Three Young Mothers
Jennifer Miner
For Jennifer Miner, hours have turned into days, days into weeks and weeks into months. Her daughter struggles for survival, something that doctors didn't believe was possible when Grace was born at only 23 weeks, weighing less than a pound and a half.
The prognosis was grim. She might live a day, maybe a week. Now despair has turned to hope as doctors believe Grace could live a normal life. If it weren't for blood donors Grace wouldn't have had a chance at survival.
And so it is with two other mothers, both of whom had complications in childbirth, and both of whom survived because of blood donors.
Heather Bryant
Heather was expecting her first child. It wasn't a difficult pregnancy, but she was a week overdue when they brought her into Women & Infants Hospital.
It was a difficult labor - 30 hours, she recalls, "from start to finish." Logan was a big baby, bigger than anticipated, eight pounds, 11 ounces. About an hour after giving birth, Heather was preparing for visitors when she started to bleed. Instead of greeting visitors, she was rushed into surgery.
During childbirth Heather suffered an internal laceration, losing considerable blood. During surgery she received two units of blood products.
"It was such an unexpected event," Heather said. "I'm very fortunate they had the blood available."
Michael Gianfrancesco, Heather’s husband, is a teacher at North Providence High School, where the Rhode Island Blood Center holds blood drives. He hasn’t donated at those drives, but will now.
"Maybe it takes an experience like this to realize how important it (blood donation) is," he said.
For Heather, a grant writer and editor, it has also had an enormous impact. She was aware of the importance of blood donation, listening as her mother, an emergency room nurse in Canada, related stories of patients whose lives were saved because of blood donors.
Amanda Morin
For Amanda Morin, 25, the pregnancy seemed to be going fine. On Labor Day 2010, the delivery was perfect. She could only be reminded of the times that she had assisted others in her work as a Doula, providing support during labor and delivery, and assimilation back home.
But shortly after giving birth, as she got up to use the rest room, "I felt like I was going to pass out." "I remember blacking out and waking up with doctors and nurses everywhere," she said. In the hours and days after, she used 13 units of red cells, 18 units of platelets and six units of plasma. She spent her initial hours in intensive care, and then five days hospitalized.
"While I always knew in the abstract that it was a good idea to donate blood, what happened made it real," said Eleanor Morin, Amanda’s mother. "I never imagined there were situations where ea person needed a dozen or more units. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if blood wasn’t on hand."
Today, not only is Amanda healthy, but Killiean, her newborn is also doing well.
"I can’t thank blood donors enough,” Eleanor said. “I’ve told all my friends who donate blood how thankful I am."