my story...

Well, here goes, I wanted to write down the story of my whole ordeal, mostly for my keeping. It will most likely be very long so if you don't want to read it all, I totally understand.

I had been borderline mild pre-eclamptic throughout most of my 3rd trimester so on Thursday March 12, (35 wks. and 5 days) I decided to just drop in at my OB office and have them check my blood pressure. The swelling was getting worse everywhere and I knew we would be heading up to Salt Lake for a baby shower from Justin's side of the family, so I wanted to make sure I was okay to go. They took my blood pressure, it was elevated a little more than even it had been over the past few weeks, my doctor was at the hospital in a delivery so his partner ordered a 24 hr. urine test to check for protein and a non-stress test. The baby was doing well throughout the test and after talking to my doctor he gave me the okay to go up for the shower as long as my activities were very limited. He also told me that I was going to have to be on bed rest when I came back and that we would get me to 37 wks and then induce. I was full of so many emotions at that point, I told Justin I was so scared and nervous to be induced in a little over a week, but I was almost more scared to not be induced and have to go through 3-4 more weeks in such an uncomfortable state. We went to Salt Lake and enjoyed our baby shower, thank you everyone it was wonderful! On Monday March 16th, even though I was supposed to be on bed rest I went to work because I was supposed to train Jenna, the new hygienist at my work. I worked all day and went to my appointment that evening. My doctor checked me and I was barely 1cm dilated and about 50% thinned. My blood pressure was getting higher and the swelling was getting even worse...but I had come to terms with being induced in a week. Well at this appointment my doctor was really worried about me and so he tells me he wants me to go to the hospital for some lab work and then wait for the results in Labor and Delivery. If the results are okay he'll send me home and have me do another 24 hr. urine test, if not, then they will admit me and start inducing a 1 am! Now I'm really nervous! So we did the lab work and I was admitted at about 9:30 that night. So at 1 am they started giving me the medication to help soften and thin the cervix. That continues through the morning, and about 2 o'clock in the afternoon I was still only dilated to 1cm but was now 70% thin. At around 4:30 my doctor checked me again and I was dilated to almost 2cm. He broke my water and I went to almost 3cm. At about 5 pm I was dilated to 4cm and they started the pitocin. The contractions started coming 2 at a time. I would have 2 strong ones right in a row and then go about 6 min without anything. Finally at about 7:30 pm I decided I wanted the epidural...the anesthesiologist came in to get started. 4 shots later I was finally all the way numb. Because of all the severe swelling, my back was so swollen too that it was difficult to see or feel where he needed to be. The first 2 epidurals went in blood vessels, and the third one only got the right half of me numb. After having a blessing we did the 4th epidural and finally I was completely numb. This put us at about 10 o'clock at night on March 17th. At around 11:00 my body wasn't progressing past 4cm and the baby was starting to be in distress, so my doctor tells me we need to do an emergency c-section. Luckily I was numb enough from the epidural that they didn't have to put me out completely and at 12:01 am on March 18th we got our beautiful baby girl! She was perfect, she didn't need any oxygen or anything. We are so blessed that she was so healthy. We stayed in the hospital until Sunday March 22nd. We were so excited to finally go home and be a family!

That night however was one of the worst nights of my life. I started feeling like it I couldn't catch my breath. I just figured it was due to the fact that I had just had a baby by c-section and had been in a hospital bed for 6 days. But it continued to get worse as the night went on. Our bishop came over that night to check on us and I asked if he and Justin could give me a blessing. I continued to have a lot of difficulty breathing and it got harder when I would try to lay down...I knew I had an appointment at my OB office the next day so I made it through the night sleeping in the rocking chair. At my appointment the next day, Monday, March 23rd, I mentioned it to my doctor and he listened to my lungs, said they sounded pretty clear but when he saw how hard it was for me when I laid down he sent me over to ER to have a chest x-ray to check for fluid. So in the ER I had a chest x-ray, and EKG, and CT scan, and blood work. Based on the results of all these tests they admitted me to ICU where they did an Echo on my heart. They told me I have congestive heart failure and peripartum cardiomyopathy. Basically this means my heart was unable to fill and pump blood efficiently enough so it wasn't getting rid of the excess fluid I built up with the pre-eclampsia, so fluid was backing up in my lungs and around my heart. And because my heart was trying to work so hard to get rid of the fluid my heart muscle became enlarged. So I was put on medication for high blood pressure and to help my heart pump more efficiently as well as a diuretic to help my body eliminate excess fluid. In my 3 days in ICU I lost about 13 liters of fluid and nearly 30 lbs! I have responded very well to the medications and I'm feeling a lot better. I'm seeing the cardiologist regularly now and although he expects that I will make almost, if not, a full recovery, he is not optimistic for future pregnancies. He says with subsequent pregnancies this condition will mostly likely return and there is a 50% mortality rate for me. So we are counting our many blessings that we have this beautiful and healthy baby girl and that I'm here to enjoy her! Thank you so much to everyone, for your fasting and prayers on our behalf. I have truly felt your love and I know that your prayers have been answered according to our Heavenly Father's plan for me and my family. All I have ever wanted since I was a little girl was to be a mother, and now I have a little miracle for a daughter!