Let's see, where do I even begin? On October 23, 2009 around 4:15 pm Olivia Lain Harp was born. I had a wonderful pregnancy. I felt great, ate great, everything was, well great. I worked full time until the last month of my pregnancy and then I worked half days and then the last week before Olivia was born I went on maternity leave. I was on leave for 4 days before Olivia was born. I knew that I was getting close to having her, I was in my 38th week and that Wednesday I started "hurting" and then Ben's grandfather passed away. That was a really hard night for our entire family. The next day Ben's brother and sister came in from Lexington to be with the family. Ben's grandfather lived about three hours away from us so we decided that I should call my OB and see if they could "check" me so Ben would know if he should go to the funeral or stay here with me.
That Friday, the 23rd I called my OB. She was out of town and the nurse practitioner was off. However, my OB's office is wonderful and they called Erin, the NP and she came in (on her day off) to check my cervix. Ben came and met me at their office and when they took me back, I hadn't dilated but I had SEVERAL other changes since my last visit. My blood pressure which usually runs around 98/60 was 148/90, my feet/legs were EXTREMELY swollen and I had protein in my urine which I never had before. Erin was very concerned and said, "we're sending you over to labor and delivery... you will probably have a baby today." I immediately started crying. I was so overwhelmed. I was excited that I might get to see my daughter for the first time, but I was also petrified because I knew things were not going so well for me. Ben and Erin both tried to console me. Erin gave Ben her cell phone number and wanted us to keep her posted. We went to LDR and they checked us in and put me in a room. Ben started making the phone calls. My parents arrived shortly thereafter.
As soon as we said c-section here came nurses, anesthesiologists, lab techs, etc. They placed another IV in my other arm and started a Magnesium drip (which was absolutely horrible and I would not recommend it to anyone)! Then they proceeded to tell me that I may wake up with a tube in my throat because they may have to intibate me and I would not get an epidural because they were too afraid that I wouldn't clot because my platelet count was so low. Oh, and Ben couldn't go back with us because it was an emergent c-section. This made us sad because Ben's a respiratory therapist. He's been in several c-sections, emergent and regular. However, since we're married he could not go back there with me.
That Friday, the 23rd I called my OB. She was out of town and the nurse practitioner was off. However, my OB's office is wonderful and they called Erin, the NP and she came in (on her day off) to check my cervix. Ben came and met me at their office and when they took me back, I hadn't dilated but I had SEVERAL other changes since my last visit. My blood pressure which usually runs around 98/60 was 148/90, my feet/legs were EXTREMELY swollen and I had protein in my urine which I never had before. Erin was very concerned and said, "we're sending you over to labor and delivery... you will probably have a baby today." I immediately started crying. I was so overwhelmed. I was excited that I might get to see my daughter for the first time, but I was also petrified because I knew things were not going so well for me. Ben and Erin both tried to console me. Erin gave Ben her cell phone number and wanted us to keep her posted. We went to LDR and they checked us in and put me in a room. Ben started making the phone calls. My parents arrived shortly thereafter. They hooked me up to the blood pressure monitor and started doing serial BP checks. They checked my urine again and it was still positive for protein. They drew lots of blood and hooked me up to an IV. I was a little worried. Every time the BP cuff tightened I prayed. This went on for a few hours and then Dr. Tolar (who was not on-call and who is a man.. I know that sounds weird, but I've always had a woman doctor. I was again, a little freaked out), came in with my lab results. We still do not know how he ended up with my results except it had to be a God thing. He was not very happy with the way my labs looked. He said that I had developed severe preeclampsia. My liver enzymes were not normal and my blood platelet count was low. He was very concerned. He said he could try to induce me, but he didn't think that it would work or be quick enough. At that time we all spoke up and said "c-section." Dr. Tolar was a little surprised, I think he thought he was going to have to talk all of us into a section, but I was at the point that I knew I wasn't going to have a normal delivery and I wanted to do what was best for Olivia.
As soon as we said c-section here came nurses, anesthesiologists, lab techs, etc. They placed another IV in my other arm and started a Magnesium drip (which was absolutely horrible and I would not recommend it to anyone)! Then they proceeded to tell me that I may wake up with a tube in my throat because they may have to intibate me and I would not get an epidural because they were too afraid that I wouldn't clot because my platelet count was so low. Oh, and Ben couldn't go back with us because it was an emergent c-section. This made us sad because Ben's a respiratory therapist. He's been in several c-sections, emergent and regular. However, since we're married he could not go back there with me. As I was wheeled back to surgery, I was absolutely petrified. I wasn't sure what to think or feel. When I got back to surgery I was stripped down and laid out before God and everybody. (that was terrifying in itself). ha. Thank God for my nurse anesthesis, Philip. He was fabulous. I was near tears and he got right down by my face and rubbed my hair and said, "in just a few minutes it's all going to be okay." I honestly believe if it wasn't for him I think I would have stroked out. I was in a near panic. Shortly thereafter, Olivia was born. I had to be intubated and I was placed on Mag for a couple of days and I lost quite a bit of blood, but overall, I delivered a healthy and beautiful 7lb. 17 inches baby Girl, Olivia.
The next few days were kind of a blur. I had to stay in labor and delivery for an extra day because of the Mag. My nurse had to bathe me and Ben blow dryed my hair becuase I was so "out of it" from the Mag, but they finally moved me to the floor and took me off the Mag. After I got off the Mag I rounded the corner. We still had to stay in the hospital an extra day because Olivia had jaundice and my blood platelet count was still low, but I finally began to feel like myself. Even though my delivery was one of the scariest and worst experiences in my entire life, we now have the most beautiful baby girl and she is absolutely wonderful!!! I'll post more pics to catch everyone up.
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