Jo's story

My pregnancy had been pretty normal. I suffered from nausea and fatigue during the first trimester. The second trimester started out great. Started feeling the baby move and had the first ultrasound and all that good stuff! I really liked being pregnant. The only uncomfortable part was sleeping because I am a belly sleeper. But otherwise I really liked being pregnant; I felt good!

In October toward the middle of my second trimester, my feet started swelling. I asked about it at that month's appointment. The doctor indicated that it was just normal pregnancy swelling. So I continued to drink lots of water, but the swelling did not get any better. I asked about it again at the November appointment. Again I was told not to be concerned; everything else looked fine. But my feet continued to swell; I could no longer wear any shoes except my Birkenstock sandals; and I had to stop wearing my rings because of the swelling in my hands. I called my Dr.'s office. The nurse checked my file, spoke with one of the doctors, and told me to drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day and to keep my feet up as much as possible. By keeping my feet up, she meant elevated above my heart. Not possible when you are a bank manager! So I propped my feet up under my desk, took more frequent breaks during the day to elevate my feet, and at lunch I would sit with my feet propped up on the table (in our break room) in front of me. This helped. I could tell the swelling in my feet was not as bad if I could keep them propped up.

Two weeks later, Friday, December 17, I had my next appointment. My Mom decided she wanted to come to this appointment so she could hear the baby's heartbeat. Garrett also met me at the office because he knew I was a little bit worried about the swelling. He couldn't stay but just wanted me to know he loved me (sweet, isn't he!). So my Mom and I went in and I did all that stuff you gotta do! Well, the nurse said my blood pressure was a little high; she wanted me to go to the examine room and lie down on my left side. Turns out my BP was 151/110! Very high!! She took a second reading after I had laid down for a few minutes. It had come down to 140/102. When the doctor came in he said "Well, young lady, you've just bought yourself a couple of nights in the hospital." Since this wasn't my regular OB, I thought maybe he was joking, as I could not see his face (still lying on my left side). He was not joking. Not only was the edema (swelling) worse and my blood pressure high, but also I was spilling protein in my urine. He felt that I had probably developed pre-eclampsia (formerly known as toxemia) and wanted to check me into the hospital to run more tests and determine for sure what was going on! Thank God my Mom was there! That was definitely divine intervention! She ran to the car to call Garrett and have him bring a bag and meet us at the hospital. The doctor told me I would NOT be going back to work regardless of what happened once I got to the hospital. So I called work and told them I would not be back. Very surreal! Then my Mom drove me to the hospital.

After they admitted me, the on-call doctor came by to check me out and let me know what was happening. Basically my body was not doing what it was supposed to do. When you are pregnant the blood vessels in your uterus are supposed to expand to facilitate the flow of nutrients to the baby and the flow of waste out. Apparently with pre-eclampsia, the vessels do not expand and it inhibits the flow out. The mother is the one most affected by this and it can be very dangerous! The mother's kidneys and liver stop functioning efficiently. The Dr. wanted to know if I was having any headaches. I hadn't had a headache in several months, which is unusual, as I am prone to tension headaches. She wanted to know if I was seeing floaters; bright spots in my field of vision. I had none. She wanted to know if I was experiencing any pain or discomfort under my right breast, indicating liver problems. I did not. She said these were all good signs. Also a good sign was that since I had been lying down and off my feet, my blood pressure had dropped back to normal; approximately 120/74 at last check. The Dr. said they needed to do further testing to see what exactly was happening. She ordered blood work and a 24-hour urine sample. She also had me hooked up to a fetal heart monitor. The heartbeat was strong but the baby was not moving around very much, so they ordered another ultrasound to ensure that everything was okay. She also recommended that I be given a steroid shot to help the baby's lungs develop more rapidly. She said that it was likely that I would not carry to term and the steroid would give the baby a helpful developmental boost. I agreed and am so glad I did!!

I went down to have the ultrasound. The baby looked fine according to the technician, but the doctor would be better able to tell what if anything was happening. The technician did ask me if I had dilated. I told her, "I don't think so, why do you ask?" She said that the baby had already turned and was very low. As if the baby knew what was happening. The technician also agreed that it appeared as though we were having a girl; no signs of a boy.

Once back in my room, the Dr. came by one more time to let me know that the ultrasound looked fine. Kaitlyn did not seem to be affected at all by what was happening to me. She also told me that depending on how the 24-hour urine sample worked out, they would send me home on Monday but on complete bed rest.

By the time all this had occurred it was late Friday night. Garrett and I were both exhausted. Although I knew that the reclining chair in the room would not be comfortable, I really wanted and needed Garrett to stay. This was the first opportunity I had to really let what was happening sink it. It was scary, but as I thought about it and as Garrett and I talked about it, the less scared I was. The nurses and doctors had been nothing but wonderful so far and I really felt like God was with Kaitlyn and me.

Sunday morning the results from the urine sample and the last blood work came back. Although my blood pressure and the blood work looked good, the protein count in my urine was elevated. They wanted to do another sample; no going home on Monday.

