This was my first pregnancy, we were so excited to meet our baby girl. At 19 weeks, the scan went well except they couldn't get the image of her spine, so we had to come back 4 weeks later. It was in that scan at 23 weeks they noticed the baby hadn't grown much and the blood going to baby was low. I had been having bad dizzy spells, headaches and nose bleeds but being my 1st pregnancy I thought it was normal. but the dizzy spells were insanely powerful. I was referred to the hospital for more baby checks but at 23 weeks they didn't think to check for Pre Eclampsia, 2 days later the medical team asked my midwife to check my Blood pressure and urine. It was then I was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia.

My kidneys were failing and my blood pressure was at dangerous levels. After 5 days in the acute medical assessment unit, I was moved to a bedrest ward. Baby's growth hadn’t improved but my health was looking a bit better. Then it hit me- headaches and confusion were back, so they ran some blood tests. I took pain relief and had a sleep. When I woke I was surrounded by a team of medical professionals who informed me I was going to have an emergency c-section.

I had developed HELLP and my organs were failing – my blood pressure was sky high again and my platelets were dangerously low. The clock was ticking and they had to act fast. Baby was born 1 pound at 25 weeks. Baby was alive and they intubated her. We called her Courtney and she was taken to NICU. Courtney spent 3 months in NICU and grew to be 6 pounds. She fought all her battles as hard as she could but her little lungs just couldn’t cope. At 95 days old she passed away. I had no idea what preeclampsia was and how serious my symptoms were. Awareness is key. After close monitoring I was able to have 2 more girls via c-section.