Medical Crisis and a new baby girl

Wow I am so very behind documenting what has been going on.... Last wednesday Aug 7th, in the middle of the night I woke with an excruciating headache. I took some Tylenol and tried to fall back asleep. Bright and early I called my mom and asked her to come over and check my blood pressure. It was significantly higher than it had been, but not critically high. I also checked my blood sugar at that point as well and found that to be very low too. I called the OB doctor and they had me come right in. When I got to the office, they checked my pressure and again it was a bit higher than it had been but it wasn't hypertensive yet. She sent me over to the maternity ward where they could monitor the baby and I. My blood pressure at that point was still ok. However they checked my liver enzymes and some other blood work and that is when things got scary. I was transferred via ambulance (lights and sirens, even though I begged them not to drive too fast) to Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. So Wednesday night they kept me on the labor and delivery floor, with the thoughts that they wanted to give the steroids (for her lungs) 48hrs total to work. I got the initial dose on Wednesday at 2pm. Wednesday night not a whole lot happened, they continued to check blood work every 2 hours, and vitals every 30minutes. It was a very long night. On Thursday morning my labs were really wacky but the doctors couldn't really determine what was causing me to be so sick. At that point they weren't sure if it was pre-eclampsia or something entirely different. I also had some metabolic changes that were very concerning to them as well. Excuse the HORRIBLE picture but this is for memory sake... The delivery story will be next...........

Playing catch up....

So had my appointment with all the high risk docs on 7/18, and essentially we are in a watch and wait period until something changes. Little Miss looked fantastic on the special ultrasound, and they are saying she is about 3 and a half pounds! Praise God. On Monday 7/22 I had another doctors appointment and non-stress test. She didn't look fantastic on the monitor but looked ok, it ended up being quite a long appointment but she eventually was reactive. Blood pressure was good too. On Wednesday 7/24 I got a very scary call from my cardiologist. She initially got on the phone and grilled me about how I was feeling and if I was having any chest pain, palpitations etc. She said my results weren't good, and that she had to call another cardiologist and would get right back to me. So apparently she called another cardiologist and he made a recommendation for changing the medication that I am on, however the new medication can be very dangerous for the baby. So essentially the conversation was to let them know immediately if I had any worsening symptoms and we would go from there, but to take it easy. On Thursday 7/25 I woke up feeling absolutely horrible. To the point where I was convinced I was getting very sick again:-( Praise God I wasn't! I did have some elevated blood pressures, and I did have protein in my urine which I hadn't had previously. But I was able to come home and was told to go to bed and stay there until I came back the next day.... On Friday I went back and my blood pressures were low! So praise God for that! The results of my 24 hour urine test weren't fantastic but they weren't terrible either. My liver tests and platelets are holding steady! So they again let me come home, saying "Go home and go to bed, don't get up until Monday when you come back." I did have a wonderful friend have a baby shower for me this weekend, and thankfully I begged to go to the shower and had a wonderful time but felt pretty yucky when I came back home and all day yesterday. Yesterday my mom came over at church and stayed for the whole day until after supper. She washed EVERY piece of dirty laundry and folded them and put them away. She also washed all of the bed linens including the blankets! Matt had taken the kids to a church picnic so I was able to really lay low yesterday and focus on growing this baby and spending some one on one time with my mom :-) Such a blessing! Sam had IVIG on Friday and he did fabulously. He had his friend with him and so they played the Wii and had a great morning/afternoon together, while I layed in the other bed until I had to go to the hospital. Thanks to Auntie Sara who stayed with Sammy until he was done. Another wonderful friend is organizing an army of help for me in these next few weeks! I just can't even believe how blessed I am. God is so good to me. He has put some absolutely amazing people in our lives. People are helping with childcare, cleaning, meals etc etc. So very blessed!!! I am headed back to the hospital in a little while. Please keep the baby and I in your prayers. I did unfortunately have some heart stuff going on this weekend and need to speak with the cardiologist this morning to see what the plan is.... On Saturday night I had palpitations but had been napping so when I woke I was sweaty and nauseous. Not completely sure what that means yet.

IVIG and more pregnancy issues

Unfortunately the unit where Sam gets his IVIG is closing soon. I am still so heartbroken about it. It has been so wonderful to go and have the same nurses always care for him in the same room, with the ability to have friends come and spend time with him during the infusion. I am still unsure of what we are going to do next because of the unit closing. This time we went and they got the IV right in and auntie Sara stayed with Sam while I dropped Preston and Sophia with mom as I had an OB appointment. Sam had a blast with auntie Sara, and P and Soph enjoyed their time with Meme and grandpa. My OB appointment didn't go as well as I had hoped that it would. The doctors are getting more and more concerned as am I. My blood pressure was fantastic which is such an answer to prayer. But now I am retaining fluid, and when the doctor reviewed the lab work from the ER, she realized that my liver function tests are already declining :-( She said I am so high risk and have so many issues that I am making them all nervous. And said that I need to call with ANY weird feeling that I have. We are now switching to twice a week visits with the doctor. I don't have any idea how I am going to fit that all in.... So I will go in on Monday, if not sooner. Please be praying that we can keep this little one in for at least six more weeks.

