(no subject)
So. Minor emergency. Brandon and I were in a car accident Friday night. We were waiting to turn left at an intersection, and we got rear-ended by someone going straight through the intersection. The car is totalled; the trunk is now in the back seat and the entire frame of the car buckled. Thankfully, Gage was not with us; he was safe at home with his Aunt Cimbrey, who was babysitting for us.
Luckily, Brandon couldn't open his driver-side door, because as he was trying to get out of the car, the asshole who hit us nearly hit us again as he swerved around us and DROVE OFF! Couldn't believe it. We didn't get his license plate, either. :(
So, we sat on the side of the road, and no one stopped to help. Brandon had to climb out the back door, then came around to help me shimmy out from under my seat belt (I couldn't undo my seatbelt). We took a moment to collect ourselves and then called 911. I asked for an ambulance; I wanted the baby checked out to make sure she was okay.
When the ambulance arrived, they checked me out for injuries. I told them that I had a big goose-egg on the back of my head (we had an old boombox in the backseat, and it flew forward and hit me in the head during the accident). When I lifted my head off the stretcher for them to check it out, I realized that my neck was hurting, too. Yay, whiplash. So they put on the neck collar, which, for the record, makes things intensely more uncomfortable.
We got to the hospital, and then I really wished I hadn't said anything about my head or my neck, because their policy was to treat me/ clear me first before they released me to the OB floor to check the baby. I honestly didn't care about myself, I just wanted to make sure the baby was okay. I had to get a cat-scan of my neck, and we waited over an hour for the results. Once I was cleared, they finally took the collar off and let me move (just fyi, there is almost nothing more uncomfortable for a pregnant woman to do than lay flat on her back and not be able to move for hours, especially with a sore belly).
I had several ultrasounds, which all showed Baby Girl to be moving around and doing okay. There were no obvious injuries to her, thankfully. But, what the ultrasounds did show was a partial abruption of my placenta. This is what I was afraid of. What this means is that part of my placenta had become detached from the uterus, and there had been some bleeding. Luckily, the placenta had only detached in the center; all of the edges were still attached and intact. This acted as a band-aid, holding all of the bleeding behind the placenta, and not leaking into the amniotic fluid.
That was reassuring to hear, but then the doctor had to deliver the scary part of the news. He said that because of the partial abruption, I was at risk for complete abruption, in which case the baby would have to be delivered immediately. Since I am only 20 weeks along, he said that the baby is not yet viable, and there would be nothing they could do to save her. Instant tears. These are not things a mother wants to hear.
After this, they released me to the O.B. floor to monitor the baby for a while. I had another ultrasound, and the doctor showed me the dark spot behind the placenta where the bleeding was.. it looked huge to me, but they said not to worry too much. Then they told me that if the placenta was going to detach, there was nothing we could do to stop it, even if I was on bed rest. Makes me feel completely helpless. But, they also added that the first 6-8 hours are the most critical; if it was going to detach completely, it was most likely to do it during that period of time. So, thankfully, that is over.
They released me from the hospital around 2:30am, and ordered pelvic rest, but not bed rest. I'm just supposed to take it easy, and go back to my OB on Monday for another ultrasound, to make sure baby is still doing okay.
Now, I am completely paranoid. I'm so afraid of the placenta detaching further, that I feel like I have a ticking time-bomb inside me. I'm so afraid to move the wrong way, or sit the wrong way... I'm even afraid to pick up Gage. I know the doctors said that bed rest won't help, but I am pretty much too scared to do anything at all right now; at least until I make it to 24 weeks, when the baby is considered viable.
We are staying with my parents for a few days so they can help with Gage, and help take care of us a little, too (both Brandon and I are feeling really rough and banged up. Whiplash sucks)..
Going back to the OB tomorrow morning; hope things are looking okay in there. It's so hard not knowing what's going on inside your own body.
Luckily, Brandon couldn't open his driver-side door, because as he was trying to get out of the car, the asshole who hit us nearly hit us again as he swerved around us and DROVE OFF! Couldn't believe it. We didn't get his license plate, either. :(
So, we sat on the side of the road, and no one stopped to help. Brandon had to climb out the back door, then came around to help me shimmy out from under my seat belt (I couldn't undo my seatbelt). We took a moment to collect ourselves and then called 911. I asked for an ambulance; I wanted the baby checked out to make sure she was okay.
When the ambulance arrived, they checked me out for injuries. I told them that I had a big goose-egg on the back of my head (we had an old boombox in the backseat, and it flew forward and hit me in the head during the accident). When I lifted my head off the stretcher for them to check it out, I realized that my neck was hurting, too. Yay, whiplash. So they put on the neck collar, which, for the record, makes things intensely more uncomfortable.
We got to the hospital, and then I really wished I hadn't said anything about my head or my neck, because their policy was to treat me/ clear me first before they released me to the OB floor to check the baby. I honestly didn't care about myself, I just wanted to make sure the baby was okay. I had to get a cat-scan of my neck, and we waited over an hour for the results. Once I was cleared, they finally took the collar off and let me move (just fyi, there is almost nothing more uncomfortable for a pregnant woman to do than lay flat on her back and not be able to move for hours, especially with a sore belly).
I had several ultrasounds, which all showed Baby Girl to be moving around and doing okay. There were no obvious injuries to her, thankfully. But, what the ultrasounds did show was a partial abruption of my placenta. This is what I was afraid of. What this means is that part of my placenta had become detached from the uterus, and there had been some bleeding. Luckily, the placenta had only detached in the center; all of the edges were still attached and intact. This acted as a band-aid, holding all of the bleeding behind the placenta, and not leaking into the amniotic fluid.
That was reassuring to hear, but then the doctor had to deliver the scary part of the news. He said that because of the partial abruption, I was at risk for complete abruption, in which case the baby would have to be delivered immediately. Since I am only 20 weeks along, he said that the baby is not yet viable, and there would be nothing they could do to save her. Instant tears. These are not things a mother wants to hear.
After this, they released me to the O.B. floor to monitor the baby for a while. I had another ultrasound, and the doctor showed me the dark spot behind the placenta where the bleeding was.. it looked huge to me, but they said not to worry too much. Then they told me that if the placenta was going to detach, there was nothing we could do to stop it, even if I was on bed rest. Makes me feel completely helpless. But, they also added that the first 6-8 hours are the most critical; if it was going to detach completely, it was most likely to do it during that period of time. So, thankfully, that is over.
They released me from the hospital around 2:30am, and ordered pelvic rest, but not bed rest. I'm just supposed to take it easy, and go back to my OB on Monday for another ultrasound, to make sure baby is still doing okay.
Now, I am completely paranoid. I'm so afraid of the placenta detaching further, that I feel like I have a ticking time-bomb inside me. I'm so afraid to move the wrong way, or sit the wrong way... I'm even afraid to pick up Gage. I know the doctors said that bed rest won't help, but I am pretty much too scared to do anything at all right now; at least until I make it to 24 weeks, when the baby is considered viable.
We are staying with my parents for a few days so they can help with Gage, and help take care of us a little, too (both Brandon and I are feeling really rough and banged up. Whiplash sucks)..
Going back to the OB tomorrow morning; hope things are looking okay in there. It's so hard not knowing what's going on inside your own body.