Third times a charm? (back at it again with the blog posts, daaayuummm jayde).
Remember how I stated in my first blog you guys would get that sad story about having HELLP? Well you’re about to get it. Now before you do I’m going to warn you it’s sad, you may shed some tears, you may think this is nothing (if you do you are heartless). Before I dive right into this, know that as a survivor telling this isn’t easy, you may think oh she just typed it what’s she talking about – every time I tell my story it brings back memories I don’t want to remember, feelings I try to avoid, and tears I try to fight every day.
June 25th – the night of my birthday my friends and I decided to go out for a few drinks (in my case all you can eat nachos since I was 35 weeks pregnant) what should of been a for sure sign wasn’t really paid much attention to, my feet, hands and face were so swollen that I had to request an extra chair to raise them during our 2 hours out. After my doctor said at multiple times “swelling is normal your blood pressure is fine don’t worry” so I ignored it.
Fast forward two days where I woke up in extreme pain, constant rib pain and tightness of my stomach. I called my best friend and she took me to the hospital (shoutout to my best friend who literally put fast and the furious to shame that morning) after waiting a few hours we got a “your contractions stopped you aren’t dilated enough go home”. So off we went, I even had a doctors appointment that day and he said I was still fine nothing to be worried about.
Fast forward to the next night – I started having a few cramps but not bad enough to go to the hospital so off we went to my hubby’s parents to swim (nothing was more relaxing than a nice cool pool and swaying your hips). Within an hour the pain was so bad I even refused eating mashed potatoes (anyone who knows me knows I never refuse potatoes) so off we went to the hospital for the second time in 2 days, where once again we were hooked up and monitored, given pain medication and sent home due to “contractions aren’t regular and you aren’t dilated enough”. So off we go leaving the hospital at 5 am in the morning wondering how many games Everleigh is going to play on us. Thankfully they had given me some morphine which helped me sleep at home for a few hours, when my hubby got home we decided to go to my parents who lived 2 hours away because I just wasn’t feeling my best.
During the whole car ride I kept saying it felt like I had contractions every 7 minutes but they were nothing compared to the pain I had already felt so I blew them off. We arrived at my parents and I was feeling fine but still felt under the weather, I went to bed early as I was just so tired from the past few days. A few hours later I woke up shaking and shivering but sweating, I woke my mom up and she sat with me for hours and we watched HGTV (our favourite thing to do of course). I started to feel better minus the back pain that I was having, I was back and fourth between the heating pad, laying down, standing, everything trying to feel better enough to at least get a few hours of rest.
But at 3 pm that day the pain had got so intense I couldn’t even lift my arms up to brush my hair (instant regret #riphair). My mom decided enough was enough something was wrong, we packed the baby bag in the car and off we went. We arrived at 4 pm, after telling the triage nurses what was happening they checked me and we heard the words “you’re having a baby today” I instantly started crying (not only was I nervous but it was my step sons birthday and I didn’t want to have two babies on the same day).
I was instantly admitted, setup with an IV and asked if I had a drug plan I said absolutely I want the epidural right now, the nurse laughed and started to take my blood. About an hour later the nurse advised us that my blood work was abnormal so they were going to take some more to test again. So another hour passed – by now I was begging for an epidural, to my surprise the doctor came in and advised it was out of the question due to my blood work, they told me that any needle into my spinal area would have a high risk of paralyzing me due to my blood platelets not working properly. You can imagine the tears that started pouring when I heard “no epidural”. It was time to put on my big girl pants I wasn’t getting any drugs my worst fear of all natural birth was happening.
As seconds, minutes, hours passed I was turning for the worse, my blood pressure was sky rocketing my liver was going into failure, my blood platelets dropped below 50,000 (the average person has over 200,00). Not only at this time my mom had to sign papers stating she was in charge of all decisions, but she was advised to call up immediate family as they didn’t know if this was going to be the last time they would see me. My blood pressure at this point reached 220/110, I was instantly started on magnesium to stop me from having severe seizures during birth. I was checked around 8:15 pm and the nurses paged the doctor to immediately come, he arrived within minutes with a full team of 7 doctors. They advised my mom that they were to take me for emergency c section and she has two options: a small epidural in my back or to put me under (sure an epidural in the back that’s what a normal patient would get – but not me with this option I risked a high chance of being paralyzed below my waist, and putting me under was just as worse, I risked not waking up and having severe trauma to my daughter as the drugs they had me on to prevent seizures could fill my lungs during surgery). How could someone make that decision? Do I pick the chance of my daughter being paralyzed forever and never being able to walk or run with her daughter or do I risk both my granddaughter and daughter not waking up?
Thankfully I had been pushing on my own with the nurses for the few minutes leading up to the doctors arrival. I would of never made it to the operating table as my daughter Everleigh was born within 15 minutes of pushing (Shoutout to my lady parts for working like a boss and avoiding a csection).
