I am not the worst case, nor the best case of preeclampsia to exist but I am one of the thousands of faces of preeclampsia.

One evening, almost a month after I had labs done after a higher BP reading at a routine visit that also found trace amount of protein in my urine, I didn’t feel right. Knowing that my labs came back “normal” but that things can change rapidly in pregnancy, I phone the on call line at my OBs office. The conclusion was that if things felt off, it never hurts to get checked out at labor and delivery at the hospital.

Even though no immediate red flags were present, the slightly elevated blood pressure was enough to have the doctors conduct more testing. The result was preeclampsia and thus began the watch for severe features appearing. I immediately was given the beta steroids to prep for an early delivery but my regular OBs were hoping to get me to 37 weeks. I didn’t even make it to my next at the office.

However, barely 72 hours since that trip to L&D I woke up with severe pain that I thought was heartburn. When it began radiating to my back up my spine, I had my husband rush me to the hospital because this time - something was truly off. My blood pressure reading came back as 190/105 and I was immediately the most popular gal on the floor. I was put on Mag Drip while the doctors consulted on my case. I needed to deliver or have a c section before I worsened. After a failed attempted at induction, I opted for the urgent c section and they immediately began prepping me for it.

My son was born 3lbs 14oz and was whisked away to the NICU and I would not be able to see him for another 24 hours as I was still on mag drip and needed to stay in bed. He spent a couple of weeks there to gain weight and after a few Brady spells, he was able to come home.

It had never dawned on me that what may look like a normal pregnancy blood pressure reading, was actually high compared to my normal. And the swelling that I was experiencing was also indeed not pregnancy normal. It is my hope that my story and experience can help other women understand the warning signs of preeclampsia and prevent my situation from happening to them.