Aspirin – What Could Have Been

Today marks the anniversary of Bayer’s 1899 registry of aspirin as a trademark. There is a lot of buzz about the benefits of aspirin these days including the possibility of lowering the risks of heart attack and stroke. But, I’ll bet not many of us know that baby aspirin has the potential of saving the life of the unborn. I know, because I found out the hard way.

Many years ago, my husband and I found ourselves with an unexpected pregnancy. We already had five healthy children and were not used to complications. But this pregnancy was different. About four months along, we decided to bring our five children with us to witness the sonogram of their newest sibling. As everyone sat with anticipation to hear the heartbeat, there was nothing to be found. Though the nurse practitioner tried to reassure us by suggesting that perhaps the baby was “hiding,” I knew in my heart this was not to be. We were instructed to go out to eat as a family and come back a couple hours later for another check.

Sadly, the second time around confirmed that baby number six was no longer. Later bloodwork revealed that I had acquired a condition that would prevent the baby from receiving oxygen in the placenta. Either daily heparin shots or a daily dose of baby aspirin would have likely saved our baby. If I had known, a twelve-year-old Benjamin Joel King would be gracing our household to this day.

Sometimes we must let go of what could have been and embrace what is.

The following is a song I wrote to pay tribute to the little boy we never got to know. It is called, “Gone.”