Benet Ward was six on Thanksgiving Day, 2006.  He is a bright, lovely, happy boy; he was a Vasa Previa baby.

He was born November 23, 2000 on Thanksgiving (!!!) Day in New York City.   I had just turned 40;  I was five days shy of my due date.  My two children prior to Ward arrived via healthy, vaginal deliveries.  I was not considered high risk by my top-notch OB in New York. 

We happened to be having an early afternoon Thanksgiving dinner in the city; we live 40 minutes away in Westchester County.  My water BURST (not broke), full of blood at the dinner table.  We rushed to New York hospital where our OB on-call was already busy with seven other labors.   I needed a wheelchair to get to the labor & delivery floor.  We quickly went from one nurse, to a room full of specialists, and an emergency-C section. 

Ward's APGAR was ZERO.  Miraculously, he was intubated for only eight hours.  The next day, a parade of several of the city's best neo-natologists, OBs, and pediatricians came into my hospital room to tell us what a miracle his apparent health was.  At that time, no doctor could explain what had caused the bleeding.  After 11 days in the NICU, we went home. The day he was released from the hospital, my OB called to say a conference of doctors had convened.  It was a very unusual case she said.  They determined that I had had VASA PREVIA. Ward saw a neurologist for 18 months, who released him from her care at that time since he was so healthy.  Essentially, I believe he was C O 2 saturated, the step just before oxygen-deprivation. 

After reading your website, perhaps my two failed pregnancies resulting in D&Cs or the fact that Ward was conceived with the help of a fertility drug contributed to my condition. 

Regardless, his initials are "BWB" or as my brother called him, "Baby Wonder Bradt".  We are so grateful and thankful for his life due to the fast-acting, tremendous doctors, staff, and facilities of New York Presbyterian Hospital.  


Mrs. Marty Bradt