I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself… I stumbled across this site a couple weeks ago and have been checking in fairly frequently.
My story: I graduated from the Univ of GA in 2003 after working at it for 6 years and didn’t have the best GPA in Criminal Justice. I never really applied myself and worked full time through about half of that time. I’m 35 now and married. My wife and I were due to have a baby (next week) but instead she had a placental abruption and our baby was stillborn about 6 weeks ago. My wife has a blood coagulation disorder that predisposes her to clotting while pregnant. We knew about the condition prior to this pregnancy because we had suffered an early term miscarriage last year which was her 3rd. However, we were told that since we had identified the problem they could treat it successfully with a blood thinner. We said okay and went ahead with another pregnancy with this terrible result. We had a fetal autopsy performed, which included a placental pathology report, and we got a copy of it and I didn’t understand much of it at all. However, I wanted to know what happened so I started looking up words I didn’t understand and before long I had a good understanding of all of it. Then I started reading about her clotting disorder (APS), and from there I got a cellular biology book, an anatomy book, and I’ve read several medical articles that I found on the internet and some that my wife’s OB got for me when I asked her. Long story short(er) - I have discovered that I have a real aptitude for science and medical topics - as well as a passion for it. A few weeks ago I started to think that I could be a doctor as well, especially when we went to an appointment with the OB and we had an in depth conversation about pregnancy and APS and the doc was blown away by how much I knew. She seemed particularly impressed since before we lost our baby I just sat there at the appointments and listened to what was going on, assuming that everything was going fine. A couple weeks ago I mentioned to my wife that I was thinking that I could and should go to medical school and - to my surprise - she said she was thinking the same thing. So, now I’m looking real hard into what I need to do to get the ball rolling and am glad I found this website!! I think it’s cool that everyone is so supportive of each other on this website. I’ve seen lots of forums where people just insult each other. I look forward to having a good exchange of ideas with all of you!!!
Wow… 1st of all, my heart breaks for your family–as a mom, and someone who’s also been through miscarriage–I cannot, with all that’s in me, imagine what someone goes through with a stillborn birth. Not even knowing you, that brings tears to my eyes and I grieve that alongside you. I’m so sorry for your loss…
It sounds like you are right on the mark with the direction you’re headed. It’s going to make for an incredible journey–and to be fueled by your initial motivation will be very meaningful, I’m sure. I just wanted to reach out and welcome you–I hope that you find the support that you need here. This forum has been a saving grace for me this year… it’s full of amazing people with wise insight.
Sending thoughts of peace your way…
Welcome to OPM! I’m so sorry to hear about you and your wife’s loss. I hope you give yourself some time before full-time prerequisites.
I think suffering is a teacher of compassion, and sometimes compassion leads us to the outlet that our gifts and abilities have shaped us for. Sounds like that might be going on for you.
You will find a lot of support here for your journey.
Kate