Alex’s Story

                                The only picture we have of Alex without tubes and tape on his face.

Austin had been gone for 6 months when I got pregnant again.  We wanted another baby so much and we were happy to be expecting again.  We were hoping that this baby would ease some of our pain and grief of losing Austin.  But it was not to be.

Alex Thomas Hoppman was born at 37 weeks on December 19, 1999.  This pregnancy had been uneventful and there was no indication that there would be problems.  He weighed 6lb 12oz and appeared to be healthy.  He wasn’t coughing real well and one lung sounded congested so we were told to suction often to help him get rid of the extra fluid.

He began grunting soon after birth.  The nurses checked his oxygen level and it was pretty good.  He was regulating his body temperature well and his respirations were fine.  He wasn’t nursing well at first, but after 5 hours he ate really well.  The nurse kept commenting on how vocal Alex was with all the grunting he was doing.  She never once mentioned that grunting can be a sign of illness.

The day nurse came in for her shift and checked his oxygen level again.  It was down in the mid-80s, not a good sign.  Alex was put on oxygen, a chest x-ray and heart echo was done, blood was drawn and he was given antibiotics.  But he just got worse and worse.  The doctor mentioned Group B Strep as a possible reason for this terrible infection that was threatening our baby’s life.  I had been pregnant 3 times now and I was never given any information on GBS or cautioned on the terrible effects it can have on newborns.  A neonatal team was brought in from a larger hospital.  After 4 hours of trying to stabilize Alex, they were all taken by ambulance to the hospital 60 miles away.  By this time, I also had a fever and was put on antibiotics for infection.

Clark and I reached the hospital and were met with bad news.  Alex was getting worse and nothing they were doing seemed to help.  It was just too late.  We couldn’t even believe that this could be happening again.  God couldn’t take another one of our children.  How would we go on?

Twenty-six hours after Alex was born, his heart stopped beating and he died peacefully in my arms.  I thought my heart was going to break…again.  After some time with our beautiful baby, we turned him over to the doctor and went home to tell Kyle that another little brother had died.

Following the wake/funeral, the funeral director let us hold our precious baby one last time.  It felt so good to hold him in my arms, and I never wanted to let him go.  On December 23, two days before Christmas, we were on our way to the cemetery...again.  Alex was buried in the same plot as his brother, right next to my grandfather and uncle.

                                          Uplifting support materials and resources for those who have been

                                                         touched by a crisis in pregnancy or the death of a baby.