i woke up this morning with one thought on my mind. i blogged about this day last year and have decided to repost the same entry i wrote one year ago.
three [now four] years ago today, around midnight, i was sitting in a small room inside st. joseph's hospital. at about 10pm the night before, bryce received a phone call from his brother, luke, telling him that his wife's vitals had gone down and was to undergo emergency brain surgery right away.
luke and amy had been married for four years, had just gotten into dental school and were now pregnant with their first baby. luke had just finished his first year of dental school and they were in mesa visiting family for the summer. we were all at a family reunion for the weekend. sunday, amy awoke with an awful headache that would not go away. she had been having headaches throughout her pregnancy but her doctors didn't think anything of them, since they are common during pregnancy. we returned home and amy went straight to sleep. the next morning, the headache had gotten worse, and she began to slur her speech. luke took her to the hospital right away. amy had developed some blood clots in her brain which were causing pressure, she would be taken to barrow's neurological institute at st. joseph's hospital. the doctors began to administer blood thinners in hopes that the blood clots would dissolve on their own. because amy was about 6 months pregnant the doctors wanted to avoid any major surgery. the blood thinners seemed to work at first, amy's condition began to improve, although she still had trouble speaking. by thursday, she began to worsen and on thursday night we received the call from luke.
the doctors informed us that there would be a big chance that amy might not make it through such an intensive surgery and that they would also keep monitors on the baby to make sure he was doing alright. amy made it through the surgery that night. their baby, zach's heart rate dropped soon after the surgery so he was immediately taken via c-section. born at 2am on july 11th... he was around 26 weeks old.
bryce and i drove home around 4am, grateful that amy and the baby had survived and very optimistic. around 8:00 that morning, we received a call from bryce's dad. after performing ct-scans, the doctor's concluded that amy had received massive brain damage due to the overwhelming pressure the blood clots were putting on her brain and would not be able to live without the support of machines. luke chose to take her off life support. she was surrounded by all of her family as she passed, she was 26 years old.
zach remained in the nicu for about three months. he currently is a healthy, happy, handful. luke remarried about a year later, to sheri who had a little girl of her own, raegan and [almost 2 years ago], sheri gave birth to their third child, kendall. [and is now currently expecting their fourth child]
amy was such a sweet, caring, and kind sister-in-law to me. i am so grateful for the times i was able to share with her. i think about her often and wonder what it would be like if she were still here. i love luke's new wife, sheri, and admire her love for their children. i know amy loves sheri too, for loving and taking care of zach and luke.
amy, we love you and have not forgotten.
my husband wrote a song for his brother a few weeks after she passed away called remembered. you can listen to it here.
6 comments:
I'm not going to lie...that was absolutely heart-rending. I heard that Bryce's brother had lost his wife; but wasn't aware of the details, or of how quick everything happened. (I need to keep a box of kleenex next to my computer...I'm a mess.) Isn't it wonderful to have the gospel in our lives, and to know what we know? It makes trials like this one, (a little) easier to get through. That was a beautiful song that Bryce wrote (he's got some serious talent), and a beautiful post. Thank you.
I remember amy. remember that one time we all played games together? before you and bryce were married? Trev and me and you and bryce and luke and amy? She was a lot of fun and very sweet. I think its sweet of you to remember her this way. those denton boys sure all married well...
i remember this like it was last week. i cant believe it has been 4 years already. i knew amy thru my brother. they were friends in high school. such a sweet girl.
That was a beautiful post, I had no idea that your family had gone through this. Bryce's song is wonderful! Thank goodness we have the gospel to help through the hard times!
Hey I saw your blog on Maren's page! That is sad the way things go, one of my good friends just lost her 2 1/2 year old daughter to an inoperable brainstem tumor she was diagnosed with sept 6, 2006. I hope everything else is going well. how is your flip flop thing going? whenever i have a baby i want some!!!
Diana! Thanks so much for what you wrote. It inspired me and also made me cry. She sounded like an amazing person. What an incredible story. That little boy is so lucky to have a special mom waiting to take care of him but it must be so comforting to have such a sweet mom to help raise him. Gosh, such a good story Diana. Thanks for posting. You're the best.
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