My Preeclampsia Story
Having a baby for the first time is supposed to be full of excitement and joy. However, complications can happen regardless of the preventative measures taken. I ate healthy, exercised, and took all the first time mom classes the Army offered me. I was on active duty, so even if I felt too nauseas to get out of bed, I had to get up and make my way to the gym. I did everything could to prepare physically and mentally for my daughter. But my body had different plans.
It had started with some mild swelling in my feet and ankles and sudden rapid weight gain during week 30. I was uncomfortable and achy, but took it as normal pregnancy pains. During my 31 week checkup my blood pressure was a little raised, I had gained another 5 pounds since the last week, but it did not cause my midwife any concern, so I didn’t worry. That week I had a class concerning the dangers that could happen in pregnancy. The instructor spoke of symptoms of gestational diabetes, swelling, and high blood pressure. I was a little nervous since I had experienced two of the symptoms. Lastly, the instructor warned of “spilling protein”, meaning protein would show in the urine due to acute kidney failure. Preeclampsia. The word rang in my head, and I wanted more information. I brought the concern to my midwife who reassured me that being in my early twenties and no known family history I was at the low end of having to experience the complication. She wrote up the normal 30 week lab tests for me to complete and sent me on my way.
I decided to take my labs that Friday since I didn’t have to be at work until a little later. I woke up that day feeling dizzy with pregnancy brain and bloated. My skin hurt around my feet, ankles and face. Something was different about today, but again I brushed it off as pregnancy. I didn’t want to think anything was wrong or to complain. I showed up at the hospital after fasting all night for my gestational diabetes 30 week test. The lab was on the second floor, so I took the short steps up, as I usually did, surpassing the elevator. This time I was more winded and my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. That was different, I joked to myself that I had must have gained more weight since the last time I was at the hospital a couple of days before. Even though I went along with the “you’re fine, don’t worry,” that the doctors would tell me, I still felt that there was something wrong. After my blood draw, I decided to check in with the OBGYN department. I asked to have my blood pressure taken and my urine tested for protein. The nurses’ assistant was puzzled at my specific request, but I had done my homework and knew what to look for. I told her my concern, and knowing I was barely 31 weeks along, she put the order through.
I was finally seen, blood pressure taken, and urine sample on its way to the lab with a rush request. I started to calm down, hoping I was over reacting. The head midwife came in less than 20 minutes early to take me to labor and delivery triage to get hooked up to monitors. My daughter was flipping around and under no distress, thankfully. I was left alone there for about half an hour when the head midwife returned and asked me if I had someone who could drive me to the big hospital in Louisville. What an odd way to tell me I was fine, I thought to myself. I called my husband and she gave us the news that I needed to be in a hospital that could handle my situation. My situation? Being at an Army hospital 45 minutes away from the high tech Kosair Children’s Hospital, the doctor saw it best fit that I make the drive and admit myself. I was a little unsure about why, again in self-denial. Preeclampsia. My kidneys were shutting down and my body was rejecting my daughter. I was terrified as my husband and I made the drive north.
I checked into Kosair’s parent hospital at Norton where I was put on monitors and had blood drawn so frequently I felt like
a faucet. I was given medicine that calmed my heart rate and prevented full blown Eclampsia and the severe seizures that came with it. Doctors visited me daily and kept me and my husband updated on the status of our little girl. I had an ultrasound that showed my baby weighing in about 3 pounds 4 ounces. I had nearly gained 80 pounds with her up until then. I was so swollen and bloated my skin hurt. Two days before my 32 week mark I was given a shot of steroids to speed up her lung development. I was under constant monitoring day and night with medicine and more blood and urine tests. The day before my 32 week milestone I had another shot of steroids to get her lungs as healthy as possible. It was a Thursday, the sky was cloudy and cold, I could feel it through the windows of my third floor room. The doctor of the day came in with the day’s plan as usual, but the plan was different today, she also had another doctor with her. “Well it looks like your kidneys are failing so we have got to get that baby out,” the doctor said as though this was the millionth time she said it. “WHAT? LIKE HELL YOU ARE!” is what I screamed in my head. I couldn’t say it. I was terrified. My poor baby was exactly 32 weeks along. They couldn’t take her yet she wasn’t done baking.
My eyes teared up and I couldn’t hold them in anymore. Seeing me upset the second doctor, a short man with a calm voice tinted with his Indian accent, “What is her name?” he asked me. I told him we planned on naming her Haley Lucille after her great grandmother. “Well, little Haley is going to be just fine. You were strong, you took the steroids for her lungs, and kept her in for 32 weeks. Now it’s my turn to take care of her.” He was reassuring, and seemed to genuinely care about the tiny baby. I was wheeled into the pre-operation room and prepped for C-Section. Within thirty minutes, Haley was welcomed into the world, I was stitched up an in recovery. It took nearly a week after delivery for my blood pressure to lower and my vitals to come back to normal. I was released from the hospital and spent the next thirty days with my daughter. She made milestones so quick that the doctors were amazed.
Haley is now a year old and has nearly caught up in weight to her peers. She is taller than most one year olds and is learning to walk on her own. She feeds herself and is active and a very happy little girl. Her eight week prematurity did not stunt her in any way. She was ready to join the world regardless of what gestational rules she had to break.
I learned throughout my experience is that if you feel that there is something wrong with your body, make sure you have it checked out. I was told time and time again that there was nothing wrong with me only to find out in a very short week that I had preeclampsia to my daughter being born. If there are preventative measures, take them, and don’t be stubborn and try to stick it out. Trust yourself, you know your body best.
