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This was our first pregnancy and I was 34 weeks pregnant, working full time forPosted On Tuesday, September 17, 2002 by Sarah |
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This was our first pregnancy and I was 34 weeks pregnant, working full time for a high risk pregnancy home healthcare agency as the office manager. The morning of January 4, 2001, I was extremely emotional crying at nothing, I didn't understand why I was so anxious. I just thought that I was tired and didn't want to go to work. I still had 6 weeks left and I had just begun training the woman that would be replacing me after I left to be a full time mother. I drove my husband to work that morning and then went to my prenatal appointment before heading to work. When I got to the Dr's office, I handed the nurse my urine sample and stepped on the scale. I looked at the scale and gasped when I saw that I had gained 10lbs since I had been there 2 weeks before. The nurse saw the look on my face and asked if I wanted to take my shoes off and try again. I kept from crying and said, "No thank you, I am sure my shoes don't weigh that much." :) As I was led into the room, the nurse disappear to check my urine sample, she came back and took my blood pressure. She was very quiet and asked how I was feeling. I said "Just a little emotional." I asked how my blood pressure was and she said it was very high and wanted me to lay down. She explained that my urine showed 4+ protein, the highest that is measurable. She left to go talk to another nurse. I lay there knowing what I was facing. Since I worked for this home healthcare agency we heard stories about women with PIH all the time. We encourage a PIH program at home with bedrest, constant supervision,and blood pressure monitoring. When the other nurse came in, she asked how I was doing, I was trying so hard not to cry, I knew that I would be sent home to rest. I joking said, "Please don't send me home to be put on the PIH program!" She said that wasn't going to happen, in fact I would not be returing to work at all and they were going to send me to the hospital for evaluation. My doctor was on her way to the office and she would make the final decision. Throughout the next few minutes, I tried to relax, but I was scared to death, the nurse came in to take my blood pressure. I heard my doctor arrive in the hallway, as the nurses explained to her my situation, she began to cuss up a storm. She came in to see how I was doing and check my cervix. I had dialated to 1 cm and she explained that I would be delivering the baby that day! Oh no! I had to call work, my husband and go have my baby? So my nurse called my work and explained the situation. I called my husband's work to tell him to get a ride to the hospital, we were having a baby! In a daze, I drove myself to the hospital! (This I would not recommend doing!) The day is a blurr, I felt like I was in a dream, these things don't really happen do they? My husband met me there, I kept saying, "We haven't had our tour of the hospital yet or lamaze classes, how am I going to do this?" My mother arrived that morning as well. If it wasn't for the magnesium sulfate, I think I would have been a wreck, mentally. I was already a wreck physically. When a resident came in to explain our situation, we fully understood what we were facing and the trauma that our baby was in. We still didn't understand the effects of a premature infant and days apart in the NICU. That was all ahead of us. The day was spent watching my blood pressure soar and remain unsteady for a few more days. That evening at 11:37 I delivered a 4lb 5oz little girl. She spent the next 10 days in the NICU fighting hard to breathe and learning how to nurse. I was so scared to see her when I was finally allowed out of bed 3 days later. The nurses in the NICU were so good to my husband and I and to our daughter. I went home and received home healthcare visits to monitor my blood pressure. It finally stabilized after a week. I know that I didn't help much running back and forth to the hospital to be with our daughter. We got pregnant again last year and at 9 weeks we had a miscarriage. I had a lot of guilt wondering what I had done to cause this. But after 8 months of wondering I found an article in a magazine speaking on miscarriages. This article spoke about different conditions that are being researched now that are occuring in women that have suffered from pre-eclampsia and have suffered a miscarriage. There are findings as simple as baby aspirin to help in the treatment. It is something definately worth speaking to your OB/GYN about. I am now 6 weeks pregnant with our third child and I am ready to talk to my OB/GYN about some of the things my past pregnancies have produced. It is my prayer that other women do not have to face the fears other have with pre-ecclampsia, but if they do that they are informed of the treatments and they can have a heatlthy outcome. |
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