I ended the last post with my last few days before I entered the hospital. Here's the rest of the story:
On Saturday, February 2, 2012, I woke up, made breakfast, and then developed a splitting headache. I had had migraines in the past, but this one was pretty bad. I made Nick turn off all the lights, the TV and everything, and went to sleep hoping that would help. When I woke up, it was worse and I was seeing all kinds of weird shapes in my vision (auras). I was sensitive to light and sound, and I felt really nauseous. I stayed in bed all day, and when my in-laws invited us to dinner, I stayed home and told Nick to go without me. My swelling got worse, as did my headache.
I called my mom after he left and she suggested calling the physician line for our OBGYN group since I could not get anything to take away my headache. Maybe they could recommend something. I got a call back from Dr. S and she suggested that I come in to maternity triage at the hospital to get checked out and that maybe they could give me something for my headache. I called Nick and told him to finish dinner and get home. Little did I know that this would be my last time at home for over 2 weeks.
When we arrived at the hospital, my blood pressure was around 164/99. The nurse let me rest for a while and took the blood pressure every 15 minutes. They tested my blood and urine and waited for the results. We waited in a very hot room and I almost passed out. My blood pressure did not go down, and when they got my urine test back the protein was 0.8 (the norm is 0.3 or below). The resident doctor came in and told me that I might have preeclampsia and was being admitted for observation for 24 hours. I had heard of it, but had never bothered to read up about it since it only happens to 5% of pregnant women.
We both called our parents, who started heading to the hospital, and I got a room in the Special Care OB unit. When I got to the room, my blood pressure was 180/110, and the nurse called the resident. They gave me blood pressure medicine through my IV, which had taken 5 painful tries and 2 people to put in because of my severe swelling. I had to collect a 24 hour urine sample and measure my input and output. Our parents left at 3AM and we tried to sleep but so many people came in and out, checking my blood pressure, taking blood for testing, asking what I wanted to eat on the menu, etc.
The next day, my blood pressure was still up, but not as high. I was given an oral medicine to take for that and was put on strict bed rest. The rest of that day was a blur because I did not feel well and several people came to visit me. Nick was able to be with me and stay at night because I did not have a roommate. I was told I would be there until the next day at least.
That Monday, the results of my 24 hour urine test came back still elevated. My head still hurt, and my blood pressure was in the 140's and 150's even with medicine, but the doctor released me that afternoon, saying that I would have to be on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy. My parents took me home to stay at their house because Nick was working 2 jobs and couldn't take care of me. I slept fitfully and woke up the next morning feeling really bad, but not being able to pinpoint why. I took my blood pressure with my parents' cuff and got a reading of 215/120. I called the doctor's office and they made an appointment for me that morning. We knew I would be going back into the hospital so my mom and I tried to pack some things in a suitcase.
At the hospital (where the OBGYN practice is), I tried to walk up the entrance and started to black out. My mom got me a wheelchair and we got up to the doctor's office. My blood pressure was 165/100, and I was extremely lightheaded. Dr. S was there again and she admitted me again to the hospital. Back to the same room again. My mom was staying with me day and night, and Nick and the rest of our family was visiting when they could.
By the time I saw a doctor next, I was told that I definitely had preeclampsia and that I would be staying at the hospital for the rest of my pregnancy, which they were hoping would be about 36 weeks. I would be on strict bed-rest and would be monitored constantly. I was 23 weeks along, so I was preparing for a long haul. Over 3 months in the hospital was a daunting prospect, but I could not have imagined what was ahead of me.
The rest of the week was a blur, with more tests and up and down days. They gave me a series of steroid shots to help improve Peter's lung growth in case he had to come out early. They also sent in a NICU doctor to give me a terrifying talk about the fact that there was a 20% survival rate at 23 weeks and that if Peter was born before 24 weeks they normally do not resuscitate. We prayed that I could make it to 24 weeks and celebrated when I finally did. Peter was passing all of his tests with flying colors.
On the weekend, my mom took a break and Nick stayed with me the whole time. On Sunday, my headache was worse, but I was OK until that night. My mom was there with me and we had just decorated my new, big single room. My mom had gotten a blowup mattress to stay with me at night. It was going to be a long night.
As we readied for bed, I started coughing and saw blurriness and black dots in my vision. I did not feel well and had the nurse check my blood pressure. It was in the 150's. I laid down again, but I still could not sleep. The yucky feeling that I had begun to associate with high blood pressure got worse. I finally woke my mom up and called the nurse in again to check me. My blood pressure was 168/107. The nurse called the doctor, who had me take another dose of medicine and we waited about 30 minutes to check it again. It was higher at 174/111. Another dose of medicine and another reading that was up to 180 now. What was happening? The medicine was supposed to make it go down, not up. I took another dose and it was still in the 170's. My head was killing me and I felt terrible. They sent for the anesthesiologist to try and run another IV into my swollen and bruised hands. The doctor ordered another blood pressure medicine through IV because I had maxed out on the other one. Finally my blood pressure had gone down to the 140's and I could sleep. That was almost the worst night of my life.
When I woke up on Monday (Feb. 11) at 8 AM for breakfast, my head was so bad that it hurt to hold it up. The doctor was concerned and ordered a consult with a neurologist. They also ordered morphine for my headache. It did not help much and I hallucinated when I had it. All I wanted was to sleep but people kept coming in to see me about this or that. My vision was blurry and I was sensitive to light. I was severely swollen and my acne was worse than I had ever seen it. I did not want to look in the mirror because I did not even recognize myself.
