Sidelines National Support Network  / Volunteer Spotlight  / April_Volunteer

Volunteer of the Month
April 2008
Shaylene Smith

Volunteer Shaylene Smith and her family on Halloween 2004

Shaylene receiving the International Sertoman of the Year Award in 2005
Shaylene’s children, from left, Brennan, Kaidan, and Regan

Name: Shaylene M. Smith
Home: Crete, Nebraska
Husband's Name: Michael
Children’s Names and Ages: Brennan, 11; Regan, 9; and Kaidan, 4

"I found so many friends who wanted to help to be ill-equipped to understand when I was on bedrest. They would try but they never really knew what I needed and tended to avoid me instead. My volunteer was helpful and actually understood and I wanted to provide that for someone else."

Attorney Shaylene Smith often calls her referrals as she drives to and from the office and court. One of her favorite memories as a volunteer is helping to coach a referral through labor when her boyfriend couldn't get to the hospital right away.

But Shaylene can rattle off a number of wonderful Sidelines experiences she's had, both as a referral and volunteer. She looked forward to being a part of the Sidelines chat rooms, and especially enjoyed meeting her favorite chat moderator so that she could "meet my miracle and I could thank her in person."

Shaylene’s first pregnancy, with daughter Brennan, involved early bleeding that was attributed to a lack of enough progesterone. Injections were started right away, and the rest of her pregnancy was uncomplicated. She delivered by Caesarean section after 26 hours of labor when Brennan’s heart rate started to decrease. Next, she had a molar pregnancy that required a D and C.

Shaylene says that she became pregnant again too soon after the procedure, and her cervix had not healed yet. She had to take steroid shots as well as medications for hyperemesis.

At 26 or 27 weeks, Shaylene went to the doctor complaining of pain in her legs and buttocks. Although repeated monitoring showed no contractions, she went for an ultrasounds several days later and was immediately moved to the hospital. At that time, she was 2 cm. dilated, and the baby was 2.2 lbs. She spent the next eight weeks in and out of the hospital and delivered vaginally two days after she was allowed off bedrest at 36 weeks. Regan had digestive issues and required a bili light and apnea monitor for awhile, Shaylene explained.

Following an early miscarriage in 2002, Shaylene became pregnant with Kaidan. She had a cerclage at 13 weeks, and screening showed that the baby could possibly have Down syndrome. An amniocentesis at 17 weeks confirmed that Kaidan was fine, but Shaylene spent all summer on bedrest.

"Between 13 and 35 weeks I pretty much lost my law practice and had to start over professionally after he was born," Shaylene said. "Changing law firms was the best thing that could have happened to me but at the time I was terrified."

At 35 weeks, during a visit to the doctor, Shaylene’s physician announced, "We are having a baby today!" As Shaylene explained, "My little man had put his foot through the stitch (of the cerclage), and she could feel it, so off to C-section we went." While Kaidan had digestive issues as well, there were no other complications.

Shaylene said that she will always be grateful for the amazing care of her doctor, Christine Stevens, noting the "I probably wouldn’t have any of my children without her quick thinking and intuition." She also fondly remembers the time her husband "kidnapped me in the back seat of the car" and took her "to Barnes and Noble for a latte when he knew that I was 'close to the edge.'"

Another favorite bedrest memory is the friendship she developed with a mom from Washington, D.C., who she met on another web site. They started chatting because they were due the same day and became "bedrest buddies" together, ironically delivering both of their boys on the same day, five weeks early!

Shaylene, who is hearing-impaired, is very active as a volunteer in Sertoma as well, and she was named International Sertoman of the Year in 2005. She also is an avid golfer.

"Know that no matter what sacrifices you make now, they will pale when you are able bring that little baby home," Shaylene tells her referrals. "Even 22 weeks that seemed so hard at the time just seems like a blurb in my life four to five years later."