On July 24, 2008, our dear friends, Todd and Karen Broyles, said hello and goodbye to their baby girl, Kloe Elizabeth.
When we moved to St. Louis a year ago, we met Todd and Karen. Todd was a resident with Andrew...one of three. They hit it off right away, and became best friends. A few months after moving there, we found out Karen was pregnant with their first baby! They had tried for 6 years, and had had 2 failed attempts at in-vitro, including one miscarriage. Their 3rd in-vitro worked, and we were SO excited for them! They were the most elated parents I have ever seen. She never complained about being pregnant, and was so careful to make sure they had the best doctors, and she took such good care of her body. We grew to be close friends as our bellies grew. They are so cute with our boys, and our boys LOVE Todd and Karen.
As it neared time for Beckett to be born, I asked Karen if she would would like to be in the delivery room with us. I wasn't sure my mom would be there in time, and I wanted some good pictures. She was such a great support, and we LOVED having her calming presence and infectious smile in our room for the birth of our baby.
The time drew near for Kloe to be born. Todd and Karen continued preparing, attending childbirth classes, washing clothes, practicing putting a stuffed animal in their carseat, ordered prints for her wall, cross-stitched and framed an amazing cross-stitch for her, and were SO prepared for the birth of their little girl.
We had a baby shower for Karen, who was the most humble recipient of gifts. She came to the movies with the boys and me, and liked my nursing blanket, so I made her one. We talked and talked about babies as we sat through our husband's softball games in the heat and humidity. The Sunday before her induction, she let me do a maternity photo-shoot of her picture-perfect belly. Her and Todd were great, and we got some really great photos. I am so glad we got all of those pictures!
Our husbands neared the end of their one-year AEGD residency, and Karen neared her due-date. Everything was favorable for induction, so they decided to induce her a few days early, so Kloe would be a little older when it came time for them to move a few weeks later. She went through 2 rounds of cervidil, and they eased her into labor slowly. Karen and I talked a few times during her labor. Things were going slow, but great. She got an epidural, and Kloe was doing great. About 4am Karen's water broke. She woke up Todd, and they called the nurse in. There was a lot of blood in the water. They rushed Karen to an emergency C-section, and left Todd in the delivery room. Karen was put to sleep, and they did the c-section. However, Kloe didn't make it. She never took a breath.
Kloe was physically perfect. She was 7 lbs. 3 oz. She had light brown curly hair, just like Karen. She was adorable. Karen and Todd were able to hold her and have her in their room until about noon that day, and were able to say goodbye to her the next morning.
I cannot even imagine being in that situation. It was one of the hardest things Andrew and I have gone through, and we aren't even her parents. We visited them a few times in the hospital, and were informed that the reason the water was full of blood, was because of Vasa Previa. It is where the umbilical cord attaches to the sack, instead of the placenta, so the 3 umbilical vessels that feed blood to and from the mom/baby, run along the lining of the sack. When the water broke, it severed one of these vessels, and little Kloe lost all of her blood before they could get her out. Karen lost a lot of blood too, and we were so lucky she was in the hospital when her water broke, or we may have lost her too from blood loss. The only way Kloe could have been saved was from an elective c-section, which no first-time mom would do. Especially when everything was favorable for a vaginal delivery. Vasa Previa can be detected by ultrasound but is not checked for on routine ultrasounds. If you are pregnant, or know anyone who is, please ask them to check this for you!
The days and weeks following the loss of Kloe were emotionally draining, to say the least. Andrew went to the funeral home with Todd. We would trade off our kids and spend time at their home. Karen and Todd handled it better than you could ever imagine. They have great faith, and although it is a tragic situation, they find comfort through Jesus Christ. They had many friends and family circle around them. Karen had to recover from a c-section, and has been such an example of patience and humility. She even attended the residency graduation. Andrew had to answer to everyone at work. Since they were best friends, everyone came to him to get the story. He would come home for lunch and we would hug and cry. We would cry every time we talked about it. We would hold our little newborn, Beckett, and cry and ask God why we are so lucky to have 3 healthy boys. We prayed and prayed for Heavenly Father to comfort them. We continue to hug our boys a little harder, so grateful for their fragile lives. We think of Kloe all the time, and we know she is helping accomplish a great work in Heaven. We know they will be together again as a family. All of this brings us, and the Broyles, comfort, but does not take away the pain.
I was planning on helping Karen with birth announcements when Kloe was born, and I suggested they still do them. What we came up with is at the top of this page. They handed them out at the memorial service, and mailed them to family and friends. We also made thank-you cards with Kloe's actual size foot-prints on them. The quote on them, which I love, is
"There is no foot too small, which cannot make an imprint in this world."
Just by chance, we ended up on the same flight to Boise as Karen and Todd. We were flying there just a few days after moving to Kansas City, and they were moving there (to Mountain Home AFB) and grew up in Boise. Our flights met up in Denver. Their flight was late arriving from St. Louis, and they almost missed the connection. I begged and begged them to hold the plane, and they made it just in time. We arrived late Friday night. Saturday was a family reunion for Andrew's extended family. Then we were able to go to the Memorial service for Kloe that evening. We were so lucky to be in the area that day, and so blessed to be a part of the services, as we left the following day to visit more family.
At the memorial they had a table out with various items, including a quilt and burpcloths her sister had made, a bat Todd had engraved at the Louisville bat company, and pink roses. The service was very nice. Todd did an amazing job speaking about the pregnancy, and the entire experience. What examples they have been of great faith.
We miss the Broyles so much! We are so grateful for the time we were able to spend with them. We will always remember Kloe. She taught so many of us to be better parents, to be grateful for our children, to give others the benefit of the doubt, and to live better so that we can be worthy to see her again someday.
