Our love and deepest sympathy goes to...

From Therese
TMW1767@aol.com (Woodbury, MN) I lost the baby on Wednesday this week. Placental abruption is the cause, though I had no indications. I delivered on Friday and am home now. It's tough, but every day gets just a little bit better.

From Vicky and Rob
rh006d4382@blueyonder.co.uk (Essex UK) I developed HELLP Syndrome at 27 weeks gestation in May 2002. My son Thomas was born by emergency cesarean section on 6 May weighing 1lb 7oz, Tom lived for 22 days. He died on 29 May with severe infection, total renal failure and possibly meningitis. We miss him so much but we know he is with us in spirit helping us through the day. Although I'm in the UK I would be interested to hear what all your other members are up to and how they're getting on. (Vicky and Rob are raising money for the neonatal unit which looked after Tom. See the FROM OUR MEMBERS section for more information.)

From Melissa and Aaron
Melissaj461@aol.com (Wichita, KS) in the death of their baby. Their baby was stillborn at 30 weeks gestation. Melissa has agreed to be our Kansas rep. See NEW REPRESENTATIVES.

From Cathy
Catmar3333@aol.com (Fayetteville , PA) I recently experienced Class 1 HELLP syndrome at only 21 weeks of gestation. Seeming like the flu, the onset was extremely quick and extremely severe. As a result I am lucky to be alive. My premature HELLP baby lived for only about two hours. I am only 38 and really want to have more children, however I would like to know as much as I can about this before my husband and I make any decisions.

From Karen, Mark and Katie
kingebret@pressroom.com (Alexandria, VA) Our beautiful 4-month-old son Matthew passed away suddenly this past Monday from SIDS. There is no explanation for this terrible tragedy, and there was no warning. My husband Mark, daughter Katie (age 8), and I are heartbroken beyond anything I can describe. We managed to get through the wake and burial this week only because we truly had no other choice but to get through them. Not elegantly, not graciously, but just to somehow get through them. Matthew is buried in a children's section at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Alexandria, an old, lovely cemetery that's been there since the Civil War. We take some small comfort from the fact that his grave is among other babies and little children. People are making memorial contributions in Matthew's name to the Lydia Home Association in Chicago, a children's home in which Mark's father and aunts grew up. Again, I think Matthew would be pleased to know that in some small way he is helping other children. This is all so terribly ironic. My pregnancy with Matt was a high-risk pregnancy for several reasons (my age; gestational diabetes; repeat risk of preeclampsia or HELLP), and yet we safely navigated that. Matt arrived 5 weeks early, and we safely navigated his preemiehood. He had reflux, but we were handling that well. We thought we were more or less "home free" and could relax and enjoy having this beautiful child we'd worked so hard to bring into the world. I have a lot of questions and no answers at this time, and I find it hard to believe that it will get easier as time goes by, although everyone tells me that it will. I don't subscribe to the theories that "God needed another angel in heaven, and he took Matthew because Matthew was special." I just don't think God operates like that. I wish I did believe it--it might somehow make this more bearable. Friends and neighbors and co-workers have been very kind to us this week. Everyone has been very generous with their time and their love, but all we want is the one thing no one can give us: we want our precious boy back. Please keep us all in your prayers.

From Sheila
bohhnen@aol.com (England) Thank you so much for your site. I was admitted to hospital on 21/12/02 with what was an expected PID. By that evening I was undergoing an emergency caesarian and then spent the next five days in intensive care. All thanks to HELLP. My baby daughter was delivered at 23 1/2 weeks (she had died in the womb due to the placenta becoming detached). I needed two blood transfusions and am now on iron and blood pressure tablets. One of the worse things is that NOBODY except one of my midwives has ever met anybody with HELLP - they were rather in awe actually in the hospital. The whole thing has been totally mind-blowing. At 20 weeks pregnant I had a scan which showed my "perfect" baby girl along with placenta etc. Three and a bit weeks later all this. My poor family (I have a husband and three children - children by a previous husband), spent the most miserable Christmas ever (at one point it seemed that I also may not survive), and our addition due at Easter is no longer. To make things worse my GP (local doctor in England), greeted the news with 'You must be sterilised at once. This only gets worse". Not quite the sort of thing you want to hear at this time - or any really if you don't want to be sterilised. Anyway I have contacted your UK site and hope to hear from them soon. My heart goes out to all the others on your site, I truly know how devastating this thing is. So happy this time last month and so miserable this month. Anyway thanks in advance for any help / information that you can supply. You are doing a tremendous job by just being there. Thank you.

From Evelyn
Emmsacks@aol.com It has been 3 months since we lost our daughter to HELLP Syndrome.  I could not even face the emotional courage to go online and read more about this terrible disease that almost took my life and that took our only child's life.  My doctor just blew off my pain, Gastro distress, and all symptoms.  I am so angry that he could have cared less about my life and my baby's life.  God through his grace saved me and gave me another doctor who immediately admitted me to the hospital and provided me with emergency care.  I am amazed at how little is known or shared about HELLP.  My kidneys shut down, my liver was huge, my head pounded, my BP was 200/100 and rising, and I could barely function.  Today is the day I want to learn more about HELLP for future pregnancies.  My husband and I want to try for another baby and I am so scared about what may happen.