On Sunday, February 22, we decided to head to Munson after I had a sleepless night. I felt "off" and my blood pressure readings had been high. I debated about going in, but after talking to my mother-in-law who is a retired nurse, I decided to play it safe and go get checked out. Once I got to Munson, they found that my blood pressure was high and protein was +3. Dr. Wright told me that I now had preeclampsia and they would be transferring me to U of M. At first we thought it would be via ambulance. Then he mentioned helicopter, and the final decision was private jet. So U of M flew their jet up. They started me on Magnesium Sulfate (I had no idea what I was in for with this!) and fluids (plus a lovely catheter), and a steroid shot to help develop his lungs, and they loaded me up on the stretcher. Took an ambulance from Munson to the airport. They drove right on the runway and unloaded me (it was freezing cold and super windy!) and we got onto the jet. The door was quite narrow and my shoulders touched both sides of the doorway. I asked how they got big people on this plane, and they said they don't! The plane was pretty small. We had 2 pilots and 2 in-flight nurses who were great. We landed in Howell and had another ambulance ride to U of M. Everyone was so helpful and kind.
Arrived at U of M, and Ben's parents were here already. The docs came in and evaluated me and hooked me up to blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, contraction, and baby heart rate monitors. I was told I'd be on the Magnesium Sulfate for 24 hours from when they started it. This was making me feel quite hot and I couldn't eat or drink anything, or get out of bed. Other than that, I handled this first round of it ok. The docs decided that they wanted to keep him in for as long as possible since the medication had slowed my contractions (that I didn't know I was having) and my preeclampsia wasn't at a dangerous level. I didn't sleep much at all that night being on the medication. I kept getting really hot and was quite uncomfortable. The next day, they turned off the mag sulfate. I tried to get up about an hour later, and I about fell to the floor! My legs felt like they weighed 900 lbs. The mag sulfate is a muscle relaxant that prevents seizures along with slowing contractions.. It also protects baby's brain from cerebal paulsy. So it was very important... just had to deal with some rough side effects. I also received another steroid shot, but the mag sulfate made me swell up so I was pretty numb, and barely felt it :) Monday and Tuesday were pretty quiet days, with more monitoring and testing. My preeclampsia had stabilized. We started discussing delivery plans, and the docs mentioned removing fluid from his belly before he was born, otherwise he wouldn't fit and we would need to do a vertical C-section in order for him to fit. I definitely wanted to avoid that. They decided to wait until I went into labor to do the fluid removal, otherwise it would have a chance to re-accumulate. On Monday, the U of M Flight Crew stopped by with 3 U of M teddy bears for the kids and Wings for me. So thoughtful of them!!
Wednesday was quite a day. My preeclampsia levels stated to rise even more, and the docs decided to go in and drain some of the excess fluid in his abdomen via paracentisis. They also put me back on the horrible Magnesium Sulfate. They were able to remove over 500ml of urine that had collected in his belly. It was a pretty incredible thing to see. They put a huge needle through my belly (ouch) and had an ultrasound to guide. Dr. Berman performed this, and she is pretty amazing. There was another doctor holding a tube that connected to the needle, and she was pulling the syringes to drain his urine. There were also 3 or 4 med students/fellows helping out. Soon after they were done, my contractions continued to get stronger and the docs came in and decided that it was time to break my water. We wheeled back to the OR and delivered. It was nothing like a normal delivery. I was fully dilated, but had no urge to push... I just had to do my best. He came pretty quick (Dr. Berman did quite a bit of pulling too). I got to hold his head for about 5 seconds until they took him to NICU stabilization area. I had a large amount of blood loss (over 1.5 liters) and was right on the verge of needing a transfusion and possibly a D&C. Things quickly turned into severe preeclampsia. Dr. Berman had a difficult time with the placenta because it was so thick and sticky. My blood pressure started to drop pretty low, and they sent Ben out of the room. Thankfully, she got the placenta out and the bleeding came under control and I was sent to recovery. Did not need anestesia or a D&C.
I honestly felt horrible... So sick (puking a lot) and emotional. I was so worried for Noah. Lots of praying. After 2-3 hours in recovery, they sent me back to my room. Ben went back and forth between seeing me and Noah, and all of our parents were here as well. We didn't have much info, except that he was put on breathing tubes and was doing ok. I later found out that it had taken 6 tries to get his breathing tube in due to his enlarged tongue.
On Thursday, I still felt pretty awful. I was still on the mag sulfate. They said 24 hours after delivery, so I was on it most of the day. That plus the preeclampsia made me pretty miserable. My mom said that she would be talking to me and my eyes would just close and I was totally out of it. I also said some things that I have no recollection of... crazy drugs! I was given limited info on how Noah was doing... They were just doing a lot of testing and monitoring and they weren't sure how he was going to do.
Friday morning, I tried to get to the wheelchair to go see him. 2 nurses helped me stand up, and after about 2 seconds, my blood pressure dropped really low and I felt like I was going to pass out. The docs came in and said I needed a blood transfusion, so they hooked me up and I got 2 new units of blood. Kind of crazy, but I felt a lot better after that. That evening, I was finally able to go down to see Noah in the NICU.
