You see, the dr.'s took my nephew via c-section because my sister thought the pain she was having was contractions when in reality it was a huge blood clot the size of a grapefruit shifting all of her organs to one side. When they cut her open they realized that her vitals were very low and had to stop and that decision kept her from being sewn up, so they shoved and packed towels inside her stomache and then placed a film of plastic wrap over that. She was bigger than when she was pregnant. Kim had taken a fall about a month earlier on a cleaning job and at the time was taken to the hospital with blood vessels popping in her legs (thigh area) it almost looked like she had been raped. The hospital sent her home on bed rest. (Cape Coral Hospital, Fl.)

When i reached the hospital to be with my sister we were all told that Kim probably wouldn't make it through the surgery to sew her back up because they said her tissues were like cooked spaghetti where ours are like uncooked spaghetti; they were waiting for her vitals to stabilize. They didn't exactly know what was going on at the time, all the dr.'s knew was she was losing a lot of blood. She had drained two local blood banks of blood and platlets. You could see the blood dripping from every needle in her neck and arms. We were so scared, we haven't lost anyone in our family in years aside from just being old. But what was happening? My sister has been through so much as it was. It was like a dream; a nightmare. We asked my sister who she wanted to take care of the kids in a round about way making it look like she would be in the hospital for a while.....she couldn't speak because of the tubes. The nurse went and got a board for her to point at letters, but it was too blurry to read. So as i stand there watching my sister struggle for breaths and bleeding from every needle point on her body, she starts to sign to me. As kids we taught ourselves to sign letters. I saw her bring her hand up and sign these letters to me: A....M......I......G.....O......I....N......G......T......O......D.....I.......E ?

I just started to ball my eyes out and left the room for my brother to answer her......how could i tell my sister the truth when she is already fighting for her life? He went in and told her that she was going to have a serious surgery and that we just wanted to make sure the kids were where she wanted them to be. My sister answered the question with my mom and the father of her daughter. The doctors let us all walk her back; all 20 of us right to the operating room doors. I was so upset and sick to my stomache, i had to eat. My oldest sister and i went to get a bite downstairs with the priest. About 20 minutes later as we sit down to eat, my sister passed thru me. I felt this woosh inside me. I grab my sisters leg under the table and said we need to go back upstairs now. I really didn't want to say what just happened in front of the priest as he may look at me funny. I don't know why i felt that way, he probably deals with that all the time. It wasn't 20 minutes later when the doctor came out to tell us that Kim passed away. I CAN'T POSSIBLY TELL YOU HOW THAT MADE ME FEEL, HOW I'M FEELING NOW AS I TYPE THIS......EMPTY.

So many people wanted me to sit, but i couldn't. What just happened? MY SISTER DIED HAVING A BABY???? All i can say is that day was probably the last day that our family was ever whole. It seems what should have driven us all together kinda drove us all apart. Our holidays would never be the same again. That night i started to bleed lightly. I only told my husband and best friend. Later that night they would rush me to the hospital with heavy bleeding and vomiting. For three days my husband stayed by my side because we were both worried what happened to my sister was happening to me too. I wouldn't let him call my mother because she needed to grieve for my sister until the 3rd day when they wanted to give me blood, i lost so much already. Then i told my husband to call my mom who was a private nurse. The doctor stopped my contractions for approx. a day, then at 1:20 a.m. i remember looking at the clock thinking oh god, they are starting again. I looked at my husband laying asleep on the sleeper sofa when i felt a hand rub the top of my head with the softest stroke. I looked in back of my bed and no one there. It was then and there i didn't worry about losing the baby, i knew my sister would be taking care of it. I woke my husband and told him what was going on and about 2 hours later i lost the baby. We had no clue it was a boy until then. We swapped sons!!!! I was so worried at the time that i wouldn't make it to my own sisters funeral.

To make a long story shorter my husband and I raised my nephew as our own son along with my own 5 year old daughter and later another boy and girl. My sister Terri was raising my sisters daughter Chyna along with her 3 sons. We were right down the road from each other. My sister needed to make sure that Chyna's father was mature and reliable enough to take his daughter into his care. In 1998 he got married, had a baby and seemed to grow up some. So with the loss of her mother, she was reunited once again to live with her father. He left the state and we never heard from him again. Chyna and London were seperated. Over the years we had heard stories that he gave her up for adoption because the wife didn't care for Chyna and it was true. Thanks to MYSPACE.COM after 11 years I found my long lost neice in October of 2008. We have all been reunited and grateful to have her back in our lives again. She has lost out on so much. In 2008, Chyna is 17 and London is 12.

My son (nephew) London has shown many of the signs my sister had. Easy bruising, bleeding, tearing of skin, light rash on cheeks and thighs, burns easily, even down to the mysterious rash that looks like ringworm my sister had on her arms but his are on his neck. We have had him tested repeatedly over the years for lupus as most doctors advised he probably wouldn't test positive until his adolescense. We are now in the process of seeing a specialist at shands hospital in gainsville. I think we are finally getting somewhere. I don't want my son being lost in the crowd and shoved aside like my sister.  When I found the exact matced picture on the internet for EPS or the rings on Londons neck and it stated it was associated with Ehlers-Danlos type IV and read up on it; I knew I was on the right track.  Finally a diagnosis!