The death of a baby is one of the most painful things that can happen to a family. For one Charlotte family, the loss of their 6-month old child was a loss that moved them to be advocates for the March of Dimes.
“My first pregnancy was pretty typical. I was in labor for six hours, and it was a pretty good pregnancy,” Danielle Rivera said.
Rivera’s second pregnancy also started out as typical. However, at 34 weeks, she felt decreased movement in her womb.
“It almost felt like the baby was floating, so we called the hospital,” Rivera said. “They said that they needed to deliver the baby right away, that something was wrong,”
Baby Dylan was delivered by cesarean section.
After Dylan's delivery, doctors determined that he had severe brain damage and that both he and Danielle needed to undergo further testing.
“My husband and I were just so confused as to what happened and why this happened,” she said.
After running tests on Danielle, it was discovered that she had three rare blood clotting disorders that caused a clot to form in her placenta, in turn, causing baby Dylan to lose oxygen.
Dylan was transferred to Cornell where he awaited an MRI scan. The results of the MRI showed that Dylan’s brain damage was catastrophic,
“He had a huge hole in the left side of his brain, and the right side was filled with holes,” Rivera said.
The doctors didn't think Dylan would survive and were surprised when he lived a week. So, the family was able to take him home.
“He was like a baby. He was a typical baby,” she said.
Then, at some point, he stopped eating and stopped crying for food.
“I tried to feed him, and he wasn't sucking on his bottle,” Rivera said. “His brain wasn't
reacting.”
When Dylan was around 6 months old, Rivera noticed that Dylan was having difficulty breathing. She called a nurse to come to their home for care, but by the time she arrived, Dylan had died in his mother’s arms.
“It was hard. We had to make some painful decisions that parents shouldn't have to make,” Rivera said.
After the pain of losing their child, the family found hope. Danielle would need to be put on a regime of a therapeutic level of blood thinner and be highly monitored, but with faith and love, there would be three additional children born into the Rivera family.
The Rivera family credits their medical team and the March of Dimes for their extensive
work and research to give every baby a fighting chance.
For more than 75 years, the March of Dimes has been the leading organization for the prevention of premature births birth defects and infant mortality
“After Dylan died, I wanted something positive and I found March of Dimes, and we started doing the walks and raising money for the babies,” Rivera said. “It's really, it's been a great thing for my family.”
The Rivera family will be the March of Dimes ambassador family at this year’s 2019 Signature Chef’s Auction for the Charlotte area March of Dimes.
The Signature Chefs Auction is a black-tie gala that pays tribute to the culinary excellence of our prominent chefs while raising money to improve the health of all moms and babies.
If you have an inspiring story to share, email Kevin Campbell, WSOC-TV/WAXN-TV/Telemundo Charlotte public affairs manager, at Kevin.Campbell@wsoctv.com.
Cox Media Group
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