Starting at 21 weeks I started having spells of high bp readings that would eventually resolve. I was on my third and final pregnancy, having had severe preeclampsia twice prior to that, resulting in a delivery at exactly 37 weeks and exactly 33 weeks. My doctor put me on baby aspirin and bp meds and had me start checking my bp a few times per day. I was having my bloodwork checked every week as my protein in my urine started to increase and my liver enzymes started creeping up.

At 31 weeks exactly, I started having pain on my upper right side which started to get worse. It took my bp which was also elevated and knowing this is a sign of preeclampsia, we went to L&D where they got us set up, took bloods and urine, and notified my doctor. Very shortly the resident came in to let us know my liver enzymes were almost 500 (when 2 days prior they were 150) and my platelets slowly decreasing. The ordered a liver ultrasound, which came back normal, but I still had elevated bps and I was officially diagnosed with HELLP syndrome. The nurse came in to start another IV, stating that they didn't know how bad I was when I came in, and that there was a team of half a dozen doctors trying to figure out the next step. Then my doctor came in and let us know the decision was made to have a c-section, right now (about 2 hrs after coming in). I asked if they were sure and didn't want to see how things went overnight. She said it had to happen and had to happen now. She then held my hand until we got into the OR, as she could tell I was having trouble processing. My husband got into his jumpsuit and he called my parents, where my amazing doctor explained to them what was happening.

Once in the OR the placed my spinal block and laid me down. They paused for a moment before starting. Then the anesthesiologist tech talked to me throughout the whole thing. I could feel the tugging and anxiously awaited what was about to happen. They had an entire NICU team waiting in the room for him and once they took him out they immediately brought him to that team. He didn't cry and had a poor apgar, so we were all curious as to what was happening. The tech took tons of pictures for us and talked us through everything. They tried intubating him, and eventually increased his apgar. On the way to recovery, they took my hospital bed to the nicu to peek at my son, who was now settled in the nicu, with an umbilical line, cpap, ng tube, etc. They then took me to recovery, where my doctor came to visit, now about 3am and she sat on the floor and chatted with us. She went up to the nicu and took a bunch of pictures for us. These were our first pictures of him. Recovery was really rough as I was throwing up almost every hour and placed NPO. Once I was released from the hospital, they had me on bp meds. Less than a week later, I was readmitted to L&D for bp issues and headaches with my bp at 187/94.

My son ended up having a 51 day nicu stay, and had 2 amazing primary nurses (one daytime, one overnight). Our doctor came down every few days to give him a "pep talk" and check on us. Truly amazing. Doctors and nurses who took such a tough and frightening situation and made it the best possible, by being caring and empathetic human beings. Knowing the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia helped get us the care we needed right away. I can't imagine what the outcome would have looked like otherwise.