Allison's Birthstory
Welcome to Allison's birth story. Hope it doesn't bore you too much.
Well, Thursday, May 20, 1999 started out like any other day. Got Troy off to work and then the kids off to school. I had my doctors appointment that morning as well. When I got to the office they did the usual testing, urine and BP, measured my belly. Well, my BP was 160/100 so they had me lay on my left side. They proceeded to check it twice in 30 minutes and it wasn't coming down. Also my urine was +3 for protein. So they decided it would be best if I was sent over to the hospital to be observed and also one of the other doctors was there and she could look me over as well.
Things weren't getting any better and they decided to transfer me from Port Huron Hospital to Royal Oak Beaumont because they are better equipped to handle a delivery this early. Before we left I was given a shot of steriods so they can try and help mature the baby's lungs. Oh, before I forget, they also did an ultrasound at the hospital to measure the baby and the tech said she was sure it was a girl and she weighed about 3lbs 9oz.
The ride in the ambulance, my first, was pretty much uneventful except when there was a rear-end collision next to us. Of course I couldn't see anything because I was laying down on the gurney. So uncomfortable. The trip took us 2 hours to get there.
After I got settled into my new surroundings, the stuff started all over again. My BP was up to 210/160 so they started me on BP meds, as well as the Mag Sulfate. They decided to do a 24 hour urine collection and a bunch of other tests. And hopefully buy some time to get another shot of steroids so the baby will do much better.
May 21, 1999--Happy Birthday Nicole. I know how much you wanted to share your birthday with your new sister. I felt so bad
that Nicoles birthday party had to get canceled.As luck would have it, the 24 hour test came back not so good, as did some of the blood tests to see how my kidneys and liver was functioning. My platelets were low too. The only good thing was that my iron levels were at 14.5. So they decided give me an 8:00 am c-section time since the baby was breech and no sign of turning, but will check again in the morning.
May 22, 1999...At 7:00 am they decided to do another U/S and as luck would have it she didn't turn. So the c-section was still on. I can't tell you how nervous I was about this because my other 4 deliveries were all vaginal and I knew what to expect.
Well, I didn't get into the operating room until 10:30am because there were a couple of emergencies that delayed us. Once we got in there, and everything got started it wasn't that bad. I had a spinal - not an epidural. At 11:04am our Little Allison was delivered with unfortunately, much complications. She weighed in at 1615grams or 3lbs 9oz(just like the U/S said), was 44cm or 17.5 inches long.
She was literally wedged under my rib cage, and with the fibroid tumors it
was very difficult to get her out. The doctors told us later that one of the fibroids was actually larger than her head, and it was a miracle that I even got pregnant with her. While they were trying to sew up my uterus I was bleeding an awful lot. They thought at first I was having a clotting problem but that wasn't it. They actually filled up a test tube with my blood and taped it to the wall to see if would clot and it was. They decided to let things rest awhile and went ahead and tied my tubes since that is what I wanted. Well, when they were done with those they decided to try and put things in their place. Well, the bleeding started all over again and even when they tried to cauterize it wouldn't work and new bleeders would start. By this time they estimated I had lost over 2,000 cc's of blood and decided that a partial hysterectomy was in order. They whisked Troy out of the room, knocked me out and proceeded to remove my uterus and right ovary. They were able to leave my left ovary and cervix so there is no need for hormones.
The recovery wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The worst thing was that I didn't get any solid foods until Monday and hadn't eaten
since I had breakfast on Thursday morning. Oh well. My iron levels dropped to 7.9 at my lowest point after the surgery, but they still
didn't give me any transfusions which was okay by me. I was discharged on Wednesday the 26th and had to leave my precious baby behind. It
killed me.I will get working on more pictures and more things on Allison's progress while she was in the hospital and even after she comes home.
