Our God is in Control
I really have no words or way to start this out. I know I need to keep up with thoughts and progress and such... It's just so overwhelming. This first few posts will be a little long as I give all the back story to this week. Hopefully the updates from here on out won't be so lengthy.
I guess we'll just start at the beginning and talk about all that has happened in the last few days. A week ago, we were with family in Lexington getting ready for our first baby shower for our new baby girl Sarah. I was 29 weeks pregnant, almost 30 weeks. It was an early shower, but I was just so excited to start REALLY preparing for her birth in the fall. We had a great weekend, busy... Saw lots of people. Had a great time!
Monday was the holiday and we came home early afternoon. I collapsed on the couch and pretty much stayed there the rest of the day. I was so incredibly worn out. I hadn't slept in about a week really, had been a little nauseous, heart burn, was already swelling a lot, back pain. All sounded like symptoms of being pregnant. Everyone I talked to usually gave me that... "Yup... You're pregnant... Sorry, it's just not going to get any better." pep talk that everyone wants to hear. I had pretty much resigned to being miserable for the 10 weeks that follow.
I went to work on Tuesday, and was doing alright. I was a little out of it. Having trouble focusing, remembering things. I was incredibly agitated by every tiny little thing - which again I took as just being hormonal and not sleeping well. By late afternoon I was really starting to not feel well - to the point that I was wondering if I could make the drive home. Home seemed so far away and I felt so sick. I pushed through to the end of the day to make sure things got off to a good start for our first night of classes. The moment I felt it was under control I left and promised I'd deal with all the loose ends later in the week. I just felt so bad... I needed to go lay down. The really bad symptoms had started kicking in around 3pm and just didn't let up. I left the office around 5:30 and got home shortly after 6:15.
Jim and I had planned to go run some errands, pick up my birthday present, go to dinner at Qdoba as we had 2 different free burrito coupons to use - free dinner!! I walked in the house and just collapsed on the couch. I told him I couldn't possibly go out and that I just wanted plain pasta or something like that to help settle my stomach. He was happy to take care of me and got me everything I needed to try and be comfortable.
By 7:30ish, the pain radiating in my chest had shot all the way through to my spine. It hurt to breathe deeply. It felt like all my insides in my chest cavity were bruised and out of room. I was moaning and crying in pain, and Jim and I decided that I needed to call the doctor.
The nurse on call told me that it sounded like a few things... 1) It could just be really bad heartburn - in which case she could call me in a prescription heartburn medicine to try for the night and see if it helped. 2) It could be a gallbladder issue based on where the pain was radiating from. To determine that, I would need to go into the ER and have an ultrasound done to check out my organs. 3) It could just be a lot of pain, and I could go to the ER and take some pain meds so I could sleep.
When 2 out of 3 of my options are the ER, and one includes an organ that I'm sure has SOMETHING important to do... I had watched enough medical TV dramas to know that I should probably not take the prescription - wait it out- option. I told her we'd be heading into the ER if they wanted to call ahead and let the OB on call know I was coming. We headed out of the house around 8pm.
It took them maybe 30 minutes to get admitted, and wheeled up to a room. They didn't take me to an ER room, but up to the maternity ward. After what felt like FOREVER of diagnostics, running tests, labs, getting an IV hooked in... The doctor came in and talked with us.
She started off with the statement that I was very, very, very sick. And that they were going to have to deliver the baby early to make sure we were both alright. I immediately burst into tears. I was only 30 weeks along. 75% of the way through... There was no way this could be good for my baby. She was going to be much too little. All I could think of was her. We were initially told that she would be delivered in the next couple days.
The doctor continued in talking about my condition and what was actually going on. I had a condition knows as Preeclampsia, which I had heard of. Usually included high blood pressure and swelling. But I had gone much further than that and had a syndrome called HELLPS syndrome in addition. The short story is that my liver was going into liver failure and my body was attacking itself. If they didn't deliver the baby right away, my liver would burst and I would possibly not be with us today. The only cure for this condition is to deliver the baby. My body should revert right back to it's normal state once the baby is gone.
Sometime between 10 and 11, they decided the baby would be here tonight. They started prepping me for surgery. Because of the severity of the situation, Jim would not be allowed to be in the OR with me or see our little girl be born. Thankfully a couple from our church was able to come right over and sit with him while I was in surgery. I'm so glad he wasn't alone during all this.
At 11:53pm on May 29, 2012 - Sarah Katherine Nally joined the world at 2 lbs 12 oz. and 15 inches long.
