AURORA, Colo. – Not all pictures are worth a thousand words.
A few small words can provide the perfect meaning for some.
“He’s so cute and so well-behaved and just quiet,” Maren Oates said, Karisa Bugal’s sister.
Declan Jay Bugal was born on Nov. 3 to Karisa and Wes Bugal.
“None of us expected it to be this way. When you’re scheduled for a routine c-section, it’s supposed to be a happy, happy day,” Oates said.
While Karisa was in labor, doctors discovered the amniotic fluid embolism.
“And that causes catastrophic shutdown of all the organs,” Dr. Kelly Gerow said. “Knowing the grim prognosis of this, I think it’s possible that we would have lost Declan.”
“Deep down, I knew it wasn’t good but I wanted to keep faith,” Wes Bugal said. “They came in and rushed her back to the delivery room and had to do an emergency c-section.”
As Declan’s heart rate dipped, Karisa had to know her decision would be critical, so she chose the fastest delivery route.
She decided to go under right away, which was the best option for her son but not the best option for her.
“Her other option would have been to decline that and stay awake for her surgery, but by the time we would have put in a spine or something, it’s possible that Declan would not have made it,” Dr. Gerow said.
It was the last decision she would ever make.
“And that was about the last time I saw her,” Wes Bugal said. “That’s the hard part, explaining to him his mom’s gone giving birth to him, explain to both of them where their mom’s at when they ask ‘Where’s mommy?’”
“She came to the hospital to be a mom and she did what she was supposed to do,” Oates said.
“Hold on to what you have now because you don’t know when it’s going to be taken from you,” Bugal said.
