Our Stories
In the beginning of November 2003 we received the wonderful news that we were |
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In the beginning of November 2003 we received the wonderful news that we were
expecting our first child. My due date was July 17, 2004. The pregnancy was
progressing well and we were on top of the world. I had my level II ultrasound
on February 19, 2004 and everything appeared fine. We were getting excited as
we neared the summer and the arrival of our baby.
On Sunday May 2nd I dropped Ed off at the airport
for his flight to Charlotte and what was to be his last business trip before the
baby arrived. Around 9pm I noticed some back pain. I was at 29 wks and back
pain was becoming a normal part of my life. However this was a pain in my
upper back and only on the right side. At 3am the pain was getting worse not
better so I decided to call the doctor. At 5am I received a call back and was
told to come to the hospital to be checked out. I drove to the hospital where I
was admitted by 6am. I had begun to contract. Ed flew home from Charlotte that
morning. They checked my urine and blood pressure both of which came back
normal. So initially I was told that this couldn't be related to Preeclampsia.
And although I was initially diagnosed with Pneumonia, DVTs, and
a whole lot of other things, the final diagnosis was HELLP syndrome. I was
told that the diagnosis was delayed because I did not present with the "typical"
warning signs.
Prior to my pregnancy I had been in excellent
health and during all my checkups my blood pressure had been on the low end of
normal for a non-pregnant person let alone a pregnant woman. I never at
any point, even during my sickest in the hospital, had any significant amount of
protein in my urine or dangerously high blood pressure.
Initially they thought I had pnemonia as
fluid was noted in my lungs and the pain was thought to be pleuracy (a swelling
of the membranes that line the lungs due to friction). My respiration was
decreasing and I was put on oxygen. My urinary output was also decreasing,
and I began to swell and eventually was so swollen I couldn't walk. My
respiratory status continued to decline. I was treated with high doses of
antibiotics but did not show any improvement. I was checked for blood clots in
my legs and several chest X-rays came back negative for embolisms in my lungs.
The "phantom" pain in my back as they called it continued to worsen despite pain
medications around the clock. 5 days later I was still contracting
despite medications to stop the contractions and was dialated 2
centimeters. Over the next 2 days things really took a downward turn. My
respiratory status continued to decline and then began to talk to my husband
about needing to intubate me. My liver enzymes were through the roof and the
back pain continued to worsen. At this point my husband was told the situation
was critical. They now realized that the back pain I was experiencing was
actually from liver distention and the risk for my liver rupturing was very
high. The stress on my body had caused me to go into respiratory, kidney and
liver failure and to save both my life and the life of our baby we needed to
deliver right away. I needed an emergency C-section. I was
at 30wks.
On Sunday May 9th, 2004 (Mother's Day) our daughter
Colleen Marie entered this world at 10:37am. She was beautiful. She
weighed 2lbs, 12oz and was the spitting image of my husband. Very sadly, she
left this world 2 hours and 8 minutes later in the loving arms of her father and
surrounded by her grandparents, aunts and uncle. My husband was told I remained
in critical condition. I was monitored very closely for the next 48hrs as my
liver enzymes remained dangerously high. Interestingly, the "phantom" back pain
disappeared after my daughter was born. I spent about two weeks in the
hospital, but it took over two months for me to fully recover. I was told I was
lucky to be alive.
Nothing will ever make up for the loss of our beloved first daughter, but we do feel so very blessed to have made it through the second pregnancy with fewer complications. So for those of you out there who have experienced a loss and are discouraged by the reoccurence risk numbers, please do not lose hope. It can happen. |
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