I had a routine prenatal appointment at 27 weeks, where my blood pressure was slightly elevated, the midwife I had seen that day was pretty confident I didn’t have preeclampsia, but sent me for lab work to err on the side of caution. The next day, I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling I had that something was wrong. On a hunch, I went into my local L&D triage to be checked out. That would turn out to be a hunch that saved both of our lives. My blood pressure was through the roof, and my liver function tests had gotten increasingly worse from the lab work I had just 24 hours prior. I was admitted and started on steroids and magnesium. I was told that I had preeclampsia with severe features and I’d be there for the duration of my pregnancy where I would deliver at 34 weeks, if they could keep me pregnant that long. The doctor who delivered this awful news wasn’t confident, but I was hopeful. At this point I was 28 weeks on the dot. I was able to have a consult with the neonatologist who went over what to expect from a 28 week preemie. I made it 72 hours before my blood pressure became uncontrollable, despite several rounds of rescue IV blood pressure medication and my liver function tests were too out of control to safely continue the pregnancy. The morning of delivery, I declined very quickly and was rushed back for an emergency C-section. My daughter Charlotte, was born at 28 weeks and 3 days, weighing 3lbs 3oz, and 15inches long. She was immediately whisked away by the NICU team, my husband was allowed to snap one picture, but she was too unstable to hold her up for me to get a peek at her. We were told that once she was stabilized, they would provide us with an update. Eventually, they came in to let us know she was intubated and “critical, but stable”, those are NEVER words anyone wants to hear about their child. I was given a second round of magnesium and was told I couldn’t meet my baby until I had completed the 24 hours of medication. I instead met my daughter through FaceTime. That was the biggest punch in the gut. I thankfully had an angel of a nurse who took me down to the NICU for a visit about 16 hours after delivery. I’ll never forget how tiny she was, I had never seen a baby so small. Over the next 2 months, Charlotte made so many strides and grew and grew, until she was able to come home after 54 days in the NICU. I recovered, other than a bout of post partum preeclampsia several days after delivery, that once again landed me back in L&D triage (nobody tells you about the weirdness of going back to L&D when you’re no longer pregnant) and lingering hypertension in the months since. It’s been 7 months since Charlotte’s birth, and she is beautiful and otherwise healthy. I have been told over and over, how unusual our case was. This was my second pregnancy, where my first pregnancy had been textbook with a healthy 39 week delivery. My preeclampsia didn’t present in the typical way, I had a mild headache, high blood pressure and a bad feeling. No swelling, no upper abdominal pain, none of the classic preeclampsia symptoms. I replay in my head almost daily about what would have happened, had I not followed my gut and gone in to be checked. I wish I could advocate for certain things to look out for, but I have none. What I will say, is how truly important it is to attend regular prenatal appointments on schedule and to pay really close attention to your body, even when you may think you’re being paranoid or overreactive.