On Monday, my regular doctor, Dr. Scott, came by to see me. My protein count had increased some more. I knew I was going to be in the hospital indefinitely. Garrett and I had even discussed the fact that I would probably be there for Christmas. But that was okay. We both knew that I was where both me and the baby needed to be.

For the rest of the week, I had blood work done every other day, did the 24 hour urine sample every other day, was weighed every day, had my blood pressure checked every 4 to 6 hours, and was periodically connected to the fetal heart monitor. The rest of the time I ate, slept (a lot), read, and watched a lot of TV. Garrett and Mom were great! Garrett would work from about 5am until near lunch and then come to the hospital until around 7 or 8pm. Mom came by every morning and helped me get a bath. They were both incredible!

The Thursday before Christmas I did not sleep well! As a matter of fact, I only got a few hours of sleep. By this time the bed was really beginning to get uncomfortable and my back was starting to ache constantly! I told the doctor on-call Friday and she prescribed a sleeping pill for Friday night in case I decided I needed it. I slept fine Friday night without it.

The doctor also told us that because my protein count was continuing to increase that they would probably want to deliver me on Sunday or Monday. Dr. Cuellar was the doctor on-call Christmas Day (Saturday). He came by and let me know that he was in communication with Dr. Scott (who would be on-call Sunday). He said that they anticipated sending me to Labor & Delivery Sunday. Then, a nurse came and took Garrett and I to the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). We got a tour of the facilities so that we could see where Kaitlyn would be once she was born. That helped ease our concerns somewhat.

By Christmas evening it had been decided that I would go to Labor & Delivery Sunday morning. I was spilling more and more protein and I had developed a headache. At about 10pm two of my nurses came in to tell us what would happen and also to let me know that Dr. Scott was concerned about the baby. She and Dr. Cuellar decided they would have the resident Mother/Baby specialist visit me first thing Sunday morning and if he said "Okay", I would go to L&D about mid-day. I asked the nurses for the sleep-aid because I did not feel like I would sleep well. Garrett left for home shortly after. About an hour later, around 11pm, I was still awake and having an ache right down the middle of my chest. It prevented me from getting comfortable in any position. I rang the nurse because this was something new and I was not getting to sleep. She called Dr. Cuellar who prescribed Maalox. I told the nurse I really did not expect the Maalox to help because it was not heartburn I was experiencing. I had had heartburn with this pregnancy and this was not at all the same! An hour later at midnight I rang the nurse again. Still no sleep and the ache was still there. She came and checked me and again called Dr. Cuellar. This time he wanted to see me himself. Well this really worried me. I was convinced that he would want to do an emergency C-section. So I called Garrett and asked him to please come back to the hospital. Dr. Cuellar came in and did a brief examination. He said that he really did not know what was causing the problem but that he was certain it was not because of the pre-eclampsia. He prescribed 3 extra-strength Tylenol and a pepcid-AC. I had just taken them when Garrett got there. And 10 minutes later (shortly after 1am) I was asleep. The Tylenol took care of the pain and the sleeping pill kicked in. Poor Garrett hardly slept! (In retrospect, I think I was suffering an anxiety attack!)

Between 4:30 and 5am the lab techs came and drew blood. The ache was there again although not as bad. The nurse brought me another Tylenol and I slept again. At promptly 7am two orderlies came to take me to L&D. Apparently when the results of my blood work came back they were not good. I had taken a turn for the worse. Dr. Scott decided that for my health I needed to deliver Kaitlyn.

By 8am the L&D nurse had started a magnesium-sulfate drip (to prevent seizures which can occur with eclampsia) and a pitosin drip. I was not happy about the IV. I do not like needles; close to phobic about them. I told the L&D nurse about my dislike. She tried to be very careful but, of course, managed to miss the vein in the top of my hand. I thought she was trying to be funny at first (I cannot watch them poke me) and realized she was not kidding. She did not even try a second time, seeing the look on my face. Instead she went after "the best Poke on this floor". Because she missed in the top of my hand, the second nurse had to go down by my thumb, which I liked even less. After they got that going, Garrett was able to relax a little. Dr. Scott came by and examined me. I was about 50% effaced but not at all dilated. The hope was that the pitosin would send me into labor and they would not have to perform a C-section.

At about 11am I started having contractions. The first one really caught me off-guard. Boy did it hurt! But I figured out that if I could breathe through them I could control the pain (keep in mind that we weren't scheduled to start our Birth Class until Jan. 6; this is December 26th!). Only, the breathing did not work with the back labor. Nothing really helped that pain. Luckily only about every 4th or 5th contraction was in my back.

Sometime mid-day Dr. Scott checked again. I was fully effaced but had only dilated to 2 centimeters. She decided to put a balloon-like contraption inside my cervix. It would be filled with water and should help me dilate more. She said that at about 4 centimeters it should fall out. At around 2pm she checked again and I had dilated another 2 centimeters so she removed the contraption. (Of course it did not fall out when I went to the bathroom.)

