THE BIRTHING OF TWINS T
Sherrina Richards story - Part 1
HOUGH PLANS are made and work is done to ensure those plans come to fruition, life is filled with unpredictable moments, and sometimes, one can never truly prepare for what is to come. When Sherrina and her husband brought their first child into this world, they thought of waiting a number of years before giving her a brother or a sister. However, life had a different plan, and the change in direction brought about challenges that only a reliance on God’s strength could bring them through.
From a major accident to emergency surgeries and near-death ordeals, she went through it all.
“When I took the test and I realised I was pregnant, I cried because I wanted to change my job and so many other stuff before having another baby,” she said.
Even though Richards was not extremely happy, she made the decision to break the news to her husband romantically.
“I made plans with my brother-in-law, who is a chef, to come over and prepare an exquisite dinner for me. He and I transformed my living room into a nice fine-dining restaurant and got some music going. When my husband came home from work, he was very surprised and kept asking what the occasion was, but I just told him I wanted to have a nice dinner. He wasn’t totally convinced, but pregnancy was farthest from his mind.
“After we dined, took some pictures and talked, he thought that was all to the evening. I then took out a gift bag and gave it to him. He smiled and dug right in. He took out a little box, opened it, removed some decorations from the top and there it was – the white stick with two red lines. His jaw dropped and remained in that position for about 30 seconds. Then he hugged me tightly and told me how excited he was.”
IN FOR A TREAT
The Richards’ warmed up to the idea of adding a little one, possibly a little boy, to the mix to make the perfect pair. But they were in for a treat.
“My husband and I visited the doctor for my first prenatal check-up. While the doctor was doing the ultrasound, he asked my husband if he was sitting or standing. So my husband answered, ‘I’m standing. Why you ask?’. I was lying there wondering the same thing, but before I could give it much thought, the doctor said, ‘Because you have two here’. I was like, what? We kept asking the doctor if he was sure, over and over, and he kept showing us the screen. I got an instant headache as I wasn’t ready for one more much less two at the same time. We were so shocked, frightened, terrified, and yet super excited at the same time.”
Married for approximately five years, the couple was opening doors to a whole new experience for their families.
“My maternal grandfather was a twin, but he and his brother passed away many years ago. So, yes, it’s the first set from both sides. Soon after I found out I was pregnant, I started having terrible all-day sicknesses. I couldn’t keep anything down, even in the wee hours of the morning, I would be up throwing up.”
She continued, “My doctor prescribed medicine to ease the vomiting – it was somewhat eased, but not all together. I was always exhausted, weary, and, overall, miserable. I couldn’t wait for the first trimester to pass. So when the
second trimester made its grand entrance, it was welcomed as the vomiting eased off to once or twice per day.”
But it was certainly not peaches and cream, and Richards soon had to resign her job.
“No sooner had I started enjoying being pregnant than the fatigue returned in all its glory. I couldn’t keep up at work as I was constantly falling asleep at my desk, reaching late as I couldn’t wake up in the mornings, no matter how early I went to bed, and even
underperforming.”
Because there were two babies depending on her for sustenance, Richards’ body was severely under pressure.
“My doctor asked me to do some blood tests, which showed my blood count was really low. That’s when my husband and I made the decision that it was best if I resign and just take it easy at home. So by midsecond trimester, I was home and it made all the difference in the world. I was sleeping a lot more and rarely had any issues – not even my feet were swollen until about the last month of the pregnancy, and it was very mild. I was now just focused on getting my blood count up.”
PROBLEMS AHEAD
As one good thing happened, several horrible occurrences kept happening and they both had to be finding solutions to each new problem. “By the third trimester, the fatigue eased off, but my huge belly made me so uncomfortable. I was also battling constant indigestion and frequent urination. As time was drawing closer and it became a lot more difficult to get around and care for our four year old, we decided to let one of my sisters come and live with us, which really worked in our favour.” As Richards prepared to welcome new life into the world, her tower of strength, her husband, met in a major accident. How did she deal with it all in addition to the numerous trials that came with each passing day? Next week, we will look at her outcome.