Miracle True-Life
When I was given a horrific choice, I knew I couldn’t give up hope...
Bethany Homar, 30, from Sheffield
Driving along, I stared out the window and let my mind wander.
Will it be a boy or a girl?
I thought as I headed to my 20-week scan.
I had three boys – Alex, 12, Arlo, four, and Ari, three – and with another little one on the way, I knew it would be a lot to manage.
But I was also excited – I loved being a mum and couldn’t wait to go through the baby stages again.
‘Imagine if it’s another boy,’ my partner Reuben, 28, said, as if reading my mind. ‘It’ll be four against one!’
And later that day, we found out that he was right!
I couldn’t wait until the day I got to welcome him into the world – he would be mine and Reuben’s first baby together.
Afew weeks later, we moved into a new house to make room for the little one.
We hadn’t even started thinking about buying baby things yet, with a few months still to go.
And, with the pregnancy going smoothly, everything seemed to be on track.
That is, until I was 26 weeks. Following a tiring day of shopping, I flopped on the sofa.
‘Hi love,’ Reuben called, coming in from work. ‘How was your day?’
‘I’m exhausted!’ I said. ‘My stomach has been in agony all day – I’m going to run a bath.’
Filling the tub with warm, soapy water, I stepped in for a soak.
Only, a few moments later, my daydreams were interrupted as I felt something suddenly pour out of me. Looking down in the water, I saw it turning pink.
The bath water was turning pink
Oh my God, I thought, worried.
This isn’t normal.
‘Reuben!’ I called, as panic set in. ‘Help!’
Rushing in, he saw the colour of the bath water and immediately rang the hospital, who told me to come in.
With Arlo and Ari with their dad, I shook Alex awake.
‘Mummy’s got to go to hospital,’ I told him. ‘We’re going to drop you off at Nan and Grandad’s now.’
‘Are you going to be OK?’ he asked.
‘Of course,’ I reassured him. ‘It’s just a check-up.’
So, with Reuben driving Alex to his grandparents, I went into A&E by myself.
The staff asked me to put on a pad while I was waiting, so they could see how much blood I’d lost.
It filled up in a matter of minutes. ‘Please can you look at my pad?’ I asked the nurse. ‘I don’t think this is normal.’
Was my baby in danger?
‘Follow me this way,’ the nurse called to me.
Hearing the urgency in her voice, I just broke down in tears.
It must be serious... I thought.
Soon after, I was hooked up to a heart monito
