In March of 2023, I was 28 weeks pregnant and flying my last overnight trip as a flight attendant before going out on maternity leave. I felt great my entire pregnancy but noticed a slight headache develop on my flight home from Nashville Tuesday morning. I just assumed it was due to dehydration from flying but the headache continued into my 28 week check up on Friday. My OB took my BP that day and noticed it was slightly elevated. She sent me home and asked me to monitor it and call back if it stayed high.

I went to my parents house for dinner and kept checking my BP and it continued to increase. I made the decision to call the after hours desk and speak with a nurse. She had me take my BP on the phone and it was 220/110. I immediately laughed and said that can’t be real, let me take it again. The nurse very calmly said no, I want you to hang up the phone and go immediately to L&D. You are not to drive, someone needs to drive you and you must go now. I completely lost it and got into the car with my husband and mom. I was checked into triage around 8pm and was immediately put on magnesium and had my BP taken every 15 min. They gave me a steroid injection to help with my son’s lung development and told me I was staying in the hospital until the baby comes. By Monday, I developed severe pain in my upper right quadrant and breathing became extremely difficult. The on call OB came in and told me my kidney and liver were starting to shut down and I delivered my son the following morning via emergency c-section. Jackson was born at exactly 29 weeks and weighed 2lbs 3oz. He spent 70 days in the NICU and was discharged one week before his due date.

My son turned two on March 14th of this year and is thriving. Six days after his birthday (March 20th) I lost his sister, Ella, at 24 weeks due to severe IUGR. My MFM doc determined this was connected to my history of severe preeclampsia and hypertension that developed in my second pregnancy.

Prior to my experience, I knew nothing about preeclampsia and knew nobody who had experienced it. Today, I share my story with friends and family in hopes I can help create awareness and educate others on what signs to look for in pregnancy.