Santino's Story

Bruising from the Clexane

We had decided after much consultation with Doctors and Consultants that we would try again.  That it was worth one more try with a variety of drugs that combined indicated a possible effective treatment.

I fell pregnant faster than I had expected, I was still on a business trip in Costa Rica at the time and after a six-month break where we had been just playing it safe but one, the first, attempt during 'drop week' it worked - crap! 

IVIG Infusions

The IVIG drip

We couldn't believe it.  It was the 17th of June 2012. Eight months since Gabriele's Birthday. I calculated that I was around five week's pregnant and panicking. I found the best clinic in Costa Rica and booked an appointment to see what was going on.  That was the first scan, On 25th June 2012, I had my first scan.  One little egg, no heartbeat yet. It measured 5.5 weeks, I started on steroids, Progesterone and had one infusion of IVIG.  I then flew back to the UK to continue treatment.  My next scan was at eight weeks and everything looked fine - there was a heartbeat so I paid for another IVIG infusion.

The final photo with him
 still alive in my tummy

So it continued, scans every two weeks and sheer panic in between, but growth was consistent and on track.  I continued to pay for IVIG every four weeks. At 17 weeks his growth slowed.  I broke. I knew it was back, earlier than before.  The treatment wasn't working, I could feel my heart breaking - how could life be so cruel? Slow and continued to slow and at the 24-week growth scan we found out that he was a boy and were told to prepare for the worse. I bought him his outfit, when I listened to his heart on the Doppler I could hear the rhythm wasn't consistent - he was struggling but battled on.

Little Tico at 14 weeks,
all happy

I paid for extra IVIG. I asked if there was anything else I could do, but I knew there wasn't. So instead I sung him to sleep at night and watched him slip slowly away each day, I prayed it was peaceful.

 

LIT Injections

Daily Pills

519 pessaries, 6 intravenous infusions, 688 steroid tablets, 20 subcutaneous injections, 342 normal injections and 1,528 vitamins and minerals failed to save my son his heart finally stopped inside me on the 18th November 2012 I had woken up during the night and felt him leave, it was the strangest feeling and something I had not experienced with the others or maybe I was just getting used to feeling them pass. 

I went into labour after being induced on the 21st November, he was born silently at 1825hrs after a very short labour.  He was adorable to look at but a tiny 280gm - the same as Vincenzo.  He was 26 weeks and 3 days gestation.  We loved him and held him and put him with the toys we had bought for him and the blanket sent by Gabriel's Mum.  He was perfect in every way, the histopathology report told us that "the placenta was composed of third-trimester villi with prominent degree of chronic histiocytic intervillositis (CHI) and increase in the Pervillous Fibrin deposition and Maternal Floor Fibrin" which, as we had suspected, means that CHI came back and took our fourth baby.

Tico with the toys we bought him