Thursday 16 February 2017

Loss...

What is the right way to deal with a loss? How long do you need to feel an attachment in order to justify grieving for that which is no longer there? Since starting a blog, I’ve addressed personal issues for others to read, but I’ve been struggling with the notion of discussing this particular event, as I know it will likely invite inevitable questions and sympathy from those who will read it. I also don’t want to offend those whose first knowledge of the event will come from this post. Throughout my life, I’ve felt like I’ve constantly been judged, so I suppose I’m embarrassed and frightened that my life choices will, once again, be judged by others. Despite all this, I feel it’s an important topic to raise awareness of, and I’m glad I knew someone who had shared this experience with me before I found myself in exactly the same situation…
 

My wedding was the last weekend in January, but two weeks beforehand I suffered a miscarriage.
 
There, I’ve said it…
 
This isn’t the first time I’ve miscarried – way back when I was fifteen, I miscarried just before my 12 week scan. People were quick to tell me it was for the best and nature was giving me a second chance at a normal childhood, but it was very hurtful to listen to at the time. That was over ten years ago, I dealt with my issues and moved on. I suppose I am grateful for that experience in a way though, because it’s helping me deal with my current feelings about another loss.
 
The two events are not the same – when I was 15, I was much further along, but this miscarriage happened after only a week of knowing I was pregnant – at approximately 5 weeks. Does that make it any less of a loss? I tried to tell myself it did… after all, it’s not like I’d had the chance to get attached and make plans, I was still trying to organise my wedding!
 
Doctors call it a ‘chemical pregnancy’, a pregnancy that has only been detected through urine or blood analysis alone, and has ended before visual detection with a scan can occur. A friend had described this to me, and I’d also read a bit online… but everything I read made me feel like my whole experience was being dismissed as nothing and I’d just been silly for not waiting longer before peeing on a stick!
 
Feeling miserable and alone, I made an appointment with the doctor, fully expecting to be fobbed off as a time wasting idiot – I already have two amazing kids at home, it’s not like I need another one…
 
My doctor was wonderful! I told him I thought I’d suffered a chemical pregnancy and he immediately offered words of comfort and sympathy. He told me he preferred not to use the term and that I’d suffered an early miscarriage instead. As much as I couldn’t exactly be happy at that moment in time, it gave justification to the grief I was enduring - it didn’t feel like I’d made the whole thing up in my head anymore!
 
Through all this, Paul was my rock… it was easy for me to forget that he was suffering too! Having not experienced anything like this before, he was trying to be strong for me, but he was also grieving. I know he’d gotten himself super excited, and had even picked up a super cute baby outfit in the last dribbles of the January sales, so he was completely down in the dumps, especially as I wanted to keep the whole thing as quiet as possible.
 
All I can say is I’m sorry Paul, I didn’t intend to make it all about me…
 
I’m also sorry if this is the first any of you are hearing about this… We wanted to keep everyone in high spirits, especially in the run up to the wedding. Knowing that everyone was happy for us, instead of sad, helped us forget our own sadness and gave us fantastic memories with which to begin married life!
 
We didn’t forget about our wee tiny ‘almost bean’ though, Paul’s choice of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Small Bump’ towards the end of our wedding reception was as a mark of respect and allowed us a little private moment of remembrance in the chaos that surrounded us.
 
I hope this experience doesn’t happen to anyone else, but it is sadly an all too common occurrence for many of us out there. Don’t be disheartened – I’ve had successful pregnancies since my first miscarriage, and I’m sure I will be successful again!
 
We are now both looking forward to our future and married life – hopefully we will blessed with another addition to our family when the time is right!
 
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
SHARE:

10 comments

  1. I am so, so glad that you have a doctor that gets it. They're rare beasts.

    All my love to team Elanor and Paul - I might loathe Ed Sheeran with every fibre of my being, but what a beautiful way to make your little lost one part of your wedding day.

    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lis, it was Paul's idea for the song choice, but it did make that moment a bit more special :) xx

      Delete
  2. So brace of you to post this. It's raw and painful for you. Are you able to seek counselling? I did albeit sometime afterwards and I found it helpful. My doctor found a free service for me. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Elinor, I wanted to make sure other women didn't feel alone. We've managed to get on with things without counselling, but I know where to get some if I need to :)

      Delete
  3. Thank you for sharing - it is horrible what you've been through. You are brave for discussing it and making other women not feel alone x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jodie, that's what I wanted to achieve, it's horrible to feel alone when something like this happens.

      Delete
  4. I'm so sorry. I hope you feel better in time. I'm glad your doctor was understanding of your feelings and offered you much needed comfort. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Therese, my doctor was wonderfully helpful, I wish more took the time to make patients feel at ease! :)

      Delete
  5. Hi Hun. I suffered a missed miscarriage in 2013 and it was horrible. I realised you can never be prepared for something like that and everyone will handle it in their own way. I learnt that it's something we should use to make our relationships stronger through support and love, even though that is probably the hardest thing to do.

    Lots of love
    Emmie xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry to hear about your loss Emmie, it's a terrible thing to suffer through. I'm glad I had my husband to support me, he's my rock whenever anything bad happens!

      Delete

© Tiggy Poes and Flutterbys. All rights reserved.
BLOGGER TEMPLATE MADE BY pipdig