Later that night, my mother in law came to visit after work. My head still hurt really bad but I had at least had a chance to nap. I began to feel lightheaded and really out of it. I do not remember what they talked about at all. I started to get dark shadowy shapes in my vision and wavy lines in my line of sight. I felt so bad that I could not even speak to say how bad I felt. I had bad pain where my liver was, which had been going on for a while. My vision started to go somewhat dim.
The nurse came in to take my blood pressure and it was in the 160's again. My 2nd 24 hour urine test revealed that my protein level was up to 1.3, whatever that means. The doctor wanted to give me the IV blood pressure medicine again, but they had to monitor Peter's heart rate too. Suddenly, his heart rate began to dip. The nurse said he might have sat on his umbilical cord. It went back up but it went down again. She called the resident in to take a look. His heart rate was going up and down and my blood pressure was still high. They decided to send me to labor & delivery so I could have a nurse with me at all times.
When we got to the room, the resident checked my belly with an ultrasound machine and could not find a heartbeat at all. Before I knew it, the resident, nurses and I were running down the hall like in a movie. I barely got to see my mom and I was crying uncontrollably because there was no heartbeat. I tried to pray, but all I could say was "Hail Mary" over and over.
When we got to the operating room, about 10-15 people gathered around me. They practically ripped my clothes off, started an IV in another spot, and had me lie down on the operating table. People started asking me questions all at once. I could hardly remember my name, let alone what time my last meal was. I was so scared. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and there was his heartbeat. I nearly passed out and I remember someone slapping my cheek a little. They tied me to the operating table and put my hands out like I was on a cross. My head was hurting so bad and I was barely conscious. What was going on? Things were moving so fast that I could not keep up.
Dr. S was on call and she came in. She told me that we were going to monitor Peter's heart rate for 30 minutes and if it dipped again they would put me under and get him out immediately. Somehow my mom begged and pleaded enough and they let her in. She had to suit up first like the nurses and doctors. When she came in I was completely naked on the table and shaking uncontrollably. She got them to cover me with a warm blanket and she held my hand and told me that Nick and the rest of the grandparents were on their way. 30 minutes went by with no more problems. Dr. S told me that I was so sick that Peter was being affected and that he needed to come out tonight. They would wait until Nick was there and I was stabilized and then do the c-section. They needed to check my platelet count before they decided whether or not I could have an epidural.
Finally everyone arrived after I had gotten back to my room. We were excited that we would see our son that night, but really scared to have him come out so early. I was so sick still that I don't remember much of that time. Nick suited up to come to the delivery with me. The doctor came in to give me an epidural and the nurse did a few other things to ready me for surgery. Then it was time to go.
I was told that the deacon from our church had arrived to baptize Peter right after he was born. When I was in the operating room, Nick held my hand. I was able to be awake for the surgery. There were at least 15 people in there between the surgical staff and the NICU staff. At 10:22 PM, we heard Dr. S say "baby", and then a nurse ran across the room with Peter in her arms. There was no crying, no sound at all. After they had stabilized him, they invited Nick over to see him. He took a picture on his phone so I could see our son. He was so tiny. Then Nick and the NICU staff headed over there. I'm told he was baptized in his tiny incubator as soon as he was stable. It took about 25-30 minutes for them to finish closing me up, but it felt like forever. They put me on a drip of magnesium sulfate to help lower my blood pressure and prevent me from having seizures. The mag caused my nervous system to slow down so I fell asleep every few minutes.
I went back to the labor and delivery room and I remember that my throat and mouth were so dry but they wouldn't let me have a drink. Finally I was able to get some ice chips and I had many cups of those. The rest was a blur. My family told me I fell asleep in mid sentence and I don't remember much of anything. I was completely paralyzed from the ribcage down, due to the epidural. A room was made ready for me where the rest of the new mothers stay. On the way there, they took me, bed and all, into the NICU to meet Peter. I was so out of it that I hardly remember anything. He was so tiny and helpless. He weighed 1lb 4oz and measured 11 1/2 inches, barely larger than my hand. He was on a ventilator and a feeding tube. I'm told he took some donor breast milk that night.
When we got settled in the room, Nick was so tired that he fell asleep right away. I was on and off asleep because of the mag. My parents went down to clear out my other room and take everything to the car. They finally came back to say good night really late. A nurse was monitoring me closely. She gave me some juice to drink and graham crackers to eat. I fell asleep with food in my mouth, and with a drink in my hand. I was very out of it.
When we woke up, we were told that Peter was doing really well. Nick went down to visit him while I rested. My swelling had gotten so bad. My feet looked like balloons and the skin was stretched so much that it hurt. I could not even sit up without help. A lactation consultant came in to teach me about pumping milk for Peter, but I was so groggy from the mag that we had to ask her to come back later. My blood pressure had gone down and I was starting to lose fluid, but I was still a mess. I only got to see Peter once that day, but I got to encircle him with my hand. He started to move like crazy when I talked to him. His body was so perfect, despite the fact that he was so tiny. We were so proud of him for being such a fighter. We rested well that night knowing our son was safe.
I cannot write about that night right now. Maybe I will later, maybe not.
