Sixteen years ago today I didn’t think I would go home from the hospital. And I didn’t think I would be a parent a second time. My son’s birth wasn’t an easy one. In fact, the reality is I could have died and even he could have, too.
I haven’t shared his birth story with very many people, but it’s important that if I hadn’t survived, I wouldn’t be working on fulfilling my goal of being a writer.
Four days before his birth
Early in the wee hours of Friday, March 17, I woke my husband (We have since divorced.) and told him I was having contractions. I had already called the doctor’s office — an emergency number for situations like this — and had been given the approval to head to the hospital.
We lived 45 minutes away so we didn’t have time to waste.
My husband jumped out of bed and got dressed. He called his mother and had her come stay with our daughter.
Once we were at the hospital, the nurses hurried us to a room where I changed into a gown and hooked me up to devices to monitor the baby.
A few hours later the contractions had all but stopped. No baby at this point.
We were sent home.
The birth
On Monday, March 20, after I had fixed a quick dinner, I didn’t keep it down. The contractions came again.
I called the doctor again and was told to head to the hospital.
This time my husband’s mother drove us — my husband, our daughter, and me — to the hospital. Long story short, my husband had gotten a concussion when we were at the hospital the first time.
Again, I changed into a gown, and the nurses hooked me up to machines to monitor the baby.
I dilated fine until I hit around nine. Then nothing.
I wasn’t dilating to ten as I needed to do, and the doctor decided to prepare me for a c-section.
Little did we know at that time, but I had developed pre-eclampsia followed by the HELLP Syndrome.
The doctor used Pitocin to induce labor, and my son was born within a couple of hours.
However, I was not in the clear yet.
I suffered through the next four days with a magnesium sulfur IV trying to get my platelet count back up. Not only did I look horrible, but I felt horrible and weak.
I didn’t want to hold my newborn son for fear I would drop him.
Normally when a mother is in my condition, she bounces back within 24-48 hours after the baby’s birth. But I wasn’t doing that.
Because of the HELLP Syndrome, my platelet count was low and wasn’t rising even with the help of the IV.
I didn’t realize until a blood specialist was called how serious my case really was.
And I was scared.
Going home
After five days in the hospital, my husband took our newborn son and me home. I needed some recovery time at home, but at least we had plenty of family to help me care for our son.
I never thought I would have to worry about something like this happening to me. However, it showed me that things can happen to even healthy women.
Today my son celebrated his 16th birthday. He has had his bouts of illnesses as a child — from food allergies to pneumonia, but he has overcome that.
I am proud of who he is becoming, and I’m glad we survived his birth.