd shift at the General Electric Co. in Schenectady, NY at the time-- an hour or a bit longer ride one way. Luckily things didn`t start occuring any earlier as I sure needed him home real early that morning. Woke up, was going to head off to the bathroom, never got any further than standing in front of the bed when problems started. Water breaking wouldn`t have been a huge problem as any woman knows, but having the cord coming out with the fluid was a danger signal. To understand this problem you would need to know how huge I was with all that weight I or the babies had gained. Of course, Dr only found one heart beat and kept telling me -one baby. I kept telling him 4 feet. He said, 2 are feet, other 2 are fists. Then I asked him, what are the others if there is only 2 feet. I again tried to tell him there were 4 feet kicking. That was when he looked me in the eyes and said " Dotty ( his nickname for me) it is all in your head". To which I replied " No Dr Joe, it is all right here in my stomach". haaHaa.
I was so large that I couldn`t even bend a leg to climb any steps. Tried again to tell the Dr that the 4th foot was stopping my leg from bending. Poor Walt. He had to drive the car tight to the porch and help me from the porch into the car every time we went anywhere the last couple months. Trying to get from the car back onto the porch was a nightmare. So, after a couple hard months like this, it didn`t surprise me when problems arrived.
Told Walt to call my Dr, he said he was calling my mother ( who lived next door-- about 300 hundred feet away). So many time I said call Dr Joe, he stilled called my mother. Had to wait for her to get out of bed, get dressed, my Dad to get up and drive her over, plus waking up my youngest sister to come over to watch the 2 girls while I was taken to the Hosp.. Then my Mother called the Dr, who said ' get her to the hospital as fast as you can.Tell her I might not be there when she arrives as I am calling the Hosp to have an operating room ready and waiting and what ever Dr is there to do a cessarrian I will keep there ready for her arrival. So Glad my Dad also came as every time Walt started the car, he stalled it. Finally, my Dad told him to push over and he would drive us to the Hosp. There I was laying in the backseat with my head on my mothers lap, praying that cord would stop sliding out for fear of the babies life and there possible lack of getting air. i knew I was having a hard time breathing and that also scared me for my baby ( or babies as I tried to convince the Dr.) You see, they only found one heart beat the whole 8 + months. I had to hide all my fear and was worrying about my poor mother who cried all the way to the Hosp. I kept trying to tell her to stop crying- that I would be alright, but she was so scared for me and the baby`s life that I couldn`t convince her I would be ok. Actually, I wasn`t sure if I would even make it to the Hosp. , but just wanted to help remove the worry from my Mother`s face.

She stopped crying once just long enough to tell my father he was going to be stopped by a cop. His reply was " I wish I would, then they would get me there even faster". One fast ride. This should have been about a 35 minute ride, but my Dad held down the horn all the way with his big foot pushing the gas peddle down and sped as fast as he dared all the way.

