It has been 11 short weeks since Graysen's arrival. We all have settled in as a family of five, and things are going smooth. That wasn't the case there for a while. Here is his story.
It started on March 16, when my in-laws called to let us know, that my sister in law had passed away in her sleep. She had suffered from seizures for many many years, and that is what eventually took her life.
We were going to leave Tuesday, March 24, and head to Newport, WA to attend the funeral for my sister in law. However my body had a different agenda.
I woke up about 4am on March 24 and had horrible pains on the right side of my stomach. I thought I had just really bad gas and tried to work through it in the bathroom. No relief came and I finally went back to bed and rolled around until 7am when I was finally able to close my eyes. When I woke up a few hours later, the pain was still there, and I just felt extremely funny. I knew something wasn't right. I took a shower, talked with Sean, and we both agreed I needed to call the Doctor. After speaking with the nurse, she told me to hang tight, that I will most likely need to be monitored, and sure enough, she called back asking me to drop off my 24 hour collection and head to the hospital triage for observation.
We took the kids over to my aunts house, where she said "Moms going to go have a baby" to Michael and Shelby. It hadn't hit me until that point, that these problems could make that statement a reality and I began to cry. I cried not because I was worried about having 3 kids, I cried because the baby in my belly was only 31 weeks and 6 days.
When we arrived at triage, they hadn't been prepared for me to arrive yet, so we had to wait in the waiting area where my anxiety and worry went on full alert. I sobbed like crazy while Sean did his very best to keep my spirits high.
When we were finally taking back to triage, we discovered my B/P was extremely high. And after receiving results back from the 24 collection I had dropped off at the clinic, the protein in my urine had spiked, in just a matter of days. They drew my blood for a PIH(Pregnancy induced Hypertension) panel & put in a IV.
(I look like HELL, it's the one picture my husband captured in the triage)
The Doctor on call came in to see me in triage, and gave me devastating news. I would be admitted to the hospital and induced that day. My heart was broken, I was scared, and just so confused. Why was my body doing this, severe preeclampsia. I had mild Preeclampsia with both Michael and Shelby, but nothing this severe.
I was moved to a birthing suite where I was started on Magnesium. By that evening I was feeling so much better. The nurses relayed to the doctor that I was no longer experiencing the pain/pressure on my right side. The Doc came in was so relieved that my symptoms had tapered off meaning induction wouldn't be necessary that day. Whew one dodge ball miss. BUT I would not be leaving the hospital until the baby arrived.
My doctor came in the next day and explained to me what would be happening. Since the Magnesium was calming the Preeclampsia symptoms, we would start the steroid shots for the baby to help mature the baby's lungs. He said I can only be on the Magnesium for 48 hours, which is long enough for the steroid shots, but after that I would have to be taken off of it. He said 1 of 2 things can happen, 1 my symptoms come back full force and we have to induce, or 2 your symptoms stay away and your body behaves and we can keep baby in longer.
So on Wednesday I received the first steroid shot, had an ultrasound, and many many lab draws for the PIH panel.
On Thursday after I received my second shot, and the full 48 hours had been up with the magnesium, I was taken off, and it turned into a waiting game from there.
Early Friday morning my blood was drawn for another PIH panel and by 9am I received the news that I did not want to hear. My preeclampsia had returned in full force and I would be induced.
My mom had called before then, and I had assured her that she could go to work out of town that day, so when I called to tell her I would be induced she was panicked. All I could tell her was to stay calm,, induction can take a while, and she would be back by the time things were starting to pick up.
I had another ultrasound and praise god the baby was HEAD DOWN. News we all wanted to hear. Baby being head down, meant we can do this natural, the best and safest way for me.
The Chaplin came in and prayed with Sean and I, and the power of prayer was certainly surrounding us.
They started induction by placing a bulb in my uterus and one in front of my cervix and filled it with Saline. This process helps soften and start dilating the cervix. By 1 or so I was having pretty solid contractions, they hadn't been painful yet but a lot of pressure. My mom arrived around 3 or 4 and that's when the contractions really started to pick up. A few of the contractions had brought me to tears and I asked for the epidural. The doctor came in and was able to just pull the bulb right out, I had dilated to a 4 and things were looking good. By 6:30 I had to pee so bad. I managed to get up and sit on the toilet, but kept contracting. I thought I had peed but Sean said nothing had come out. The Doctor and Nurse arrived and agreed to put a fully cathider in. Thank goodness because I filled the bag! When I went to readjust myself in bed I felt something come out, and it was a blood clot. I freaked out. I had never bled during labor, and from I knew, it was never a good thing. The Dr. reassured me it was from the bulb and not to worry.
