When my husband and I got married in
92, I soon found out after that I was
pregnant. After we got over the shock,
because we weren't trying, we were
excited about it. At about 6 weeks, I
woke up cramping and bleeding very
heavy, and an US showed that we
miscarried. My Dr at the time was
not
concerned, and said that it was very
common. I also found out I was RH-,
so
I got a Rhogam shot.
In 99 we decided that we were
going
to start trying, and 3 months later, I
was pregnant. I did everything right,
I felt great. I was a retail manager
at the time, and was on my feet alot,
and lifted, etc. Once we got past 8
weeks, I felt pretty confident.
At 11 weeks, I started spotting.
I
was really scared, I called my OB, who
happened to be out of town, and dealt
with the on call OB who was horrible.
She basically told me there was
nothing
they could do, and if I was going to
lose it, I would lose it, no
compassion, nothing. Well I kept
spotting more and more, and felt like
I
was going to go out of my mind. So I
went to the ER, and the Dr there was
so
wonderful, he was actually one of my
customers in my store, he was afraid
it
was etopic, and sent me for an
ultrasound. That was the first time I
ever heard Adam's heartbeat, or see
him
move, he was flipping, and moving all
over, I was more in love than before!
Everything looked fine, I wasn't
dialated, no real reason for the
spotting. I went home, and this
continued for about 16 days. When my
OB
got back to town he checked me, and
wasn't that concerned.
I reminded him that a year
earlier,
I had a Leep procedure done, and that
I
was worried that an IC could possibly
be in my future. He said they'd check
it at 16 weeks. When that time came,
he had ordered it done vaginally, but
she didn't do it that way. When he
saw
my chart, he was upset that she didn't
do it the right way, but he said that
my results look OK.
I continued fine, I would notice
that I felt alot of pressure, but I
assumed that was normal. One night, I
woke up at 2:00am, and went to the
bathroom. I noticed that when I
wiped,
I was very mucousy, but it was dark,
and I just thought that it was
normal. I woke again at 4:00am, this
time I felt like I had wet my pants, I
was completly soaked, and I had a
wierd
feeling about it, but I thought well,
mabie I just wet the bed. I got up,
and that's when I knew something
wasn't
right. It was coming out on it's own,
all the way to the bathroom. When I
got in there, I lost all my fluid, It
just poured out. I knew something was
wrong. It was so ironic too, because
the night before I wrote in the things
to buy before baby, was a plastic
sheet
for the bed, sience I read that most
women's water breaks in bed. Little
did I know!!
I wasn't scheduled to work till
1:00pm, so I called my OB, and they
told me to get to the ER. At that
point, my OB met me there, and
confirmed that my water broke, the
fluid showed no sign of infection,
that
I wasn't dialated. I had to call my
husband at work, and tell him that we
had a problem. It was so sad, we both
were so scared and sobbing. At that
point, they admitted me to the
hospital, and my Dr. told me that at
my
stage, my baby wasn't viable, and if I
went into labor, all they could do was
make me comfortable. I can't explain
the horror of it all, I have never
been
that devastated and terrified.
Well, I didn't go into labor as
he
thought, and soon I became the
miracle. He put me on antibiotics,
and
I developed no infection. This is a
small town hospital, and only being an
hour from Pittsburgh, he consulted
Magee's high risk pregnancy dept. He
told me that it was my choice, but if
they transfered me to Magee, it was
such a big hospital, that they would
forget about me, blah, blah, blah. By
week 6 in the hospital, they were so
used to me, I was calling the RN's for
my meds, because they were 4 hours
late
giving them to me, and they forgot. He
never had an answer for the lung
development. I would ask him, if the
lungs were affected, and he said he
wasn't really sure, but at the stage I
was at, the baby was gaining size,
doing well, in the 98% for survival.
I
was having contractions, and the DR
and
the RNs said that it was probably just
the baby stretching. Finally one had
the sense to put me on the moniter,
where I registered one. The next day,
I
started noticing blood, and looked
like
I had lost my plug. They gave me my
2nd
set of steroid shots, and that was
that. At that point, he transfered me
to Magee saying, I'm sure it's
nothing,
you'll be back in a couple days. This
was Sat. 3/4/00, at 3:00. In front of
the Dr., I told my husband not to come
to the hospital with me, that it was
only routine, and just come tommorow.
At 4:30, I was in a L&D suite at
Magee,
and I am trying to tell them that it's
a mistake, I'm not in labor, they're
just transfering me. So about the
time
they are ready to transport me to
another room, I start noticing I am
having contractions, about every 5
minutes. I have a million different
residents coming to look at me, and
I'm
like please get the real Dr in here
now, PLEASE!!! So 5:45, they're every
2-3 minutes, and lasting 45-60sec.
They put me on meds to try to stop
them, and I'm calling my husband to
tell him to get up here NOW, because I
am in labor, which he didn't
understand, and was trying to ask me a
million questions, and am I sure, what
do the Dr's say, and my main Dr is in
the room with me while I am having
this
conversation, and I'm sure he's
thinking, poor girl, her husband
won't
even come be with her. I got tired of
trying to explain to him, deal with
contractions, worry, I just hung up.
Poor guy, he called back, and was on
his way.
