The Laurendeau Family

Can you imagine spending a decade wishing for one special miracle?

Well, my wife, Tanya, and I did—you helped our wish come true.

For 10 years, Tanya and I tried to have a baby.

Doctors confirmed that we were in good health, but we knew that even if we weren’t able to conceive we could offer a child a great life, full of love.

I brought adoption papers home to begin the application process, but a few days later we found out we were expecting.

It’s hard to describe the emotions at that moment - we had waited so long and all of our wishes and prayers were finally coming true.

Tanya’s pregnancy was going great—she didn’t even get morning sickness. But one night everything changed.

At 28 weeks, Tanya began experiencing pain in her abdomen, followed by vomiting and a headache. At first, we just thought she had the flu. Tanya’s pain went away, only to return two nights later. We knew something wasn’t right.

It was 2:30 am, February 23, 2007 when we arrived at the Emergency Department in the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. Right away, we were sent to Labour and Delivery – something was seriously wrong.

Our nurse in Labour and Delivery immediately recognized Tanya’s symptoms. Tests confirmed that my wife had HELLP Syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count). 

HELLP syndrome only occurs in only 1 or 2 in every 1,000 pregnancies and it can be deadly for both mom and baby. The only way to stop HELLP was to deliver our baby.

Our baby boy Andrew, was delivered by emergency c-section at only 28 weeks. He weighed less than two pounds.

Thanks to donors, like you, the Regional Hospital has the specialized equipment needed to care for premature and critically ill babies and their moms.

I will never forget how I felt when I first saw Andrew. I ran alongside him as he was being rushed from the OR to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in an incubator.

I couldn’t believe this tiny baby boy, the one I waited 10 years for, was my son—immediately, I fell in love.

The joy I felt was mixed with fear, as my wife Tanya was still extremely sick. She stayed in seclusion for two days and wasn’t able to see our son. Imagine if you couldn’t hold your new born for two days - to her, this felt like an eternity.

It wasn’t until hours after Andrew was born that I was told how close my wife and son came to dying.

Andrew had to spend his first two months in the NICU. We spent every day with him.

Our story has a happy ending because of donors like you. My wife and I are so grateful that we were home in Cape Breton for care. 

Today, my wife and son are healthy. Thank you for helping them get the care they need at home.

- Dave Laurendeau