I have been thinking about sharing my birth story and have wanted to for a while, but I needed to first process it with myself before I could sit and type it. I am now sitting here, with my handsome four-month-old on my lap. Part of me cannot believe it has been four months and the other part of me remembers it all like it was yesterday.
Throughout my pregnancy, I felt extremely fortunate that it was uneventful. No morning sickness, mild – moderate hip pain towards the end, and I was able to continue my BarreBlend prenatal workouts for a majority of it.
That was until week 38… I remember going on our daily walk with my hubby and pups (trying to get that baby, moving down) and feeling like I had a slight headache. I thought- I should make sure I have had enough water.
Then came the weekend. I woke up nauseous and with an intense pain in the back of my shoulder. The symptoms seemed to subside a bit that day and I wrote it off as end of pregnancy pain. Sunday night came with more intense shoulder pain and nausea. I called my doctors helpline and they said to call and possibly come in once they opened Monday. Over the weekend, I had taken my blood pressure, which was completely normal and had continued walking. Monday morning came and the nausea faded but that shoulder pain was bad. I had even considered going to the chiropractor but thought I would get checked out first.
My mom drove me to my doctor’s appointment that morning and hubby met me there with the hospital bag. They both had to wait in the car because no support people were allowed in with the pandemic. The doctor suspected gallstones but wanted me to go to the labor and delivery triage at the hospital to have some lab work done and be sure.
We arrived at the hospital and I went in to triage alone as my husband could not join unless I was admitted and had a room. They took bloodwork, a urine sample and ultrasound. Waiting five hours alone felt like a lifetime, but I was convinced that’s “Just how the end of pregnancy was” and was texting my hubby about dinner plans and of course grabbing some chocolate cake on the way home. After the tests and monitoring returned, my doctor then walked in, and said my liver enzymes were off the charts, and my platelets were too low (70,000). We would be admitted and having our baby that week!
After 5 years of infertility, I thought we had gone through the hard part, but another challenge stood in front of us as I was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome, a severe form of Preeclampsia. All the doctors and nurses were surprised to see an asymptomatic case as I did not have high blood pressure or protein in my urine to signal to them of my condition.
You may think it is normal to not feel-good during pregnancy, but please follow your instincts if this is the case for you! It is better to get checked out and it be nothing than to ignore it.
See part 2 of my birth story.
What is HELLP Syndrome?
H (Hemolysis – breaking down of red blood cells)
EL (elevated liver enzymes)
LP (Low platelet count)
According to the Preeclampsia Foundation, “HELLP syndrome can be difficult to diagnose, especially when high blood pressure and protein in the urine aren’t present. Its symptoms are sometimes mistaken for gastritis, flu, acute hepatitis, gall bladder disease, or other conditions.
The mortality rate of HELLP syndrome has been reported to be as high as 30%. That’s why it’s critical for expecting mothers to be aware of the condition and its symptoms so they can receive early diagnosis and treatment.”
For more information, visit: https://www.preeclampsia.org/hellp-syndrome
See part 2 of my birth story.
My Spool of Life 