I was also on the Magnesium again, and by that point they put me on oxygen and had me get an EKG. My heart rate had dropped so low, they honestly thought my heart was going to stop. I didn't feel that bad, but apparently I was in pretty ruff shape.
At around 8pm I finally received the epidural. I was in full blown labor, and I was hurting bad, it took every ounce of my being to remain still during epidural placement, and if hadn't of been for one of the nurses coaching me through the contractions, I wouldn't have been able to sit still for the epi.
After the epi was in, it was more waiting. The Dr. checked me again and no progression, still at 4. So I was started on pitocin to further start labor, and after a half and hour and a quick nap, I was told the pitocin wasn't doing anything for my labor, and in fact stressing the baby. Dr. said he was going to take me to the OR(Operating Room) to break my water. That he was taking me to the OR just for precaution just in case anything would happen. I asked every one leave the room, so I could take with Sean, mom, and best friend. I was a mess. I was so afraid and begged them to reassure me this was OK. I would come back and have this baby. I just felt in my heart, that if I went into the OR, that is where I would have the baby,
Sean had to stay behind, because it was just for me to break my water and I would be right back. He walked with me as far as he could before we said our goodbyes. When our hands released, my heart sunk, and fear consumed me. I entered the OR and assessed faces, the look on some of them, because of my size, sent me into further panic. I just wanted to scream, please don't judge me! Now isn't the time, now is the time to help me! They were playing Z100 at the time and Bruno mars uptown funk was playing. A favorite song of mine at the time.
I was transferred to OR table and the doctor tried to break my water. The epidural hadn't taken effect yet or wasn't placed right, because I was in so much pain. I have never screamed during any of my labors, and have always handled the pain well and remained quite quiet. Until that moment, I screamed. I had never hurt so bad in my entire life. It felt like eternity, while the Dr. tried to break my water, and then he stopped. He came to where I could see him and told me the most heartbreaking and devastating news of my life. He needed perform and emergency c-section. He told me the baby's umbilical cord was in front of the baby, and that if he had broken my water, it would have caused an umbilical prolapse, meaning the umbilical cord would have been delivered before baby, and the baby would bleed out. I lost it, I was scared, alone, and this HUGE person going to have her stomach sliced open. The Dr. held my hand and said he was going to take the best care of me.
The mask was placed over me and within moments I was out.
I woke up, eyes still closed but hearing voices, "Congrats Amy!" Congrats, Congrats for what? "You had a baby, a handsome baby boy! He's doing fine" I didn't digest this information at the time and instead focused on the breathing mask on my face. I guess I became quite combative trying to remove the mask until I passed out again.
I was taken ICU to recover, where I was in and out of being awake. Around 6 or 7am, my husband, mom, and best friend was finally able to see me. The look of pure panic and exhaustion lay on their faces, The look of relief that covered them when I said hello. A moment I will never forget. My husband and I embraced and I just cried, I still was trying to wrap my head around what happened, and the news we had a new little boy. A little boy who weighed only 3lbs 5oz. A little boy who was on IV, breathing machine, and in an incubator. My world literally was in shambles, and my husband could feel my pain. His world too had fallen apart, and he had no control or knowledge of anything until they came to get him after Graysen was born. He told me in the operating room all he could see of me was my legs, the rest was covered. He went with them from the OR to the NICU and stayed by Graysens side during those first scary and unknown hours of his life.
After a few hours in the ICU I had stabilized and was able to transfer to postpartum to recover. They found a special bed for me, that was an air mattress, with a bar on top, to help me move myself in bed. I was wheeled upstairs and they took me on a detour to the NICU where I would meet my son for the first time. They were able to wheel my bed right next to Graysens bed. The nurse removed Graysen from the Isolette and I was able to feel him for the first time, Touch his little feet, and see his tiny head covered in tubes. I couldn't see his face, all I could see was tubes, and my heart broke a little more. The final moment is when I touched Graysen's hand, and he wrapped his little fingers around mine, and just held on for dear life. My son knew I was there, and he didn't want to let me go.
Graysen Hunter
03-28-15
12:41 AM
3lbs 5oz
There are more bits of this story that I want to add, but the important parts are here. More will come later.