BUT, it doesn’t stop there, Everleigh was born 7 lbs 10 oz 20 inches long (at 36 weeks yes I know imagine if I went full term #ripladyparts). The doctors immediately did their thing – checked Everleigh to make sure her lungs were fully developed, made sure I stopped bleeding and wasn’t going to seizure. After the doctors finally left I was able to have morphine to help my back as I felt like I had constantly been kicked and couldn’t get back up. Our nurse was truly amazing the first night she let me rest and took care of Everleigh, she even did our feedings as I was to unwell to even attempt to breastfeed. The next day they advised me I would be under special care and would need to take my blood and blood pressure every 4-6 hours. Tests were still not getting better but my blood pressure had gone down drastically. My eye vision was a blur and for the first 24 hours it felt like I was underwater. The second day had passed, and by the third day I was able to finally leave my hospital bed to shower, use the bathroom, etc I was advised not to do to much as I was still recovering.
Four days had passed and we were still there waiting for my blood tests to finally be where they should be, but they were slowly getting better. By the fifth day I felt great, ready to leave and take my daughter home, our nurse came in and advised me if I could get 3 blood pressure readings that were “normal” I could go home the next day (thank god!). So our nurse did her first check around 8:30 pm it was a tad bit higher than earlier but she explained it sometimes goes up at night so that was fine, by midnight I had woken up with a terrible feeling like I had food stuck in my throat, within a few minutes I could hear my heart beat (I was terrified, in these moments I felt like I was going to die). Our nurse luckily came in a few minutes later, she took my blood pressure looked at the reading, her eyes opened wide and she looked frightened, she looked at me and instantly walked out, me and my hubby both confused and now extremely worried looked at each other when we heard our nurse call for a doctor to come to our room immediately it was urgent. Two doctors immediately were in our room within minutes, they advised me I would be okay and as much as they liked opening people up I wouldn’t be the case (thank god). They started me on a medication and checked my blood pressure within 15 minutes (it still wasn’t lowering) so I was hit with another round of medication this time a fast acting needle straight into my muscle – nothing. Round 3 of medications within 2 hours finally started to work, so much for us going home the next day.
Day 6 passed and things had started to get better I was on 3 medications and my blood pressure dropped down to 140/90, after being monitored all night and day, we were finally released on day 7. The feeling of leaving the hospital knowing I finally could bring my baby home was truly amazing, I had started to panic the hospital was going to be our new home. For 2 months postpartum I continued to take blood pressure mediation until it was back to normal.
Now what usually people think or say that often triggers me as a hellp syndrome survivor is:
– but you survived?
– your next birth will be fine.
But here’s the thing it won’t, why you ask? Because now I have a high chance of having hellp syndrome again, sure I may know and I can prepare for it but hellp has no cure and it picks when it wants to come. Sure I may have survived this time; but what if we decide on another baby will I make it? Will my baby make it? How does one make that decision. How does one go 9 months without panicking or worrying of what will happen? Or how about the risks I face now, hellp syndrome is a life long journey; increased chance of heart disease, memory loss, etc. Not to mention the anxiety, and depression that comes with it. Would you be able to move on? Or would you often find yourself dwelling in the past due to a near death situation?
Some facts on HELLP:
What is HELLP Syndrome?
HELLP syndrome is a life-threatening pregnancy complication usually considered to be a variant of preeclampsia. Both conditions usually occur during the later stages of pregnancy, or sometimes after childbirth.
HELLP syndrome was named by Dr. Louis Weinstein in 1982 after its characteristics:
H (hemolysis, which is the breaking down of red blood cells)
EL (elevated liver enzymes)
LP (low platelet count)
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 global mortality rate of HELLP syndrome has been reported to be as high as 25%. 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.
Symptoms of HELLP Syndrome
The physical symptoms of HELLP Syndrome may seem at first like preeclampsia. Pregnant women developing HELLP syndrome have reported experiencing one or more of these symptoms:
Headache
Nausea/vomiting/indigestion with pain after eating
Abdominal or chest tenderness and upper right upper side pain (from liver distention)
Shoulder pain or pain when breathing deeply
Bleeding
Changes in vision
Swelling
Signs to look for include:
High blood pressure
Protein in the urine
The most common reasons for mothers to become critically ill or die are liver rupture or stroke (cerebral edema or cerebral hemorrhage). These can usually be prevented when caught in time. If you or someone you know has any of these symptoms, please see a healthcare provider immediately.
Treatment of HELLP Syndrome
Most often, the definitive treatment for women with HELLP Syndrome is the delivery of their baby. During pregnancy, many women suffering from HELLP syndrome require a transfusion of some form of blood product (red cells, platelets, plasma). Corticosteroids can be used in early pregnancy to help the baby’s lungs mature. Some healthcare providers may also use certain steroids to improve the mother’s outcome, as well.
Who’s at Risk of Getting HELLP Syndrome?
Among pregnant women in the United States, 5 to 8% develop preeclampsia. It’s estimated that 15% of those women will develop evidence of HELLP syndrome. This mean as many as 48,000 women per year will develop HELLP syndrome in the US.
We can help lower the cases of HELLP syndrome by properly and quickly diagnosing and treating preeclampsia.
Know the facts, you never know who it can happen to. And most of all spread awareness, save someone’s life.
Until the next post,
Jayde
Lifewithjayde 
Lifewitheverleigh 