Cassy's Story

Cassy’s birth story is not only a success, but a miracle.  We were married August 25, in 1990 and wanted to start a family right away.  I was having some problems with my periods and after 5 years of suffering, I was finally diagnosed with moderate Endometriosis.  I was told that I had less than a 50% chance of conceiving on my own and was put on a fertility drug called Clomid.  I was on Clomid on and off for three years and in 1994, I was sent to see a fertility specialist.  She did a follow-up laparoscope in which she lasered the Endometriosis, did a biopsy and ran some dye through my tubes in hopes that this would work.  I was put back on the Clomid, still with no luck.  In 1996, we were put on an IVF waiting listing and prayed that we would have the money for the procedure when we were chosen.  We then decided that it was more important for us to be parents than it was for me to be pregnant, so we considered adoption.  We were told that an infant may not be available for at least six years, and if we did not have our own child by that time, that would mean we could be childless for 12 years. 

In June of 1996, we went to see our specialist so she could fill out our medical forms for the adoption process.  Our blood was taken and we waited for an hour wondering the whole time why it was taking so long for the results.  When a nurse came in, she handed me a piece of paper and I could see very clearly the word, “Positive” written on it.  I went into immediate shock.  I was crying and my dear husband had to ask the nurse what was written on the paper.  You can imagine his surprise and pure shock!  We were scared and excited, because we knew that the chances of carrying a baby to term with Endo were smaller.  At 11 weeks, I started to bleed and was put on bed rest.  I really thought we would lose her, but a week later, we heard her heartbeat.  She was still hanging on…praise God for that.  At 16 weeks, I received a positive result on a test that showed that our baby could have Downs Syndrome.  We were sent for genetic testing, and saw our baby on the ultrasound…she looked beautiful.  Still, the Dr. wanted us to do an Amino but we decided that this baby was God's gift to us and that we wanted her no matter what, so we declined. 

The rest of the pregnancy went wonderfully.  On February 7, 1997, after 16 hours of labor induced by Pitocin, two shots of Demerol and nitrous oxide (which made me nervous and feel out of control), our beautiful daughter, Cassandra Rose was born, weighing in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 20 inches long.  She was difficult to deliver and I had many stitches due to the fact that her arm was extended and her fingers were on top of her head.  She was healthy and perfect in every way and born with no Downs Syndrome.  At first, they thought her arm had dislocated, but she was fine.  She had a head full of thick hair and was (and is!) beautiful. 

I have a hard time letting her out of our sight and don't go anywhere she can't go.  At three years old, she still sleeps in our bed.  You always have to have faith and trust that God can and will answer prayers.  We are again trying to conceive and still struggling, but not worrying…because we have our precious girl, and we will put our trust in God and hope for another miracle someday.