At 3pm the nurse anthesitist came in to do the epidural. That was the most horrific experience of my life! Again, my fear of needles really did a number on me. Unfortunately I had heard too many stories about how an epidural works and the size of the needle used. I just do not need to have this kind of information. He numbed the area where he would insert the epidural, then had me sit up and slump over the side of the bed. Then he asked me to lean back towards him as he inserted the needle. Well, this was just too much for me, even though I was high on the mag-sulfate! I got hysterical; crying and shaking and I almost hyperventilated. He tried a couple of times without success. I was beginning to think it wasn't worth the mental agony and maybe I could just do without! I'm not sure that would have been an option given my condition. Finally the L&D nurse said let's take a break. I was shaking so hard the nurse-anthesitist could have done some serious damage if he had continued. The L&D nurse gave me a hot rag to wipe my face with; I gathered myself together and Garrett decided on how to help get this over. Garrett had me put my head in his shoulder and he put his head in my shoulder. I put all my concentration into staying calm and Garrett pushed me back into the needle. I don't believe I could have done it without Garrett. I don't think I had the mental strength to push back into the needle. Once it was over, I was fine. But what should have taken 10 minutes tops took half an hour. I told both nurses that they deserved combat pay for what they just put up with!

The epidural took effect almost immediately. By 4pm I could no longer feel the contractions at all. I could feel the pressure when someone touched my legs but that was it. Dr. Scott examined me again. My contractions had slowed to about 5 minutes apart (they had been 2) and I was only about 5 or 6 centimeters dilated. She told us that it would probably be 7 or 8pm before I delivered. Garrett went to the waiting room to tell the family to get some dinner and relax. We got comfortable watching the "Battle of the Bays"; the Green Bay and Tampa Bay football game.

At 5pm Dr. Scott examined me again. She hollered at the L&D nurses (I had 2 by now) to call Special Care (the NICU staff) and tell them to get to my room, she could see hair! All of the sudden everyone got busy. Dr. Scott told me I would need to push at the next contractions. Well, of course, I couldn't feel the contractions so I didn't know when I needed to push! They placed two monitors inside of me; one to measure my contractions and one to monitor the baby's heartbeat. Kaitlyn was not responding well to the contractions. Dr. Scott ordered the bed pulled apart but I was lying on top of a thick piece of foam because the L&D beds are incredibly hard. That was just one too many things for Dr. Scott to worry about; she couldn't wrap her mind around how to get that out from under me. One of the nurses came in with a pair of scissors and cut it in half. Meanwhile two NICU nurses had arrived and were getting things ready for the baby. Finally everyone was in position: Dr. Scott in "Johnny Bench position", Garrett holding my left foot and leg, and an L&D nurse holding my right foot and leg. The pushing was strange because I could feel nothing. I had no idea if it was working or if I was doing it right! I pushed three times per contraction and had three contractions and then Kaitlyn was born at exactly 5:36pm! It was the most amazing experience of my life! The most wonderful sound I have ever heard happened at that moment - she cried! A strong and lusty cry! Garrett and I were both so relieved! We had no idea what condition her lungs would be in and she cried!

Garrett got to cut the umbilical cord. He was crying the whole time. Tears just rolled down his face! The Special Care nurses cleaned Kaitlyn up and checked her over briefly. Because she was not in any immediate danger, they allowed me to hold her just briefly before they took her to NICU. Poor Garrett was torn, part of him wanted to stay with me and make sure I was okay; the other part wanted to stay with Kaitlyn and make sure she was okay. I saw his dilemma and told him to go with Kaitlyn. Dr. Scott and the nurses were with me; I knew I would be fine.

By the time Garrett got back to me, dinner had arrived. Boy, was I starved! A little later the Neonatalogist who checked Kaitlyn in came by to see me. (I thought that was wonderful.) He let me know that Kaitlyn was doing well. At that point she was breathing on her own, but he expected her to tire and require venting before the night was over. He said that otherwise she looked good for a 32 weeker!

I was kept in Labor & Delivery for another 24hrs. They did not stop the mag-sulfate drip until around 6pm Monday. But the Dr. did allow me to go to NICU to see Kaitlyn Monday morning. I wasn't allowed to stay long, but at least I got to see my little girl!
I was released from the hospital on Wednesday with strict orders to get lots of rest and not spend too much time in NICU (because the heat could be overwhelming). That was the hardest day of my life. It killed me leaving the hospital without my baby! I cried all the way home!

Friday the 31st was the next time I got to hold Kaitlyn again! It was amazing! Then that night at around 11pm we went back up to the hospital and I got to ring in the New Year with my baby in my arms! Absolutely the BEST New Year's Eve party I have ever been to! (If you go to our webpage, the picture of the three of us was taken that night!)

So this is my "Write of Passage". As most of you know, Kaitlyn spent one month in NICU and has been growing and developing wonderfully!! She is our second little Christmas miracle! (Christ being the first.) Thanks for letting me tell my long story!

Jo