So We Both Made It Out Alive...
September 14th, I was admitted to the Hospital over a small heart episode I had at home. They wanted me on bed rest and on heart monitors until the baby was born. My OB was planning on me having her by either induction or c-section on the 28th, but this was soon bumped up to the 21st.
The morning of the 18th, my OB gave me the news that none of the Anesthesiologists felt comfortable working on me for the birth. So it was looking like I was being transfered to Frodert Hospital in Milwaukee. I was brought there by ambulance (not fun nearly 9 months pregnant) To keep the story short, my stay was non-stop fus. Doctors and nurses in my room constantly. Each new person who came in my room asking me the same questions as the last Doctor. Which didn't help me feel real secure. It made me feel like No one bothered to read my med records and they knew nothing about me or why I was there.
Things were moving fast, and I had to deal with facing a lot of scary things I did not want to. I had an IV in my hand, then I had to get a pic line in my arm, then an artery line in my wrist (took 3 excruciating tries to get it in), a central line in my neck (also super painful, even with numbing injections). Then the c-section. The cardiologists decided Isabelle had to come out ASAP, on the 20th, because having her inside me was making my heart worse. The day of the C-section, my heart was pumping at 15% (instead of the normal 50%) I didn't know it at the time, but they did not expect me to survive.
To my disbelief, the epidural was the most pleasant thing out of all the things I had done to me in all that time. Anyway, laying on the operating table, one of the Doctors asked if I wanted Josh in the room, which made me SO happy, because I was previously told he couldn't be in there with me. So he came and sat by my side and tears of relief filled my eyes. Then all the good stuff started to hit me - We're getting our Daughter! I could feel the cutting happening, and I was just waiting for that wonderful scream of her first breath. Once I heard it I just cried out of joy. I got only one quick peek at her unfortunately. Josh went with her to the nursery while I had my tubes tied and was sewn up. After quite a while, I was put in Cardiac ICU. I had just gone through something so huge, and I wasn't allowed to see/hold my daughter until about 3 or more hours later. Finally, she comes in my room, and she is just perfect.
Luckily, she hadn't been fed any formula or anything, so I got to feed her breast milk. My parents were there, Josh was there, Missi came, they all got to see her.
After everything, the next day I was told I had to get an MRI. At first I wasn't too worried, until I was told what it'd be like, mostly because I'm slightly claustrophobic. I hadn't even taken into the account that I would have to get out of bed, stand up, get in a wheel chair, ride across the hospital over every bump in the floor, get up again, and get in the machine, and have something heavy laid on my chest after having major surgery on my abdomen. What the hell? Who would order that right after a surgery? I cried the whole time. I hated the breathing out, holding it, breathing in.....I felt like I couldn't breath. Finally I got the person doing it to slow down, and I made it through the whole hour.
The NEXT day......I'm told I have to have a heart catheter. This, destroyed all my spirit pretty much, since I thought the worst was over, and here it wasn't. Another surgery. So, I had that the next day. They found no blockages, but they still don't know what's wrong with me. So I am labeled with "Heart Failure". After the procedure, I had to lay perfectly still on a gurney in a room for 4 hours to make sure the incision in my femoral artery clots and heals properly. I'd go into that, but just hard to explain. It was not fun, and I was very emotional, I'll say that.
Skipping ahead, on the 25th, I'm allowed to leave if I leave with a defibrillator. So I agreed even though the thing scares me to death. But it's my only chance of living if I have an arrhythmia that's bad enough to stop my heart.
:::sigh::: Anyway, we're home, Isabelle is healthy and happy, and such a good baby.
The morning of the 18th, my OB gave me the news that none of the Anesthesiologists felt comfortable working on me for the birth. So it was looking like I was being transfered to Frodert Hospital in Milwaukee. I was brought there by ambulance (not fun nearly 9 months pregnant) To keep the story short, my stay was non-stop fus. Doctors and nurses in my room constantly. Each new person who came in my room asking me the same questions as the last Doctor. Which didn't help me feel real secure. It made me feel like No one bothered to read my med records and they knew nothing about me or why I was there.
Things were moving fast, and I had to deal with facing a lot of scary things I did not want to. I had an IV in my hand, then I had to get a pic line in my arm, then an artery line in my wrist (took 3 excruciating tries to get it in), a central line in my neck (also super painful, even with numbing injections). Then the c-section. The cardiologists decided Isabelle had to come out ASAP, on the 20th, because having her inside me was making my heart worse. The day of the C-section, my heart was pumping at 15% (instead of the normal 50%) I didn't know it at the time, but they did not expect me to survive.
To my disbelief, the epidural was the most pleasant thing out of all the things I had done to me in all that time. Anyway, laying on the operating table, one of the Doctors asked if I wanted Josh in the room, which made me SO happy, because I was previously told he couldn't be in there with me. So he came and sat by my side and tears of relief filled my eyes. Then all the good stuff started to hit me - We're getting our Daughter! I could feel the cutting happening, and I was just waiting for that wonderful scream of her first breath. Once I heard it I just cried out of joy. I got only one quick peek at her unfortunately. Josh went with her to the nursery while I had my tubes tied and was sewn up. After quite a while, I was put in Cardiac ICU. I had just gone through something so huge, and I wasn't allowed to see/hold my daughter until about 3 or more hours later. Finally, she comes in my room, and she is just perfect.
Luckily, she hadn't been fed any formula or anything, so I got to feed her breast milk. My parents were there, Josh was there, Missi came, they all got to see her.
After everything, the next day I was told I had to get an MRI. At first I wasn't too worried, until I was told what it'd be like, mostly because I'm slightly claustrophobic. I hadn't even taken into the account that I would have to get out of bed, stand up, get in a wheel chair, ride across the hospital over every bump in the floor, get up again, and get in the machine, and have something heavy laid on my chest after having major surgery on my abdomen. What the hell? Who would order that right after a surgery? I cried the whole time. I hated the breathing out, holding it, breathing in.....I felt like I couldn't breath. Finally I got the person doing it to slow down, and I made it through the whole hour.
The NEXT day......I'm told I have to have a heart catheter. This, destroyed all my spirit pretty much, since I thought the worst was over, and here it wasn't. Another surgery. So, I had that the next day. They found no blockages, but they still don't know what's wrong with me. So I am labeled with "Heart Failure". After the procedure, I had to lay perfectly still on a gurney in a room for 4 hours to make sure the incision in my femoral artery clots and heals properly. I'd go into that, but just hard to explain. It was not fun, and I was very emotional, I'll say that.
Skipping ahead, on the 25th, I'm allowed to leave if I leave with a defibrillator. So I agreed even though the thing scares me to death. But it's my only chance of living if I have an arrhythmia that's bad enough to stop my heart.
:::sigh::: Anyway, we're home, Isabelle is healthy and happy, and such a good baby.
