God is so Great, So Strong there is nothing he can not do!

Posted On Wednesday, December 21, 2011  by Jesse

After trying for a year in total and having a miscarriage at 3 months along, my husband and I rejoiced to find we were again pregnant! At 15 weeks I had awfully painful cramping and rushed to my doctor, a ultrasound showed a low lying placenta, causing me pain. I soon quit my job as a cleaner and stayed at home mostly and trained horses on the side (without any more physical activity then walking, no lifting, riding etc.). This helped keep the cramping to a minimum and my 20 week ultrasound showed a lifted placenta and I had no more pain. Yeah God had healed this!

I had a perfect pregnancy until around the 8th month or so. My legs begun to swell, and my blood pressure slowly started to rise. When I started my pregnancy, my BP was 108/78 as I kept myself very fit. One week before my emergency c-section it was 134/78: my doctor said this slow climb was nothing to worry about, and my leg swelling was normal, although he never looked at my legs, which weren't getting any better even after sleeping all night with my feet elevated and using compression stockings.

On June 22, 2011 (39 weeks) I was up later then my husband with what I thought was heartburn, and the TUMS were not working. At 11:03pm, I got a stabbing pain in my upper right ribcage, broke out in a sweat and my heart was racing! I rushed to my husband, "Honey, I'm having a weird pain, I'll let you know if we have to go to the hospital." He went back to sleep while I paced and paced and paced, I had never felt such constant severe pain before, I felt like it would consume me if I stopped moving. Once I spoke to me dear friend who had been an ER nurse for 20 years, we rushed to the hospital. The small town where we live has equally trained staff, but does not see the rarer disorders. Once inside they quickly diagnosed me with gallbladder attack, and said that a blood test would tell for sure, but the lab wasn't open till 7am.

So after checking to see if I was having contractions or not, they gave me a shot of morphine, but the pain was still so bad an hour later they had to give me another shot until I could sleep and sent me home to come back for blood work in the morning. We got home around 4:30 am. I awoke an hour later (5:30 am) in a morphine haze desperately having to pee. Upon arising, I was so dizzy I had to crawl to the bathroom, and by the time I was at the toilet I was vomiting, and with each vomit my now broken water shot out behind me. I called for my husband, held his hands, smiled and said, "Were going to have our baby!". Being a Christian and believing that God is in control greatly helps me each and every day to stay calm and positive. Helping me stand and walk my husband took me again to the hospital, where they all greeted us with smiles saying, "Oh, it was labor." My dear friend Janelle was on her way also.

Hooked up again to the monitor, my blood pressure was still high, and in fact higher already; my legs were so swollen as they got me into bed, they had to lift them cause they were too heavy for me. I had no pain, was feeling no contraction, and our little baby although had a strong and rhythmic heartbeat, was not responding to my contractions. Meanwhile, my blood pressure kept climbing. I wasn't dilating anymore then 2 cms, and having no urge to push, and never felt a twinge of a cramp even. Finally by 8:30 am the resident doctor had called a nearby specialist, who said "It's Pre-eclampsia and HELLP she needs an emergency c-section now!" They immediately started IV Magnesium, preped me for c-section and after an hour drive to the high-risk hospital in the ambulance with my husband (with Janelle following), they had me knocked out in 20 mins of arrival, and they wheeled our little son Ethan out 15 mins later. My husband was taught and encouraged to change, hold, feed and burp him, while I wasn't even awake yet.

Later that evening I was able to hold my little bundle, all 19inches, 6lbs 15oz of little sweet boy. I look on the brink of death in the pictures, but I'm smiling as I hold him. That night they took blood out of two places on each arm, both my hands and my feet due to my very low platelet count I was bruising horribly at each poke. By morning there was no more waiting: not only had I gained another 5 lbs of fluid, I had the leg massagers on to hopefully avoid blood clots from the surgery, but I also needed 2 units of blood until my levels were good enough for me to try and pump breastmilk, sit up, or walk. All of these things I found challenging, but within 24 hrs of my new blood, I was able to get off IV Magnesium, and walk to the NICU (as Ethan's blood sugars were low) to take our little boy my first colostrum, what a painful and yet proud walk it was, 10 doors down the hall.

I was very sore by the time I returned over half an hour later, as I shuffled so slowly with my HUGE feet and legs with the fluid swishing inside them! I was hospitalized only 5 days, and I wish it had been more. Because moving to a bed with no lifter on it was excruciating for myself and my husband who waited hand and foot on me for an entire 13 days, day and night. I had NO appetite for weeks and my husband had to force me to eat a cracker at a time. He helped me go to the bathroom, change clothes, shower, get in and out of every chair, car, bed, for 2 weeks! What an amazing man! God blessed me abundantly with him! I was on traumaset (pain med) while in the hospital, and for 4 weeks at home. My incision bled through dressings, and clothes for 6 straight weeks, until my platelet count finally reached normal levels. I also got a severe kidney infection that again required IV antibiotics, at 4 weeks postpartum, and didn't get my staples out until 15days after. I still wore steri-strips on my incision for 8 weeks after. Thanks to amazing doctors, nurses, friends, family, church body, husband and God, Ethan is now 6 months tomorrow! I still have uterine cramping daily, irregular and long periods, as well as stabbing abdominal pain daily, which may have something to do with my elevated liver enzymes (an ultrasound is booked for Jan 2012) but we are all healthy, happy, and thankful for each new day! We hope and pray for more children, but have chose to wait till my body is stronger and pain free. Ethan is thriving at over 18.6 lbs and 27.5 inches long, and my husband Leighton enjoys playing with Ethan so much, it makes my heart sing watching them together.

God Bless all who read this.