Vicci's story

My husband ~ Mick and I were so excited to learn that I was pregnant in the summer of 1999. I was due March 14th 2001. I was nauseous throughout the whole pregnancy but when I got to 24 weeks I began to get headaches and I couldn't leave the house without ginger ale and ginger biscuits and a bucket! I rarely went anywhere public.

I found that I couldn't get up early in the mornings without a blinding headache and sickness. I was a nanny at the time and had to get the little boy to school early. His parents had left him in my care for 4 weeks and I was due to fly from the UK to the USA to take him to his parents on Dec 12th, but I felt too ill to fly ~ so my mum took him. I think she quite enjoyed the trip as the boy's parents paid for her to spend a couple of days in Chicago!

Dec 14th I had a midwife appointment, I was 27 weeks exactly and my blood pressure had been a little high the week before. The midwife checked my BP and when I had 3+ protein in my urine she sent me straight to hospital.

At hospital everyone was being really nice and I was quite enjoying the fuss. I thought that I could do with a couple of day's bed-rest!

My husband popped home to pick up some night-clothes. While he was gone my room became a hive of activity and I was told that they were going to deliver me now. I got my mum to call my husband and she told him to hurry back.

At 20.05 Jacob Matthew James was born weighing 1 lb 9 oz. He looked so tiny. He was immediately ventilated and taken upstairs to SCBU.

I was put on a Magnesium drip that made me feel as if I was burning up and it was awful, but apparently it stopped me from fitting. My BP went up so high ~ all I know is the bottom number was 125. I am not very medically minded, but I have been told that as I started out at 70, that was very very high!

I wasn't allowed to see Jacob until the next day. The doctors were worried that he had a bowel problem as when they pulled air from his stomach green bile kept appearing. After some antibiotics he was OK and they started to feed him. He went from strength to strength. He stayed on oxygen for 12 weeks, but after 13 weeks he came home! What a fantastic day that was. His time in hospital was awful as nine other babies had died while he was there, all but one was bigger than Jacob was.

Jacob was a fantastic baby and is now 2 and a half. He talks really well and is not that much smaller than other kids his age. He has no lasting affects from his prematurity and we are so proud of him.

Mick and I wanted more than one child, so after thinking very hard about it, we decided to just get it over with. I know now that I was not mentally prepared for another pregnancy and the fear that went with it.

As soon as I got pregnant I would wake every day wondering if this was the day that pre eclampsia would turn up! Not a very healthy way to think, but I just couldn't help it.

I was a lot sicker this time round and I could hardly handle Jacob I felt so ill. I thank God for my mum during this time!

My BP went up at about 25 weeks this time and I kept getting between 1+ and 2+ protein and had to have a couple of stays in hospitals to check my BP over 24 hrs.

Getting past 27 weeks was fantastic. I just wanted to have a baby that weighed over 3lbs!

At 30 weeks I had to stay in hospital and my consultant said that I would not be going home until after I had had the baby. This time I was delivered because the baby's heartbeat was weakening.

Joseph Alexander Michael was born at 30 weeks + 3 days on 2nd Feb 2002 at 03.25. (The doctor was trying to get him born at 02/02/02 at 02.02, but I had trouble with lines in my veins so I had to have a general anaesthetic in the end. So he was late)! He weighed 2lbs 5oz.

Joseph was ventilated for 4 days and on oxygen for 49 days. He had a shaky start ~ he was too active and had to be given a lot of morphine to calm him and caffeine to keep his heart going. His lungs were 'like cardboard' according to his consultant, but after a week he started to improve.

Joe is now 14 weeks and he is home and thriving. He suffers from colic, so my husband and I are very tired, but we wouldn't change anything. We are so grateful for our two miracles. So much prayer has gone into our two boys and I thank Jesus for them everyday.

I don't think that we will be chancing any more children. I am angry with the pre eclampsia for making me feel this way. We wanted lots of children, but we are happy and feel very blessed with our two boys.

We just hope that one day there will be a cure for PE.

Vicci