Bad Day?

"Go out and have a bad day!" Um... no thank you! I have been thinking a lot about Dr. Sexon's mentioning of 'bad days' and thought I would share a recent experience, though the experience is not my own.

I have a friend who, though pretty young, has always wanted to be a mother. You know how some people say they have some sort of 'life calling'? Well, for my friend, motherhood was definitely it. She tried several times to get pregnant to no avail. Nothing seemed to 'stick', if you know what I mean. Then, finally, a breakthrough! She was pregnant, but soon lost the baby to miscarriage.

Over the course of about four years, she has tried and failed to have a child. She endured several miscarriages because her body would always reject the pregnancy. Finally, she found herself pregnant and actually doing very well, only to miscarry months into the pregnancy. Again. I can't imagine what that sort of hope would have looked like only to lose another pregnancy.

Last year, she was pregnant again, and this time she worked with doctors to ensure she had the healthiest pregnancy she could. She managed to carry the baby to full term and delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl. It seemed like everything she had been searching for was finally falling into place.

About one month ago, just one day after my birthday, I recieved terrible news. On October 3rd, 2009, she woke up in the middle of the night in a panic. She ran into her sleeping babies room and found the baby face down in her crib, completely blue and not breathing. She called the ambulence and when they arrived, she was informed her baby passed away four hours before. Cause of death: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The syndrome is described as the sudden death of a child under the age of 1 which an authopsy does not show an explainable cause of death. Baby was over 8 months old and almost in the clear as far as SIDS was concerned.

I can't imagine a day being much worse than this one, especially when this woman has had so many medical difficulties concieving and carrying the baby to full term. Every time I think I'm having a bad day, I'm reminded of days like this one and have to say I don't have much to complain about.