Eclampsia Saved My Life!

Posted On Wednesday, December 22, 2010  by Kimberly

My name is Kim and I am the proud mommy of 2 handsome boys. Gabriel is 4 and Isaac is 3. I had a very difficult pregnancy with Gabriel from the very beginning. I became terribly sick in my first trimester. I lost my ability to walk thanks to my body producing too much of the relaxin hormone in my second trimester. Finally in my 3rd I developed severe preeclampsia. My doctor dismissed the idea and allowed me to continue to full-term. I was swollen beyond belief and began getting very sick. My blood pressure was average and I didn't have any protein in my urine. My doctor didn't realize I naturally have very low blood pressure and what was considered average was high to me. I went through 55 hours of induced labor. Epidurals didn't work because there was too much fluid in my body and the medication could not be absorbed. When it cam time to push I went into 2 massive seizures and lost consciousness for 2 days. As a result I developed severe postpartum depression.

I became pregnant less than a year later with my youngest son Isaac. Again this was a very difficult pregnancy with many of the same problems from before. This time I had a perinatologist assisting my regular OB. I was put on blood thinners and a strict diet to help reduce the chances of eclampsia happening again. Sadly that didn't help. In my second trimester I began to swell and my blood pressure began to rise. It was decided at 34 weeks that I needed to have steroids injected to help Isaac develop. 2 days later there he was! I had to deliver in the operating room just in case they had to rescue him but thank goodness no seizures! Because Isaac was so early his mouth didn't form properly and he could not feed right and had to stay in the hospital for a few more days. Throughout his first year he was diagnosed with Failure to Thrive and underwent several medical procedures to help him grow. He turned 3 yesterday and has improved so much I can't believe it! He is my Christmas miracle. He has problems with speech but is overall a healthy kid.

When Isaac turned 1 I divorced my abusive husband of 3 years and decided to embrace the life that I had been given a second chance at. After facing death I decided to face my fears and believe that I had survived for a reason. I began taking on the challenge of rebuilding myself. I have lost 85 lbs and am now training for my first marathon and am working to become a fitness model and personal trainer with the intention of raising awareness of preeclampsia and assisting moms and moms to be with fitness and nutrition. So keep your eyes open for me I hope to eventually appear in fitness magazines proclaiming to the world the dangers of preeclampsia and how it ultimately saved my life!