Jason and I found out that we were going to have a baby in early November. The expected due date was July 13th, 2002. We eagerly anticipated the arrival of our first child with each passing day. At my monthly prenatal appointments, it was found that I had pregnancy-induced high blood pressure. The doctor said that he believed that it was pregnancy-induced because my blood pressure was normal in visits prior to becoming pregnant. He said that he would try to monitor me more closely and have more frequent ultrasounds to make sure that the hypertension was not effecting the baby.
My visits went well and there were no other problematic symptoms noted until I was 25 weeks along. I started having increased swelling and my blood pressure began to rise more dramatically. The doctor started me on Methyldopa to lower the blood pressure and informed me of the warning signs of pre-eclampsia such as severe headache, protein in the urine, and severe swelling. He ordered an ultrasound at that time and it was found that Corey was on the small side of normal. He stated that he wanted weekly visits from then on and frequent ultrasounds to monitor growth.
After a week and a half, my blood pressure normalized on the medication and it looked as though everything was going to be okay. A few days later (April 13th), I woke up with a terrible headache that would not go away. Jason checked my blood pressure and it was running about 200/110 (this was while still on my BP medication). We went to Labor and Delivery at 11:00am and I was admitted to the hospital at 2:00pm. They ran lab work and found that I was spilling 3+ protein into my urine which is a sign of kidney damage. The hospital staff continued to try to lower my blood pressure, but bedrest and medication did not work. The doctor decided that it would be best for me and Corey that he be delivered in an emergency C-Section. At 7:12pm that night Corey was born three months premature. |