Our precious baby girl returned to heaven on Thursday, June 23, 2005. Her happy and loving spirit will be in our hearts forever. I can only hope that our tragic story will help others. I have to believe that Mika�s short life and early death served a purpose. I have to start my story from the beginning. I want to remember and honor our little girl to the best of my ability. So forgive me if I give to many details. The pregnancy! We weren�t really trying to have another baby. We already had two beautiful girls Madison age 6 and Macy age 2 at the time. However, we had always said we would try for a third if we had two children of the same sex. So we were excited about having another baby. I always felt my pregnancy with Mika was different. I seemed more worried than before that something was wrong yet every doctor�s visit I was assured by the sound of her heart beat. Therefore I convinced myself I was having a boy this time. I have never been one to �wait� until delivery day to find out the sex of my babies so I was excited when the day for the sonogram arrived. Again, I just knew it was a boy this time. However, as the doctor took measurements & check everything out medically it hit me, �its A Girl� I said to myself. Sure enough she was 100% girl. It took some time to get used to, I don�t know why because I already had two girls at home. Soon after I started pulling out the frilly pink clothes I had saved from when the girls were babies, buying things for the nursery & painting purple walls. I quickly realized that God knew what he was doing. I wouldn�t know what to do with a boy. I am truly all girl! My pregnancy continued as normal and I convinced my doctor to induce a week early. I had never been induced with my previous pregnancies but I was three days late with both Madison and Macy. Because my due date was December 21st, I knew if I waited to go into labor on my own I would end up in the hospital on Christmas Eve. I didn�t want to be away from my children on Christmas in addition I wouldn�t want Mika�s special day to get lost in the rush of the holidays. So we induced on the morning of December 14th. They gave me a pill to swallow around 7:45 that morning which didn�t make me dilate any more than I already was when I came in there. So they started the Pit. around 12:15. Shortly after I was begging for my epidural but it was too late. I was already at a 9 and there was no turning back. Mika was born at 1:16 pm weighing 6lbs. 15oz. and was 18 inches long. She was the smallest of all my children however it didn�t feel like it. That delivery was the most memorable and special experience, I wouldn�t change it for anything. The girls were ecstatic wearing their �I�m the Big Sister� and �I�m in the Middle� shirts. They were so proud to be big sisters. About Mika! She was my best baby. I�m not just saying that because she is no longer here. It was true. She slept through the night at 6 weeks, she only cried when she needed something, she sucked her thumb & when she was tired all you needed to do was lay her down. No rocking required. However, now I wish I had rocked her more. She didn�t have much hair, just a little peach fuzz. I loved to rub my cheek across it when I was holding her. She had a crooked toe which I tried to fix by taping it to her pinky toe. She hated that tape. She loved to stick her tongue out and spit and I think she loved to hear her own voice. She entertained herself by babbling songs (I always said she was singing) as I hurried around tending to her sisters. She thoroughly enjoyed bath time. What baby doesn�t, right? I had just started putting her in the tub with her older sisters and they got a big kick at Mika�s attempts to swim and splash. It was the same in her grandmother�s swimming pool. She still hadn�t learned to sit up or roll over from her back to her stomach and was no where close to crawling. Of course I wasn�t pushing her because I wanted her to stay a baby as long as possible. We were still waiting on those two bottom teeth to come in as well. It�s like she knew she wasn�t going to be here for long and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. I know I did. I will never forget the day we lost her. My story! My husband had been laid off from his job a few weeks before. It was Thursday, June 23rd. Our oldest daughter Madison left for church camp the Monday before so we only had Macy & Mika. I had to be at work early that morning so my husband was taking the girls in to day care. He had been hired out at a local church to do some construction work for a little extra money. Mika woke up right about the time I was supposed to leave the house. So I quickly changed her diaper, talked to her briefly, warmed her bottle and gave it to her while she was still in her bed. I told my husband the baby was awake taking her bottle and I was out the door. Oh how I wish I just would have picked her up. I had no idea this would be the last time I would see her alive. I spoke to my husband twice that morning once at 9:15 and again at 10:30. He called me at work the first time to tell me he had gotten a long a waited phone call from company about a job. We talked briefly then he told me he was on his way to the church. I called him later to tell him about our plans for that evening. My sister was in town with her two children and we were going to get a baby sister and go to a local caf�. My morning at work went on as usual until right after I returned from my lunch break. I hadn�t been back at my desk for more than 10 minutes when my phone rang. It was my sister. All she said was I needed to come home. I could tell in her voice something was wrong. I immediately thought it was my husband, I never imagined it would be my baby. I just kept asking �why? What�s wrong?� Finally she said �I�m so sorry�Mikey left Mika in the truck!� I am not entirely sure what I said and in what order but I remember asking if she was alive. In a broken voice she said �no�. At one point I didn�t even have the phone to my ear. All I could say was �Oh My God No�. I must have made a scene because before I knew it there were several people around my desk. I asked my sister where my husband was and if he was okay. I spoke with him briefly and he was sobbing saying �I�m so sorry!� I told him I would be there in a minute. My boss and another co-worker drove me to the church. That was the longest ride ever. As we pulled up to the church there were tons of people there but my eyes were focused on the ambulance. I couldn�t get out of the car fast enough, it hadn�t even completely stopped and I was reaching for the door. My fear was they were going to take her away before I got to hold her. As it turns out they were �working on her�, which confused me. I was already told she was dead. Evidently the first responders thought they had a faint pulse. My aunt immediately grabbed me and held me. We found my husband and followed the ambulance to the hospital. They allowed my husband and me to go into the emergency room with her. However, we were instructed to sit in the corner. The hospital Chaplin came to give us comfort. All I could think about was holding my baby girl. I kept saying it over and over again. �I just want to hold her.� They finally let me stand beside the bed and hold her hand. As I looked into her eyes, I knew she wasn�t there. I finally asked the Doctor �how long are you going to do this?� I understood all the medical terms they were throwing around. I knew how long she had been in the truck. I knew that if by some miracle they were able to save her she wouldn�t have a good quality of life. I felt guilty for thinking this way but I couldn�t stand to see them push, poke & prod on her any more. Asking �how long are you going to do this� was the closest thing to �stop� I could get out of my mouth. As I said, I looked into her eyes and Mika wasn�t there. They stopped compressions and CPR. Time of death was called at 3:01pm. My husband and I held each other and sobbed. Slowly our family members began to arrive. We were allowed to stay in the room and say our goodbyes. I will never forget how she felt lying in my arms. She was so heavy and seemed so long. My wish is for no parent to ever have to do this. Then we had to some how break the news to our other daughters. This too was very painful especially so for my husband. Click Here for the rest of Mika's Story |
| Mika's Story |
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| �Created for Eternity� Our Precious Angel Mika Michele Terry December 14, 2004 June 23, 2005 |