When we arrived, I knew my Dr had truly made plans for my arrival as the minute we drove up near the emergency door, the door opened and a Nurse yelled " Is that Morehoue". my Dad said yes. Out they came with an oxygen tank and immediately hooked me up with oxygen while I was still laying on the back car seat. Then they got me on the stretcher and never stopped for paper work-- just got me on the elevator and up into a room near the operating room where this other Dr was. This Dr told me if I was his patient he never would have operated as that baby isn`t going to live and I was under too bad condition to live thru the operation. He left, and my own Dr showed up. I asked him " Am I going to lose my baby?" He did some checking and told me " I`m not going to lie to you, the babies heartbeat is very weak, but as long as it is still beating, we still have hope". Then, I will always remember his next words " Don`t give up on me now girl!"
A few minutes later I was rushed into the operating room. I was depending so much on that oxygen that when they removed the mask getting ready to put on the cone, I was gone. I still remember seeing the other Dr carrying the cone, but I went out before he even reached me. I found out later that I had stopped breathing and they had to work on me to bring me back before they could start the op. I also learned the reason there were 5 Drs in the operating room - was because there had never been another case like mine in the G.F. Hosp so they had to call in a specialist for help. So, my dangerous problem taught the drs something new. ( About 2 yrs later a cousin who was my age had the same problem happen, but she was already in the hosp so they just rushed her to the op room and knew what todo).
They never knew there was a second baby until after removing the first one. The one who`s heart they heard was only 5 lb. 1 1/4 ounces and went straight into an oxygen incubater, while the second baby weighed 6lb 11 1/4 ounces and was as healthy as could be. After this, my Dr told my Mother he was so worried when I kept insisting there were 2 babies , while he only found one heartbeat. He said he wanted to take exrays, but was afraid of what he would find and didn`t wish to worry me with all those months to go yet. When my Mother told him how worried I was, he said he wished he had known and he could have done the exrays and calmed both of our worries. Why did he think I kept arguing with him over the 4 fists and 4 feet? If i was only the type to carry on he might have realized, but I never was one who showed my worried emotions that much.
Now comes the only funny part. Walt and I were raising rabbits on the farm at the time. Walt kept picking on me telling me that if I didn`t have as many babies as that mother rabbit, he was not bringing me home. This was a constant joke. In the room after the op, I was talking to my Mother and being still in a big haze, I never knew my Mother had left and the Dr was there as I said that - guess Walt will have to take me home since the mother rabbit only had two babies left when I went to the hosp and here I was with 2 baby boys.
Oh, one more thing, there was this orderly who Walt and I both knew from when Walt was an orderly and I was a Nurses aid at the time. He came into the recovery room to see how I was doing and he told me that he went to the waiting place in the lobby and told Walt that he had the most beautiful little girl. I started to laugh, but the pain made me quit real fast. Seally, the orderly asked me wht was so funny. I then told him I had 2 boys. he said, then you were the one with those cute twins, wow, I better run back down and tell Walt he didn`t have another girl, he has two boys. I remember the sheepish grin on his face. I sure wish I had been there to see Walts face when he told him. We already had 2 girls at home, our 2 1/2 daughter plus his daughter from his first marriage. bet it also threw my mother.

Then a couple days later, the op Dr said to me- not everyone comes into the Hosp twice and goes home with three to care for. My own Dr said to him, oh she made 2 trips and now will have 4 kids to care for at home and out the door he went without explaining, leaving me to explain. I never got to see the littlest baby, or baby 1 and bottle 2 as the hosp had him listed. The third day i started to get out of bed , determined to see the other baby, so they rushed him in, unwrapped him, said- see he has all 10 fingers and all 10 toes and off they went telling me they had to get back to make the baby bottles. On the 5th day, I still hadn`t held him and only saw him the once, so I again started to get off the bed to head for the Nursery when they finally brought him in for me to feed. They kept using the reply that the larger baby- baby 2, bottle 2 would cry until he was fed, always hungry, while the little one never cried and would wait to be fed. Noone ever told me the truth that he was being kept in the oxygen incubator with many problems so they couldn`t bring him to the room. Still irritates when I think of it , as they should have told me the truth.
Well, my ordeal wasn`t over yet as while the larger baby was able to go home after 3 days, They made me stay for 2 full weeks, and the best miracle after all 3 of us making it, was that the little baby , who lost weight, had finally gained enough to weigh an even 5 lbs so he was able to leave the Hosp after 14 days along with me and his bro. . Then after we got home, I couldn`t bring the 2 1/2 yr old or the 7 yr old home because my sister-in-law was watching them and her boys came down with measels. Dr said I could either bring the girls home, or the babies home from the hosp. but not both.
But, that is another story and this is much to long already.
So, now you know why that birthday party was so special. Would have been even nicer if his twin brothercould have been there. I got a picture of all my kids except for him. Wonderful 51st Birthday for that baby that wasn`t supposed to live which became the two babies I kept trying to convince everyone of. First twins in both my fathers, or mother`s families. Years later there was a second set belonging to my younger bro.. Twins ran in Hubby Walts family.