A few days have passed since Monday’s incredible miracle and I feel that I’m in a better place to share what happened. As many of you know, something important to me is allowing some time and space to process events (be it may traumatic for the positive or negative) in order to move on and feel healed. So much has happened the past few weeks in our lives and Monday’s situation contributed to some stress, yet more than anything has reminded me of the miraculous nature of life and the opportunity Steve and I have had to create and contribute another precious member of our eternal posterity. Close friends may know the day after Jack’s first birthday Steve lost his job. It was very unexpected and threw us for a loop. I was seeing patients three nights a week but that definitely would not sustain us long. At that time, I thought it was the end of the world. We both felt many emotions and wanted to move on so that Steve could be successful in finding an alternative. After this past week’s events, being alive is so much more important for us. At ten weeks of this pregnancy I was diagnosed with placenta previa, complete. Essentially it just means that my placenta attached really low to the uterine wall. Typically when that happens, the placenta will move up in due time. Mine was complete which means that the placenta was completely covering the cervix. Treatment for it means to take it easy (which honestly, I can say I did), limited exercise and stress. The third trimester is the most important time to take it easy due to the placenta increasing in weight and pushing on the cervix. Possible problems that may occur lie on a spectrum from spotting to hemorrhaging which may require blood transfusions. Those of you that know my husband know that he is incredibly protective and only wants the best for his family. Not a bad quality, right!?! Although, truth be told, I felt like I was on bed rest at ten weeks. In hindsight, I’m grateful for that. I haven’t had any complications from this pregnancy and was really healthy. Typical things I experienced included minimal weight gain, typical nausea, heartburn, and lack of energy. I had my scheduled 29 week appointment w/ my OB this past Wednesday and was looking forward to getting some free samples of formula while there. =) I’ve had many people ask what happened Monday. I share the remaining post with you to describe how we were protected the entire day, met so many of God’s angels in the form of hospital staff, and recognize the divine intervention with the situation that was placed before us. If you don’t believe in God or haven’t seen his hand in your life, let me tell you He lives. We’re extremely blessed and grateful to be alive and recognize how the Lord works in ways that is beyond our control. We had friends over for dinner on Sunday evening, chatted, and went to bed. I even got a great night sleep w/ no insomnia and only woke up two times to use the restroom in the middle of the night. Monday morning at 6:40 am I woke up feeling an intense pressure to use the bathroom. As I stood up blood came out and continued flowing. I woke up Steve and he called 911. A few minutes later EMS arrived and due to the blood loss at home (approximately 2 liters) I passed out. Steve said my blood pressure was so low they could not find a pulse. I remember being wheeled out on a stretcher and hearing sweet baby Jack talking in the background while my mother-in-law was holding him. There was a few times where out loud I asked my Heavenly Father to keep me alive and safe and to be able to take care of my babies. We arrived to the hospital and waiting for me in the operating room was my OB, Dr. Cowan. It was such a relief to see him and know that I was going to be safe. Steve got me there just in time. They took an ultrasound and baby Mary was still alive! My hemorrhaging stopped and my doctor decided I was going to be on bed rest in the hospital for the remaining 10 weeks. Those of you that know me, either well or as acquaintances, know that being on bed rest for 1 day would be stressful for me. Due to the intensity of the situation that got me to the hospital I resigned and surrendered to the fact that I’d have to suck it up and be content with being on bed rest. A few minutes following that I started to hemorrhage again. Dr. Cowan decided an emergency c-section was necessary in order to save baby Mary and stop my bleeding. The surgery went well and Miss Mary Annalise Middleton was born at 9:02 am weighing 2 lbs. 15 oz and 15.3 inches. Even though I was under complete general anesthesia, however knew she was safe and alive. Steve met me in the recovery room and all I wanted were some ice chips. Due to just having come out of surgery they politely declined my request. The head nurse, Sheri, was one of the most patient people that day because I asked for ice chips from 7 am – 8:30 pm and not once did she become frustrated or impatiently respond. I’m thinking over 200 times I requested ice chips. Random thing to remember, but I’m very thankful she was so kind to me. After about an hour of being in the recovery room I hemorrhaged for the third time. My doctors were concerned and wanted to prevent further blood loss. They suspected placenta increta and to prevent continued bleeding they decided to insert a balloon in my cervix. The balloon would inflate and the thought is that it would prevent from further bleeding and slow the inflammation of the uterine wall. Placenta increta is more likely to occur in women with placenta previa. It occurs when the placenta attaches deep into the uterine wall and penetrates into the uterine muscle. The balloon was inserted and I was taken back to recovery for a few hours. During that time I continued to experience back and lower abdominal pain. They marked the progression of my uterus moving up toward my heart on my stomach. Around hour two they noted my uterus had moved approximately an inch. I started experiencing more and more pain and kept pushing the morphine button. I told the nurses I felt like I was pushing the catheter out and told them something had come out. The pressure of the hemorrhaging behind the inflated balloon resulted in it being pushed out and I continued hemorrhaging a fourth time. At this point, due to social cues, was the time when I was most fearful. The doctors were surprised what had happened and were concerned with the amount of blood I had and continued to lose. Due to the continued hemorrhaging the next treatment option to save my life was a hysterectomy. In the brief moment they gave me to make a decision I was comforted in having no hesitation of losing my uterus. I’d much rather be alive and be able to love my husband and beautiful babies. They wheeled me into the operating room for a fourth time, put me under, and completed the surgery. When I got out and into recovery I felt no pain. I was calm and so happy to wake up to see my sweet husband’s face. I was also thankful I could ask (and be denied) for more ice chips. I was thankful they were replenishing the 8 liters of blood I had lost with new blood and platelets. The hospital staff at St. David’s North Austin Women’s Center saved my life. They also saved my daughter, son, and husband’s lives from me not being in it. There have been so many tender mercies extended to us. Honestly, I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and many other people who have extended a hand, support, love, and comfort to us. Reflecting on the most recent events that occurred prior to Monday has amazed me. If Steve had had his job, he would have been commuting there at that time I started to hemorrhage. I’m so thankful he was home. I’m thankful my OB was in town and able to meet me in the operating room. Having him and Steve by my side in a calm and loving manner helped me feel at peace in the moment of uncertainty. My father-in-law travels weekly to different states for his clients. He was assigned to Austin this week and they came up the night before to spend the night at our house. I felt assured our sweet baby Jack was in good hands when we left for the hospital. I was released from my church calling the day before and felt much relief from many of the upcoming activities I would have been in charge of. I was called to teach in Relief Society in place of being in the YW Presidency and was looking forward to meeting some of the women in the ward I hadn’t met. We’ve been extremely blessed with many women extending their hand in wanting to serve us with food, laundry, taking our dog for a walk, etc. I can continue to list all the many people and situations that have serendipitously occurred in order to protect and preserve our family. Please excuse the depth of this post. It wasn’t intended to scare anyone, rather share my experience and gratitude for my life and the opportunity and blessing I have to be a mama to two beautiful children.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:01:49 +0000
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