They decided to check me again,
they checked me when I arrived, and
was
closed. This time, I saw the look on
her face, She said she could see his
hand sticking out, and see his butt,
and they were going to do an emergency
c-section on me, right then, I said my
husband wasn't there yet, and they
said
it didn't matter, and that they were
starting. It was horrible, things just
started getting so out of control.
They wheeled me in the OR, and I was
just praying, I was in SHOCK! Just as
they made the incision, in came Brad
all robed up, and he looked as shocked
as I felt. I was so glad he was
there. Adam James was born at
10:16pm,
3pounds, 14 inches, I wasn't even
surprised it was a boy. I didn't get
to see him yet, I wish we had lowered
the sheet, but I wasn't even thinking.
Just watching my husband's face was
great, he kept telling me how
beautiful
he was. Then we got to hear him cry,
and it sounded wonderful. They
wheeled
him by me on the way to NICU, so I
could see him. I thank God for that
moment, I have never had such joy as I
did then.
I went to recovery, and Brad
looked in on Adam in the NICU, and he
was doing so good. He called all our
families, and were just so grateful
that he was born OK. We didn't get to
sleep till about 3:30am, but I don't
ever recall the happiness I felt then,
we were finally a family, and Adam was
OK.
We got the call at 8:30am,
3/5/00,
from NICU that Adam needed a blood
transfusion, and that he wasn't
processing O2 well, and that gasses
were building up in his system. We
said
of course, and they told us in an
hour,
we'd know if it had worked. I prayed
so much that hour, I thought surely
God
had gotten us that far, Adam would
make
it. The Dr came to get us in an hour,
and said that we should get down
there,
he wasn't doing well. I'm like what do
you mean he's not doing well, we heard
him cry, how could he do well all
night, and then turn? I thought we
were
in the 98%? I was so mad at him, I
just
felt like he wasn't trying, I had read
so much in the hospital, so I knew a
little to be dangerous, asking him if
he had done this, and this, and this.
I
was devasted when they handed him to
me, all covered up, covered with
tubes,
and a VIP breathing device. They were
wonderful, put up a screen for us, and
let us have him for almost 3 hours,
(felt like 10 minutes!) They took lots
of pics, and it came a point, when I
knew that he was going to die, that I
asked them to take him of the
respirater. I will never forget the
peaceful look he had on his face when
we held him, just Brad and I, and I
knew Jesus was there, too, ready to
take him home. Adam took two very
deep
breaths, which sounded so sweet, and
he
passed away.
After that, only someone who lost
a child understands the times you go
through, and feeling like you want to
die too, because it hurts too much to
live. It has been a very long,
horrible
road. I have been able to make friends
with others who lost thier babies too,
and be of some consolation to each
other, just to tell our story over and
over, when others didn't want to hear
it anymore, and thought that I should
be over it by now. Adam has changed my
life, and I have great joy knowing
that I will see him in heaven, someday.
After 8 months of long trying,
and
crying when my period started, we were
finally pregnant. I was scared to
death, I was having all kinds of
miscarriage nightmares, it was
horrible!
At 11 weeks, I had similar spoting,
like I had had with Adam at 11 weeks,
and they decided to do an US on me.
When the put it down, I knew something
was wrong, there was nothing on the
screen, but what looked like a little
marble, I kept asking where was the
baby, and she said that she couldn't
find it. I was devastated and so
angry, that I let my hopes get up, and
I should have known better. I was
diagnosed with a blighted ovum, a
cruel
trick that your body keeps playing,
thinking your pregnant, when there's
nothing at all. I had a D&E done, my
Dr
suggested I wait, let it happen on
it's
own, and I said no way, I wasn't going
to walk around waiting for this
miscariage to happen. He didn't get it
all unfortunatly, and I had to be
readmitted to the hosp.(L&D floor no
less), and put on pit all night, which
worked. My OB was gone, and when the
on
call OB came in, he explained that my
D&E was great, I just had alot
of "shit" in there. At that point, I
took my own IV out,got dressed, and
was
getting out of that hospital.
Sience then, we are still
trying.
I have had genetic tests done, have no
problems, and they say it's just all
flukes. I don't know how many flukes I
can take. We are trying for 6 more
months, which I told my husband I was
willing to do. I am ready to stop, and
adopt, but he still wants to try, so
we'll see. I guess if it is in God's
will, it will happen. I am in therapy,
and it helps, I also got on Zoloft for
depression, I thought I was losing my
mind, and was thinking about ending it
all way too often. I am starting to
feel more like my old self again, what
ever that is. I have alot of anger
twords my DR that treated me while I
was on bedrest. I don't think he
wanted
to transfer me because of financial
reasons, and he had no business
treating me, he had no experience what
so ever in high risk, or PROM.
Needlesss to say, I see the high risk
team at Magee Women's, and they are
wonderful.
I have sience heard that baby's
survived, when thier Dr's elevated
thier mother's feet, to retain the
water in the sac. Sience I never
stopped leaking, the Dr at Magee told
me when my fluid broke, Adam's lungs
stopped developing, sience there was
no
fluid. He could have been 10 pounds
when he was born, and gone full term,
and he still wouldn't have made it,
I would appreciate on hearing how
you Dr treated you, what measures he
took, did he evevate your legs, to
keep
water in? I'd appreciate any feedback
on that, from parents that have both
lost and ones that thier baby's have
survived.
I never dreamed there would be a
site for this, and how much it helps.
Thank you for letting me share my
story. Andrea
Post PROM
Story
|
|
