My Story

My story is almost unbelievable but very true...

Here goes...

It really starts when I met my husband he was my boss at the time at Tito Puentes Restaurant on City Island ( I am sure you all know the place!) He was the manager and I was a waitress... ...long story short... now I am his Boss!! About 3 months into our dating we received some news that the Army decided to Stop Loss him. (if you ever saw the movie stop loss that's exactly what happened, but that is a whole other blog) He was sent to training for 6 months and Iraq for a year. On his 2 week leave he proposed and we were married a month after his return! July 22, 2006. One of the best days of my life!!

May of 2007 we found out we were expecting!! We were so excited to welcome a new family member. Life is so unexpected, you will never know when it can change on you. I guess sometimes you are on such a high it is only natural to come back down.

August 23, 2007 - I was just about 8 weeks pregnant and just told my family the great news. We were celebrating on my fathers boat. My father and my step-son were on the top of the boat hanging out enjoying time together when my father accidentally slips and falls over the boat into the water. I screamed and ran to the side of the boat, my mother came up an followed me. In a panic she jumped into the freezing water without a thought. She became flustered and started to drown so I jumped in got her to grab on to the side deck and then go down to get my dad. He is under the boat and brushed my leg with his arm. I was able to grab him and pull him to the surface for air. My husband along with a few others that were at the marina were able to pull my father to safety. At this point we were not sure what happened. All we new is that he did hit his head because there was a bump but no blood. He was unresponsive and talking gibberish. We tried to keep him up because it was apparent that he had a concussion but nothing would work. His last words were honey, asking for my mother. It was a scene straight out of a movie. The ambulance arrive 45 minutes later, he was rushed to the hospital and headed straight for surgery. He had 2 brain hemorrhages and suffered cardiac arrest on the table. I was rushed to a sonogram since I had jumped into the freezing water to check if my baby was OK. He was fine and thank god for that; However this is just the beginning of the downfall. After my fathers funeral I had fell into a deep depression that was hidden to most eyes. I fought everyday to be excited for the little one inside me but it was very hard being as my father was my best friend. My husband and I moved to the same building as my mom in order to help with my little sister and just to be a support system. Maybe it was more for my own support. The next big event came in November.

November 18, 2009 - I was home laying in bed wondering why I had not felt my son move in quite a while. I had a monitor to hear the heartbeat and had been trying to find his heartbeat for about an hour. The doctor always says sometimes the baby's back is to the monitor so you might not be able to hear the heart so not to panic. I call my mother to see if she could help. I went down to her house and finally heard something, it sounded like a slow heartbeat but it was a heartbeat. I tried to make myself believe that everything was fine and since I had a sonogram scheduled for the next day I figured that I was over reacting. Besides, I can't have 2 bad things happen to me in such a short period of time. Right? I went to my house and waited for the sonogram the next morning. It was one of those picture 3D sonograms. I was very excited since I was 27 weeks pregnant that is the best time to get the pictures done! My mother and sister and my in-laws came. Unfortunalty, my husband had to work and could not make it. As I entered the room for the sonogram there are monitors everywhere so that my family could see it as it was being done. I asked the lady to show me the heartbeat first so that I could rest easy knowing he was OK. She put the handle to my belly and there he was as still as can be. She gets up and excuses herself, right then I knew something was wrong. She comes back in a few minutes later and all she says is "I am sorry". I wanted to die. I told my mother to please kill me, I was so angry at life, at god and at myself. There was so much hurt that I wondered what could I have done to deserve such a horrible thing? How could this happen to us? I thought, things like this do not happen to people like me? this happens to everyone else? As bad as that sounds you really never think this would be your story until it is. I was rushed to the hospital and after 24 hours of labor later at 2:12pm on November 19. 2009 My son Nandito Ramirez was born. We were going to name him after my father no matter what ironically they are now together watching from above.

My story is sad and upsetting but life is not fair. Only after I accepted the fact that not only my father, but also my son was taken from me, I was able to get out of bed and start my life over. I figured the only way to go is up.

After my son passed I learned a life lesson: It can always get worse. Be thankful for what you have. I promise you this there is someone else having a worse day. After all the tragedy there is a ray of sunshine. Less then a year after my son I was pregnant again. I refused to let my life go on without me. Like my father always said "Life is to short".

March 16, 2009 - I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy Christian Fernando Ramirez- 7lbs 19inches. He is now 6 months with chubby cheeks and full of life. He looks just like his Big brother Nandito. He is smart, fun and laughs 24/7!! He is the apple of my eye! I have never been more happy. So there is my story. I hope it inspires you to live everyday to the fullest just as my father did.

Please comment let me know what you think and how you react. Tell your own story I would love to read it!!