Cam’s Story My name is Kelly Trudelle and I am Mom to two boys, Zachary, who is 8, and Cameron who was born on April 18, 2010. After our fourth round on the roller coaster of In Vitro Fertilization, my husband Pete and I were thrilled to be expecting our second son. Zack, who was 4 at the time, was so excited about becoming a big brother! My second pregnancy, much like my first, progressed well. Being I was over 35, it was standard for me to see a secondary doctor as I was considered “high-risk.” I had extra ultrasounds and genetic testing administered, all which came back normal. No alarms, no cause for concern. Fast forward to April 17, 2010. After a tiring, but exciting day of moving into our new home, I remember feeling like something was not quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I chalked it up to the commotion of day and moved on. Hours later, I knew that things were terribly wrong when I began bleeding uncontrollably. I was rushed to Lake Norman Regional Medical Center around 10:00 that evening. I was 32 weeks pregnant. One of the first sounds I was hearing in my new home was sirens racing to my house. I was wheeled into the emergency room and quickly told that I would be moved to labor and delivery. I remember thinking “This is too early…I’m only 32 weeks…I can’t be going into labor.” I was poked, prodded and the baby was hooked up to heart rate monitors. The doctors were vigilantly watching Cam’s heart rate. Shortly before midnight, his heart rate dropped and I was raced into the operating room for an emergency C-section. As I was being put to sleep, the last thing I heard was one of the nurses say “I can’t find his heart rate.” Cameron Jake Trudelle was born at 12:06 am on April 18, 2010. He was 17 inches long and weighed in at 4 pounds 1 ounce. At 12:45 am, before I woke from anesthesia, my baby boy passed away. He lived for 39 minutes. When I woke from surgery, it was a very somber scene. The room was dark. The nurses were crying. I immediately asked “How is he?” to which Pete told me, “He didn’t make it.” We found out quite soon that I had an undiagnosed condition known as Vasa Previa. Vasa Previa is a rare, condition that is truly heartbreaking. This condition takes place when the vessels of the umbilical cord grow on its exterior instead of its interior. As blood vessels run through the umbilical cord, then grow out of the cord and into the placenta, Vasa Previa occurs. Without the toughness of the fibrous cord, the blood vessels have very little support from the fetal membranes or bags of water. When labor occurs and a woman’s water breaks, the unsupported vessels in and around the umbilical cord tear, resulting in death of the baby from blood loss within 2-3 minutes. The overwhelming tragedy of a death such as Cam’s from Vasa Previa is that it is preventable in the majority of cases. Published data on deaths from undiagnosed Vasa Previa show a rate of 30-100% mortality rate. Data suggests that survival is practically 100% if the diagnosis of Vasa Previa is made prenatally, and the baby is delivered by elective cesarean section. Vasa Previa CAN be detected during pregnancy as early as the 16th week with a routine ultrasound, in combination with a Color Doppler Ultrasound. There are signs and symptoms to look for. Unfortunately, in some cases, such as Cam’s, there are absolutely no symptoms or signs. The time has come when doctors should actively look for Vasa Previa in their patients. I have been an active supporter of March of Dimes for 16 years. Over the last 3 years, for obvious reasons, this organization has come to be very close to my family’s hearts. We recently started our own family team, “Cam’s Contribution,” to do our part in helping to prevent tragedies such as ours. It is my hope that March of Dimes can help with research and awareness of Vasa Previa. Vasa Previa needs to be put in the spotlight so that no other babies suffer what Cam did. So no other families need to suffer through the senseless loss that we live with every day. I hope that you will consider supporting this wonderful organization that helps Mothers take charge of their prenatal health and supports families when the circumstances are not perfect. Cam’s March of Dimes Story is not like most others that you hear of in the traditional sense. In our case, we lost our son and Zack lost his brother, from a horrible, easily preventable condition. However, the silver lining is hearing stories of babies that have since been diagnosed with Vasa Previa and survived, because of Cam. That brings a smile to our faces. It is our mission to bring awareness to Vasa Previa and to hopefully, make it a condition of the past. Thank you, The Trudelle Family – Pete, Kelly and Zack, with Cam in always in our hearts