Sunday, October 12, 2008

Patient's Perspective

Everyone hears horror stories of L&D, pregnancy, postpartum experiences.... This is the story posted by a friend of mine who had one of those horror stories... at another hospital I should say. I think it's good for us to see the other side of it sometimes.
**WARNING: it's long** 

Baby {Son}Shine arrived two days before the scheduled induction. He must have finally gotten the hint that I was ready for him to come! In addition to coming two days early he was 1 lbs and 3 oz larger than the last guestimation.....this is the point where you may feel free to say OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. 10 lbs 3 oz he made his way out and in the process broke my tailbone because of his mighty girth!! But lemme tell you he was GORGEOUS. Nothing like a big hunky quarterback baby being placed on your chest with big beautiful arms and legs and the cutest cheeks.
While my son has been doing well I have not. 
Following the birth I just never felt good and bad went to worse until I was diagnosed with a uterine infection (about 10 days later) and about 12 days following his birth I began hemmorraging so badly I had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance where I was passing liver sized clots....I spent the next six days in the hospital feeling worse than I have ever felt, wondering if I was ever going to see my family again. I had blood transfusions and a surgery and more medicine hung and put through my IV than I had ever seen in my life. 
When I finally was able to leave the hospital weak and depressed I came home only to have to return by ambulance five days later for hemmorraging again. They had drained my veins so horribly the first time (I also had phelbitis in the IV arm) that the ambulance personel tried twice to get a vein for an IV and couldn't do it. They had to leave it for the ER (also leaving me with the most painfully bruised arm from missed IV's that I have ever felt). A second surgery was done with a scope this time....apparently the placenta had adhered to the uterus making it impossible for my uterus to contract therefore causing the large amounts of blood loss. They used tweezers to pull the placenta off until they made it to the uterus wall. 
I was sent home on a week of bedrest...and the possibility of the hemmorraging returning if the placenta has in fact gone through the uterus wall. If that is the case a hysterectomy is the only option. 
Soooooooooooo long story short that is where I have been. Trying to be a mom to this new wonderful baby as well as my beautiful girls but at the same time being shuttled back and forth to the hospital while either bleeding profusely or worrying about bleeding profusely. 
The only way we'll know the outcome is if the bleeding slows and stops right now after the second surgery OR if I hemmorrage again. 
It has been a lot to go through but when I look at my son's little face I know every minute of it has been worth it. 
I wanted to check in to let everybody know that he is doing well and that I appreciate all the wonderful well wishses.
I also cannot say enough thank you's to everybody who has helped my family and me during this horrible time. I don't know how we could have done it without all the help and love and prayers. I love all of you and because of your help and love my girls (who could have been traumatized) were able to have some sense of normalcy throughout this whole ordeal.
So now we cross our fingers and pray (as I get back on my feet this week) that I will continue to heal and no further medical intervention is needed!!

In Love
It's official....I'm in love. He's sweet and dramatic with big feet and even bigger blue eyes. While I have been traumatized from the events of his birth it has not altered my adoration for him one bit!! 
And I think I literally am traumatized. 
The bleeding has stopped and life has resumed....such a great thing but at the same time I am having a hard time moving past it. I am just now starting to be able to sleep without the t.v. on at night. It was a habit I developed at the hospital so that I wouldn't be startled when the nurses burst in or the blood snatchers arrived to tap another vein to fill their keg!
I still worry everytime I go to the bathroom that I'll start hemorraging....I have cramps quite often and wonder if something frightening is going on inside that I don't know about. My mother actually said to me the other day "a friend of mine had pain in her stomach after hemorraging and it turned out she had blood in there that was pushing on her liver." HOLY CRAP DO NOT TELL ME THAT!! I don't need to wonder if blood is filling up inside of me drowning my organs. 
Once I came to the conclusion that I needed to move on with my life...pull myself up by the bootstraps and overcome this....that is what I've done. 
I love the normalcy of friends dropping by to say hello, playdates with laughter and the little faces of my girls friends that I absolutely adore....kids who wondered what the h@ll happened to me when I got all giant, lost my sense of humor, and stopped having them come over to play!
I love being able to eat again and not barf. And sadly I actually enjoy cleaning and doing laundry. There's something about a hospital and wondering if you're going to hemorrage to death that makes you appreciate the little things....or in the case of my laundry basket of dirty clothes, the BIG things.
This baby-o-mine gives me so much joy I can't even begin to describe my love for him. I love hugging him and squeezing him and kissing his little face until he looks at me with an expression on his face that says "PLEASE KNOCK IT OFF!!!" I love ploppping a red knit cap on his head, pretending he is the gome of G's room there to grant her three wishes......we'll save that story for another time hehehehe.
For weeks I would cry and tell Bri that I just wanted to be a mom again instead of some lifeless person in a hospial and now that I am getting the chance I don't want to miss one moment.


Sunday, June 15, 2008

Things that come in the night

Last night on L & D we were super busy and running around like crazy when we got a call from the ED that they were bringing in a lady by ambulance who was 8 months pregnant and in labor. She gets there and one of our MA's was having a hard time finding fetal heart tones and could only find the mom's heart rate, so she calls us in a panic to come in and help. We're thinking now we've got a dead baby on our hands, which is enough to ruin anyone's night, and the doctor brings in an ultrasound machine to see what's happening with the baby and find its heart rate.The patient tells us she's been feeling her baby move a lot, tells us who her OB is, etc. After a minute of looking with the ultrasound the MD declares, "There's no pregnancy here- you're not pregnant," to which the patient calmly responds, "Oh." The doctor asks, "What brought you in to the hospital tonight?" The patient states, "I got depressed and drank two liters of soda." With a quick "Alright then!" we packed her up and sent her down to the emergency dept- I'm still not sure for what (gas bubbles?). Night shifts are always more fun when the crazies show up.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

REGNANCY Q & A & more!
Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.
Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.
Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.
Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?
Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.
Q: When is the best time to get an epidural ?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.
Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word 'alimony' means anything to you.
Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.
Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.
Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

TIMBER!!

My favorite charge nurse from the maternity floor told me a funny story last night. She said that last week she was walking past the triage area, and she saw a pair of men's legs sticking out into the corridor, half of his body still inside the triage room hidden by the curtain. Apparently upon hearing the news that his wife was to be admitted to Labor & Delivery, this poor husband passed out cold. She said the staff was scrambling and saying things like, "we don't touch guys here! What do we do?" Maybe he could use a good Cosmo. Go figure.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Favorite Nurse Calls

Here on L&D, we get a LOT of nurse calls. Some are legite, but most are absolutely and completely WACKO!! Here are some of our favorite samples from over the years....

  1. "My water broke. It keeps breaking. How many times will it break?"
  2. "I had a baby last week and I had a 3rd degree lobotomy. Can I still use a tampon?"
  3. "Will the lunar eclipse cause my baby to have a cleft lip?"
  4. "Is 5 weeks too early to have a baby? I think my water is breaking in spurts!"
  5. "I think I might be 8 months pregnant. I had a hysterectomy a few years ago but I still have my ovaries."
  6. "I was wondering where your heart is. Is it in the same place on everybody?
    RN: "The heart is located inside the central left part of your chest."
    "But I thought your boob was there!!"
  7. "How many calories does your uterus burn when it contracts?"
  8. "If you put me on pitocin, will my baby's uterus contract, too?"

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