It broke my heart to see how big his belly was. I knew from all of the ultrasounds that it would be very enlarged, but seeing it in person was not easy. He had a small breathing tube in, and a PIC line that wasn't in the totally right spot yet (a few days later they got a new one in that worked much better). He also had a catheter put in to bypass the obstruction that started all of the problems. They also sent in genetic testing for Beckwith-Weidemann Syndrome. 2 of the main markers are an enlarged tongue and omphalocele, which he has both. The omphalocele ruptured at birth (Ben saw it... so glad I didn't). They were able to get the protruding intestines put back in and closed the hole with some stitches and surgical glue. Another marker of the syndrome is overgrowth, which they also believe he has. He was 6 lbs 15 oz at birth, and 16". A lot of that weight was extra fluid, but they also think he is big for his gestational age. Still waiting to receive those results. Noah also has a small hole in his heart which is very common with premature babies. They usually resolve themselves and close on their own, so they'll be watching for that later. The docs believe that both of his kidneys ruptured after looking at an ultrasound. They also started healing quickly after that. They closed up and there hasn't been any urine leaks that they could tell. So that was wonderful news... his kidneys are one of our biggest concerns. They turned Bili lights on for him after a couple of days to help with jaundice. They were on for 3-4 days and then they came off. They always had a little eye mask on him to protect him while the lights were on. He had quite a bit of fluid escaping from the omphalocele, which is when they decided to do a surgery.
On Tuesday March 4, Noah had his first trip to the operating room for surgery. They were able to successfully use a surgical mesh to cover the hole and stitch around it to attach it. They also removed his small breathing tube and placed a new one that would be more efficient and leak much less. When the surgery team came to get him, I felt like I was going to pass out... They were unhooking everything and tons of alarms were going off. Then they wheeled him away... took a bit for my heart rate to come down! Did a lot of praying during this time. Amy was with me, as Ben had went to take the kids home for a couple of nights. We didn't know about the surgery until the night before, and he was already home. So, they gave me a buzzer that paged me to come down to talk with the surgeon after they were done. I think it took about 2 hours... When we went in for the meeting, the surgeon said that Noah did GREAT! They were able to successfully do everything they wanted, and he did great on anesthesia. She also told us that she believes God picks special families to go through situations like this with special children. So nice to hear her say that :)
I thought I was finally going to get discharged on Thursday March 5th. I took a shower and then they came to check my blood pressure and it was super high again. They decided to double my Enalapril and add a second medication. On Friday March 6th, I officially got released :) My heart rate went up to 157 first... so they did an EKG which came back normal. They told me to just take it easy and rest when I started to feel my heart racing. So far, Ive been feeling pretty good. We are staying at the Med Inn Hotel right inside the hospital. It is quite a hike to Noah's room from here, so Ben has been pushing me in the wheelchair :) Feeling better today and walking around a little more. Trying to take it easy so I don't overdo it. I've been pumping and I'm not getting near the amount of milk I had with the first two... but it's improving. The lactation consultants said that preeclampsia can really delay milk production. I sure wish I could be nursing him instead... but it will be quite awhile before he is ready for food. He is receiving nutrition (TPN) through IV's right now until he is ready for food. I've had several talks about my blood pressure medication passing into the milk, and the nephrologist (kidney doctor) and neonatalogists will decide when it's time. So I'm marking it on the labels and the super-convenient milk room on the NICU floor is handling everything. So nice to just drop off my milk and they freeze and store everything!
Things are calming down a little bit with me getting discharged... starting to get used to my new "normal". One of the hardest things is not having my kids with me all of the time, but they have been visiting and staying 1-2 nights at a time. I pray that the day comes soon when we can go home with all 3 of our children. It will likely be awhile... but the Lord is getting us through this, one day at a time. We have amazing family and friends that have been supporting us. I can't thank everyone enough... it has truly been overwhelming.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
On Tuesday March 4, Noah had his first trip to the operating room for surgery. They were able to successfully use a surgical mesh to cover the hole and stitch around it to attach it. They also removed his small breathing tube and placed a new one that would be more efficient and leak much less. When the surgery team came to get him, I felt like I was going to pass out... They were unhooking everything and tons of alarms were going off. Then they wheeled him away... took a bit for my heart rate to come down! Did a lot of praying during this time. Amy was with me, as Ben had went to take the kids home for a couple of nights. We didn't know about the surgery until the night before, and he was already home. So, they gave me a buzzer that paged me to come down to talk with the surgeon after they were done. I think it took about 2 hours... When we went in for the meeting, the surgeon said that Noah did GREAT! They were able to successfully do everything they wanted, and he did great on anesthesia. She also told us that she believes God picks special families to go through situations like this with special children. So nice to hear her say that :)
I thought I was finally going to get discharged on Thursday March 5th. I took a shower and then they came to check my blood pressure and it was super high again. They decided to double my Enalapril and add a second medication. On Friday March 6th, I officially got released :) My heart rate went up to 157 first... so they did an EKG which came back normal. They told me to just take it easy and rest when I started to feel my heart racing. So far, Ive been feeling pretty good. We are staying at the Med Inn Hotel right inside the hospital. It is quite a hike to Noah's room from here, so Ben has been pushing me in the wheelchair :) Feeling better today and walking around a little more. Trying to take it easy so I don't overdo it. I've been pumping and I'm not getting near the amount of milk I had with the first two... but it's improving. The lactation consultants said that preeclampsia can really delay milk production. I sure wish I could be nursing him instead... but it will be quite awhile before he is ready for food. He is receiving nutrition (TPN) through IV's right now until he is ready for food. I've had several talks about my blood pressure medication passing into the milk, and the nephrologist (kidney doctor) and neonatalogists will decide when it's time. So I'm marking it on the labels and the super-convenient milk room on the NICU floor is handling everything. So nice to just drop off my milk and they freeze and store everything!
Things are calming down a little bit with me getting discharged... starting to get used to my new "normal". One of the hardest things is not having my kids with me all of the time, but they have been visiting and staying 1-2 nights at a time. I pray that the day comes soon when we can go home with all 3 of our children. It will likely be awhile... but the Lord is getting us through this, one day at a time. We have amazing family and friends that have been supporting us. I can't thank everyone enough... it has truly been overwhelming.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
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