Having a baby for the first time is supposed to be full of excitement and joy. However, complications can happen regardless of the preventative measures taken. I ate healthy, exercised, and took all the first time mom classes the Army offered me. I was on active duty, so even if I felt too nauseas to get out of bed, I had to get up and make my way to the gym. I did everything could to prepare physically and mentally for my daughter. But my body had different plans.
It had started with some mild swelling in my feet and ankles and sudden rapid weight gain during week 30. I was uncomfortable and achy, but took it as normal pregnancy pains. During my 31 week checkup my blood pressure was a little raised, I had gained another 5 pounds since the last week, but it did not cause my midwife any concern, so I didn’t worry. That week I had a class concerning the dangers that could happen in pregnancy. The instructor spoke of symptoms of gestational diabetes, swelling, and high blood pressure. I was a little nervous since I had experienced two of the symptoms. Lastly, the instructor warned of “spilling protein”, meaning protein would show in the urine due to acute kidney failure. Preeclampsia. The word rang in my head, and I wanted more information. I brought the concern to my midwife who reassured me that being in my early twenties and no known family history I was at the low end of having to experience the complication. She wrote up the normal 30 week lab tests for me to complete and sent me on my way.
I decided to take my labs that Friday since I didn’t have to be at work until a little later. I woke up that day feeling dizzy with pregnancy brain and bloated. My skin hurt around my feet, ankles and face. Something was different about today, but again I brushed it off as pregnancy. I didn’t want to think anything was wrong or to complain. I showed up at the hospital after fasting all night for my gestational diabetes 30 week test. The lab was on the second floor, so I took the short steps up, as I usually did, surpassing the elevator. This time I was more winded and my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. That was different, I joked to myself that I had must have gained more weight since the last time I was at the hospital a couple of days before. Even though I went along with the “you’re fine, don’t worry,” that the doctors would tell me, I still felt that there was something wrong. After my blood draw, I decided to check in with the OBGYN department. I asked to have my blood pressure taken and my urine tested for protein. The nurses’ assistant was puzzled at my specific request, but I had done my homework and knew what to look for. I told her my concern, and knowing I was barely 31 weeks along, she put the order through.
I was finally seen, blood pressure taken, and urine sample on its way to the lab with a rush request. I started to calm down, hoping I was over reacting. The head midwife came in less than 20 minutes early to take me to labor and delivery triage to get hooked up to monitors. My daughter was flipping around and under no distress, thankfully. I was left alone there for about half an hour when the head midwife returned and asked me if I had someone who could drive me to the big hospital in Louisville. What an odd way to tell me I was fine, I thought to myself. I called my husband and she gave us the news that I needed to be in a hospital that could handle my situation. My situation? Being at an Army hospital 45 minutes away from the high tech Kosair Children’s Hospital, the doctor saw it best fit that I make the drive and admit myself. I was a little unsure about why, again in self-denial. Preeclampsia. My kidneys were shutting down and my body was rejecting my daughter. I was terrified as my husband and I made the drive north.
I checked into Kosair’s parent hospital at Norton where I was put on monitors and had blood drawn so frequently I felt like
a faucet. I was given medicine that calmed my heart rate and prevented full blown Eclampsia and the severe seizures that came with it. Doctors visited me daily and kept me and my husband updated on the status of our little girl. I had an ultrasound that showed my baby weighing in about 3 pounds 4 ounces. I had nearly gained 80 pounds with her up until then. I was so swollen and bloated my skin hurt. Two days before my 32 week mark I was given a shot of steroids to speed up her lung development. I was under constant monitoring day and night with medicine and more blood and urine tests. The day before my 32 week milestone I had another shot of steroids to get her lungs as healthy as possible. It was a Thursday, the sky was cloudy and cold, I could feel it through the windows of my third floor room. The doctor of the day came in with the day’s plan as usual, but the plan was different today, she also had another doctor with her. “Well it looks like your kidneys are failing so we have got to get that baby out,” the doctor said as though this was the millionth time she said it. “WHAT? LIKE HELL YOU ARE!” is what I screamed in my head. I couldn’t say it. I was terrified. My poor baby was exactly 32 weeks along. They couldn’t take her yet she wasn’t done baking.
My eyes teared up and I couldn’t hold them in anymore. Seeing me upset the second doctor, a short man with a calm voice tinted with his Indian accent, “What is her name?” he asked me. I told him we planned on naming her Haley Lucille after her great grandmother. “Well, little Haley is going to be just fine. You were strong, you took the steroids for her lungs, and kept her in for 32 weeks. Now it’s my turn to take care of her.” He was reassuring, and seemed to genuinely care about the tiny baby. I was wheeled into the pre-operation room and prepped for C-Section. Within thirty minutes, Haley was welcomed into the world, I was stitched up an in recovery. It took nearly a week after delivery for my blood pressure to lower and my vitals to come back to normal. I was released from the hospital and spent the next thirty days with my daughter. She made milestones so quick that the doctors were amazed.
Haley is now a year old and has nearly caught up in weight to her peers. She is taller than most one year olds and is learning to walk on her own. She feeds herself and is active and a very happy little girl. Her eight week prematurity did not stunt her in any way. She was ready to join the world regardless of what gestational rules she had to break.
I learned throughout my experience is that if you feel that there is something wrong with your body, make sure you have it checked out. I was told time and time again that there was nothing wrong with me only to find out in a very short week that I had preeclampsia to my daughter being born. If there are preventative measures, take them, and don’t be stubborn and try to stick it out. Trust yourself, you know your body best.