Immunology update..... and world prematurity day

So we have gotten multiple things back for Preston's testing. Although I have expected it since he got meningitis, it is still a little overwhelming to actually hear it officially that I have another child that has some level of immunodeficiency. At this point we know that IgG levels are low, we don't have the other immunoglobulin levels back yet, however last month the IgA and IgM were low as well. He also has not mounted a decent response to some of his vaccines which is certainly scary to me. We are also awaiting his T cell and B cell counts. His immunologist already had me do the consent for IVIG, and since we have already been down this road before I know what we are in for. But at this stage of the game I am feeling overwhelmed. I absolutely know without a doubt that God is completely in control of this situation, and He is the author of this book, He knows each and every chapter and page, He has the perfect ending planned. Who I am to question it? So today I am just trying to focus on the knowledge that God's plan is absolutely perfect and that He has got this in His hands. Today is also World Prematurity day. This is something near and dear to my heart. I longed for full term healthy babies that came home with me on the day of my discharge, I unfortunately was not allowed that. But I was allowed to witness God's most innocent creation thrive and grow. As a nurse I have taken care of micropreemies, and delivered preemies, and as a mom I have taken care of my three little preemies. There are so many misconceptions and thoughts about what causes prematurity. There are people out there that think that the mom didn't care for herself well enough, or that she was doing things wrong. But in all actuality perfectly healthy people have complication filled pregnancies and we don't know why. I am a healthy person, but cannot carry a pregnancy to term. With each of my pregnancies I started contracting around 26 weeks, but praise God He kept my precious miracles in for longer. Tonight I ask you to pray for all preemies and for their families, caretakes, and anyone who has any contact with them, around the world for their health, and for organizations like the March of Dimes to continue to strive towards ending this terrible heartache of babies born too soon. For now I leave you with a picture of each of my tiny little miracles, Sam, then Sophia and then Preston. And then I will end with a picture of Sam at the age of 13.5 months when we first started IVIG. Preston will likely be about fifteen months when we start him I think....

And here is Sam's first adventure with IVIG. Wow he was such a ham!!! :-) I am praying that Preston will also be able to easily tolerate the IV attempts, the side affects, the being unable to get around much because of the IV, etc. I am praying for our nurses and staff. God's got this! We will set up the official start day the monday after thanksgiving.

Scariest most amazing night of my life!

So six years ago today I had a doctors appointment, as I just wasn't feeling all that well. I had some GI symptoms, and when I called Dr V's office, the nurse that was working said that I should come in as I could have pre-eclampsia starting. So I drove myself into her office. I weighed 11lbs more than I had four days prior! My blood pressure was 220/114! The doctor had me lay on my left side and called an ambulance. My blood pressure kept going up. When the ambulance came, they brought me to my local hospital, the hospital where I work. I got to see all my co-workers. They started me on magnesium and it was AWFUL! I felt like I was going to burn up. Once they started the magnesium, and had the catheter, and two IVs in they transferred me to UMass Memorial, as they were better equipped to take care of me, as well as my baby. I got to UMass around 6pm in the evening. I felt horrible. Matt and I didn't know what to expect, but it hadn't been this. As they started checking my labs, and monitoring my vital signs more closely, I was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and severe HELLP syndrome. I was given medication to help stop my liver from swelling and to stabilize my blood pressure. I was given medication to put me into labor. My memories of this time are pretty foggy. From the time I got to UMass until Idelivered Sam I don't remember much. But I know that at 12pm on the 13th I was 7cm dilated. And that he was delivered at 12:16!!! 16 minutes from 7cm to fully delivered! I also know that at noon I was in my labor room and that all of a sudden Sam's heart rate dropped into the 50s, and that his umbilical cord came down in front oh his head. So they were rushing me to the OR with someone trying to keep Sam's head from putting pressure on his cord. I deliverd him on the stretcher on the way into the operating room! He had awful apgars, and had to be agressively stimulated to get him going. He weighed 4lb 5oz, and was absolutely gorgeous. As I relive that day I am just reminded of how amazing our God is. He gave me this amazing little boy, who has had so many health struggles, but he has always come out strong. God has always carried him and strengthened him. Going through this life with Sammy, and all of his medical stuff, has strengthened my own faith so much. God truly is a miracle worker and the giver of life. The day I became a mother was the most amazing gift I have ever received. I am so thankful to God for this amazing miracle. There are so many sayings out there that seem so cliche, but truly the day I became a mom was the most amazing day of my life. I am so thankful that I have this little boy and that we can experience the world together. I see hope, strength and courage in his face, as he goes through so much.

Another update

Uh oh!!! Here we go. I brought my 24hour urine test in to the lab this morning. I called tonight to see if the results were in yet. I wish I didn't call. The normal results are 0-150, my results were 326:-( Now I haven't yet talked to a doctor about it yet, but I did call the OB nurses and also have been on the pre-eclampsia foundation website. Both places state that protein over 300 is pre-eclampsia. But what I don't know is if you have to have high blood pressure in order to be diagnosed with pre-e or if just the protein is enough to make that diagnosis. Ugghhh:-(
I am trying to not think about it, and certainly trying not to stress about it. But it is hard.
I saw a great quote today: "Why worry when you can pray?" Great right???
Please be praying that Baby Surprise and I can remain safe for at least another 5 to 10weeks:-) Thanks