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In 2004, just a few short years ago, I learned that I was pregnant. |
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In 2004, just a few short years ago, I learned that I was pregnant. Being 23, no job, and no help from the father, I was quite afraid. So at my first prenatal visit my doctor told me that I was measuring larger than I should have been at that particular gestational period. So she ordered an ultrasound and at that ultrasound I found out that I was having identical twins! That definitely seemed to have put more pressure on me. But I got better with it and continued on going to school to obtain my bachelors degree. At about 12 weeks, I began spotting. I thought that I was alright but with the advice of my mother and family I went to the emergency room. The ER doctors told me that the babies were doing fine and they sent me home with the diagnosis of a threatened miscarriage. Not more than a week later, I began to have heavy bleeding. I was so afraid by that point, I just knew that I had lost my babies. But fortunately, when I went to the emergency room (again), both heartbeats were still there and I was diagnosed with a low lying placenta. So I was sent home again and I was told to take it easy. It wasn't until about my 20th week of pregnancy that my feet and legs began to swell. Even my blood pressure began to rise (120/90) but for the doctors, wasn't much of a concern. After about a couple of weeks, I was beginning to be in a lot of pain because of the swelling in my feet and legs and I had nausea and vomiting everyday. It had gotten to the point where it was very painful to walk. At the 22nd week of my pregnancy I began to have protein in my urine of a 1+. The doctors then told me that I may be trying to develop preeclampsia. I really had no idea what that was but I put all my faith into the the doctors and thought that they wouldn't let anything bad happen to me or my babies. So I was told that I should come back in a week just to follow up on me. At the next doctor's appointment I was showing a protein count of 2+. So then the doctors ordered a 24 hour urine sample. So when I turned in the urine sample, I thought that I would hear back from the doctor if something was wrong. I never heard back from the doctor at all so I figured that I was fine. It wasn't until I had an routine ultrasound when I was 25 weeks that I learned that I had severe preeclampsia. The ultrasound showed that one of my twins did not have much amniotic fluid and was weighing less than the other twin. So that day I was admitted into the hospital and immediately put on magnesium sulphate. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was going to experience when I got into the hospital. My blood pressure continued to rise. It finally got to the point where my blood pressure was 200/115. By that time I was so mentally confused I really didn't know what was going on. For 2 days I was in the hospital receiving steroid treatments to mature the babies lungs and I was constantly being poked to try and get blood. After the first day the anesthesiologist came into the room and told me that they were going to insert a separate IV in my neck which would tap into a blood supply very close to my heart. By that time I didn't care that they had to put a separate IV in my neck I was just ready for the nurses to stop constantly poking me without success. After the little procedure I was given something to calm me down. So the next day was the day that I was scheduled to have my c-section. I finally gave birth to my twins. Baby A was 1 lb 1oz and baby B was 1 lb 6 oz. Being that small I was so afraid for their survival. My daughters stayed in the hospital for a little more than 3 months. They still have some complications from being so premature but I thank God everyday because their complications still could be a lot worse. My blood pressure remained high for about 3-4 weeks before it stabilized. I am now pregnant with my third child and I have since switched doctors and I am very satisfied the way that I have pretty much been on constant watch because they don't want me to get the point where I was with my last pregnancy. That was such a traumatic experience for me because for the past two birthdays that my daughters have had, I have had horrible nightmares of what had happened to me. But I have taken care of myself and made sure that my doctors are monitoring my very closely so this doesn't happen again. |
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