Our Stories
Let me start off by saying that I sit here watching my three month old |
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Let me start off by saying that I sit here watching my three month old son quietly sleep. He is healthy, happy and the joy of our lives. My husband and I want to have many more children...right away! However, the reality is that each time I get pregnant I put my life and the life of my unborn child in danger. Baby David was our fifth pregnancy. Before him we had 3 miscarriages and a neonatal death. I guess I should take you back to the birth/death story of our daughter Lynnlee. Two years ago we found out I was pregnant with Lynnlee. At about 10 weeks I was bloated and we had to go to the emergancy room to have my wedding ring removed. I wasn't gaining weight, but my hands and face had begun to swell. No one really said anything about it, so we were not worried. By week 18 we were sent to a peri. for further test because our baby was experiencing severe IUGR. No one said anything. By week 20 I was on bedrest for elevated blood pressure and protein in my urine. Again no one said anything. After 6 weeks of bedrest at home and 2 weeks in the hospital I gave birth to Lynnlee. She was beautiful but weighted only 1 lb., 2 oz. She passed away after three days in NICU. One of which I spent lying in my hospital room on a mag. drip to ward off siezures. Still no one really said anything. Now after researching, reading, and viewing my medical records I can finally be the one to say something. I had Pre-E that turned into HELLP. My body wasn't "retaining water" like a normal preg. body does. When they had to cut off my rings I was already showing signs of Pre-E. My nose feeling like it was growing so large that it was going to jump off of my face was a sign of Pre-E. Protein in my urine was a nice way of saying that my kidneys were shutting down. Headache, blurry vision, and my baby not growing (IUGR) were not normal and are all signs of Pre-E. Did my doctors know what was going on? Yes. Did they explain to me what was happening? No. When I had the sharp pain under my right breast did I know what was happening? No. But they did, my liver had shut down. Did I understand that my life was at stake? No. but I do now. I got preg. again. But this time I was taking low dose aspirin before I even got preg. We also tracked my blood pressure at home daily. When it was time for bedrest I stayed on my left side. We had new doctors, went for biophyical test monthly for the first 4 months and then bi-weekly for 2 months, and then every other day for 4 weeks. When I had gained 8 lbs. in one week, my bp was elevated and I was begining to have blurry vision I was sent to the hospital to deliver. I gave birth to a healthy 5 lb,6 oz baby boy. David is here today because we knew the signs, watched carefully, found doctors that would watch me carefully, and did everything we could to keep me healthy. |
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