When the door opened, I took in a breath, ready to listen to
the hospitalist and then refuse anything he or she wanted to do. Instead, there
was my doctor. I breathed a sigh of relief! We may have had some tense moments
in the past eight months when discussing things like episiotomies … but I’ve
been his patient for a long time and I really trust him. I figured he’d say his
nurse practitioner was being overly cautious and we’d be checking out and on
our way to Chic-fil-a in no time.
Instead, he informed us that the blood work indicated I have
developed HELLP (Haemolysis, Elevatated Liver enzymes, and
Low Platelet levels) syndrome. My elevated blood pressure,
coupled with elevated liver enzymes indicated that my liver is in distress …
during pregnancy this is caused (they think) by the placenta, and the only cure
is to deliver the baby – even strict bed rest doesn’t help. I would not be
leaving the hospital until Shelby
was born. I tried not to panic, picturing the packing awaiting me at home.
I was given some ugly yellow anti-skid socks and allowed to
walk to a regular L&D room. Room 26, which would become my “home” for the
next week. I was given a slow saline drip to keep my IV open and informed that
once labor started, I would need to be on magnesium sulfate … again, to prevent
seizures. Dang it – I was being induced. So much for 100% natural birth … but
that didn’t mean I had to have an epidural or anything like that – so I focused
on what I was (so I thought) able to control.
The next several days are pretty blurred for me. I remember
letting work know I wasn’t coming in (I remember my boss saying “So, do you
want to start your FMLA now?” … heh, yeah – I guess so. We didn’t even make it
to August). I remember ordering “Hawaiian chicken” from the hospital … oh yeah,
a portion sized piece of grilled chicken with a slice of pineapple on top.
Actually – some of the hospital food wasn’t half bad (chicken quesadillas,
pineapple upside-down cake) as long as you knew what to order.
Thursday morning, I was started on a lower-than-normal dose
of Cytotec. I had planned to refuse Cytotec if they wanted to use it after
reading horror stories – well, that went out the window. Their plan was to
ripen my cervix (which was currently dilated 1cm and 30% effaced) in
preparation for inducing labor with Pitocin. I forget now how many doses it
was, but I was on the Cytotec all day. I was having contractions, but I only
know because they showed me on the monitor. I was barely feeling anything. My
doctor came in as I was finishing my breakfast and said I had good timing,
because he was putting me as “NPO” (Latin … nothing by mouth). And I was given a catheter because the
magnesium made me a fall risk so they didn’t want me getting up to go to the
bathroom. So much for my great relief months previous when we were told on the
hospital tour that they encourage laboring moms to move around … that apparently
only applies to “normal” labor.
Friday I was on Pitocin, again at a low dose, for the entire
day. In the afternoon I did start being able to feel the contractions and
needing to concentrate during them. Tim did an amazing job as my coach. We
spent a good couple of hours laboring together as he described a beautiful
field of flowers, a tree, and a lamb – our little lamb! The excitement that we
might meet Shelby today helped me
ignore the increasing interventions … I’ve never had so many wristbands and now
knew why IV poles have so many hooks.
But, as the day drew to a close … it seemed we were no
closer to meeting Shelby, though her steady heartbeat on the monitor was
reassuring to both of us. My doctor stopped the Pitocin and let me eat. Tim
once again pulled out the little love seat and we settled in for a long night,
interrupted periodically by the alarm going off on my blood pressure monitor,
nurses coming in for various reasons, etc. At 6am
we should be starting the Pitocin again … maybe tomorrow we would meet our
strong steady little girl.
Meanwhile, that day, a group of Tim’s coworkers (psh - our FRIENDS) was moving
us along with my in-laws. I will forever be thankful and indebted to those
selfless friends! They told us not to think about the move, and for once in my
life I let go and let myself be dependent on someone else. Was this how I
pictured this? NO! I was counting on Shelby
being at least 4 days late and assuming I’d have about a month to get the house
situated before she arrived. I was going to finish my thank-you notes, unpack,
and have everything “perfect” for her arrival. I was going to fix meals and put
them in the freezer so I didn’t have to cook right away. Ooooh the plans we
make!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment! I am thankful you were here!