I guess we'll just start at the beginning and talk about all that has happened in the last few days. A week ago, we were with family in Lexington getting ready for our first baby shower for our new baby girl Sarah. I was 29 weeks pregnant, almost 30 weeks. It was an early shower, but I was just so excited to start REALLY preparing for her birth in the fall. We had a great weekend, busy... Saw lots of people. Had a great time!
Monday was the holiday and we came home early afternoon. I collapsed on the couch and pretty much stayed there the rest of the day. I was so incredibly worn out. I hadn't slept in about a week really, had been a little nauseous, heart burn, was already swelling a lot, back pain. All sounded like symptoms of being pregnant. Everyone I talked to usually gave me that... "Yup... You're pregnant... Sorry, it's just not going to get any better." pep talk that everyone wants to hear. I had pretty much resigned to being miserable for the 10 weeks that follow.
I went to work on Tuesday, and was doing alright. I was a little out of it. Having trouble focusing, remembering things. I was incredibly agitated by every tiny little thing - which again I took as just being hormonal and not sleeping well. By late afternoon I was really starting to not feel well - to the point that I was wondering if I could make the drive home. Home seemed so far away and I felt so sick. I pushed through to the end of the day to make sure things got off to a good start for our first night of classes. The moment I felt it was under control I left and promised I'd deal with all the loose ends later in the week. I just felt so bad... I needed to go lay down. The really bad symptoms had started kicking in around 3pm and just didn't let up. I left the office around 5:30 and got home shortly after 6:15.
Jim and I had planned to go run some errands, pick up my birthday present, go to dinner at Qdoba as we had 2 different free burrito coupons to use - free dinner!! I walked in the house and just collapsed on the couch. I told him I couldn't possibly go out and that I just wanted plain pasta or something like that to help settle my stomach. He was happy to take care of me and got me everything I needed to try and be comfortable.
By 7:30ish, the pain radiating in my chest had shot all the way through to my spine. It hurt to breathe deeply. It felt like all my insides in my chest cavity were bruised and out of room. I was moaning and crying in pain, and Jim and I decided that I needed to call the doctor.
The nurse on call told me that it sounded like a few things... 1) It could just be really bad heartburn - in which case she could call me in a prescription heartburn medicine to try for the night and see if it helped. 2) It could be a gallbladder issue based on where the pain was radiating from. To determine that, I would need to go into the ER and have an ultrasound done to check out my organs. 3) It could just be a lot of pain, and I could go to the ER and take some pain meds so I could sleep.
When 2 out of 3 of my options are the ER, and one includes an organ that I'm sure has SOMETHING important to do... I had watched enough medical TV dramas to know that I should probably not take the prescription - wait it out- option. I told her we'd be heading into the ER if they wanted to call ahead and let the OB on call know I was coming. We headed out of the house around 8pm.
It took them maybe 30 minutes to get admitted, and wheeled up to a room. They didn't take me to an ER room, but up to the maternity ward. After what felt like FOREVER of diagnostics, running tests, labs, getting an IV hooked in... The doctor came in and talked with us.
She started off with the statement that I was very, very, very sick. And that they were going to have to deliver the baby early to make sure we were both alright. I immediately burst into tears. I was only 30 weeks along. 75% of the way through... There was no way this could be good for my baby. She was going to be much too little. All I could think of was her. We were initially told that she would be delivered in the next couple days.
The doctor continued in talking about my condition and what was actually going on. I had a condition knows as Preeclampsia, which I had heard of. Usually included high blood pressure and swelling. But I had gone much further than that and had a syndrome called HELLPS syndrome in addition. The short story is that my liver was going into liver failure and my body was attacking itself. If they didn't deliver the baby right away, my liver would burst and I would possibly not be with us today. The only cure for this condition is to deliver the baby. My body should revert right back to it's normal state once the baby is gone.
Sometime between 10 and 11, they decided the baby would be here tonight. They started prepping me for surgery. Because of the severity of the situation, Jim would not be allowed to be in the OR with me or see our little girl be born. Thankfully a couple from our church was able to come right over and sit with him while I was in surgery. I'm so glad he wasn't alone during all this.
At 11:53pm on May 29, 2012 - Sarah Katherine Nally joined the world at 2 lbs 12 oz. and 15 inches long.
Glad you're blogging about this. It will be a precious keepsake in years to come--and a great reminder of God's faithfulness!
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how difficult and painful and wonderful this week has been for you, Amanda! I love that you're writing it all down. Thank you for giving us an inside look at your story.
ReplyDelete