Sisterhood of Angel Mama’s Magazine | Bereaved Mother’s Day Edition
Gabriel’s Short but Amazing Life
Written and Photos by Arlene Cisneros
I was pregnant with my 5th child and on January 12,2022 and I went into early labor at only 24 weeks. When I got to the hospital I dilated 1 cm. I was given medications to stop the contractions. By the next day, the contractions had stopped and I was told that if all continued good I would be discharged the day after and be on strict bed rest. Later on that night at around 2am I started having small contractions again and they had gotten stronger as time went by. Again I was put on more medications and given a strong dose of a medication via shot that should have stopped the contractions immediately. The shot did not work and the contractions only gotten stronger and closer together, the nurses checked me at 4am and I had dilated 3cm. The doctor decided to rush me into labor and delivery just in case.
From the time they moved me from the high risk room to the labor and deliver room I was checked again and I had dilated 9.5 cm and my water bag was bulging. My husband was sitting on the right side holding my hand and had the most worried and terrified look on his face and I told him please be strong everything is going to be ok, have faith please be strong for me because I’m scared too. The doctor decided to break my water and right after the doctor told me to start pushing, after 2 pushes my son Gabriel was born at 4:39am weighing 1lb 8.2oz and was 12.2in long. I remember clearly seeing his tiny little head so full of hair. The NICU doctors were able to stabilized him so quickly and rushed him to the NICU.
My husband asked me if I wanted him to stay or go with our son, I said no go immediately with our baby I’ll be fine. A while later my husband came back and we waited for the ok for us to go see our baby boy in the NICU. We finally got to see my tiny sweet boy laying in his incubator so tiny and fragile and I completely broke down. Our son was doing good for two days. Sunday came and I was being discharged and my nurse did a complementary covid test so I can visit my son in the NICU once I’m discharged, I had that peace of mind. Unfortunately I tested positive, I was not allowed to see my baby no more.
We went home and a few hours later the doctor called us and said that our boy wasn’t doing too good, that his levels were getting really low and he know has an e-coli infection. Around 8pm the doctor called again and everything was looking good and asked if we wanted our son to be baptized. The church’s Chaplin guided a nurse to perform our son’s baptism and we got to witness it via FaceTime. 2hrs later we received another phone call from the doctor granting us time with our baby boy as they didn’t know how much time he had left.
We get to the hospital and by that time his kidneys were shutting down. It was the hardest decision but we knew it was the best for our baby as he was suffering already. They placed our baby in my arms and they removed all the wires and finally his breathing tube, he passed in my arms a few moments later. I screamed as I felt my son’s life leave his body I felt the exact moment he was gone he passed on January 17, 2022 at 12:35am. My sweet baby boy Gabriel Itzae Rodriguez lived for only 3 days but he was a feisty fighter, he fought so hard to live and seeing him fight and be so strong those 3 days breaks my heart. I love and miss my sweet boy so much everyday there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him. I would have given my life for him so that he would have had a chance at life to grow up strong and happy.
This pain I feel everyday I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone not even my worst enemy. The pain of loosing a child is the worst pain anyone can ever experience. We have 4 other kids 3 girls and 1 boy and telling them their baby brother passed away was the hardest thing, both my husband and I had ever had to do. Seeing how heartbroken they all were to hear the bad news and our son, he took it so hard and he was so excited that he was finally going to have a brother. All we can do is learn to live with the pain and take it one day at a time. The only thing that brings me comfort is that my baby boy is in a better place where he’s no longer in pain, a beautiful peaceful happy place in God’s hands. RIP My sweet baby boy Gabriel Itzae Rodriguez 01/14/2022-01/17/2022