| Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, & Low Platelets Logan Charles Lyons was born July 4, 2002, at 29 weeks, 6 days. His due date was 9/13/02. He weighed 2# 6 oz. and was 14 inches long. I had "creepy" blood pressure during my pregnancy, but once I rested, it was rechecked & it would go to normal. I began to see the Dr. once a week, to monitor my BP. I woke up Tuesday morning 7/2 feeling strange, and dizzy. My regular OB checkup was that afternoon, so I went on to work, but was not at my best. When I got to the Dr's office I told the nurse how dizzy I was during the day. My blood pressure was 156/108, so as usual, I rested, & she rechecked it. When she rechecked it, it didn't go down, and I had a large amount of protien in my urine which had not been present before. My doctor said I was to go straight to Labor & Delivery and he was admitting me to monitor the BP. I was very nervous, and concerned and ironically, I had this gut feeling that I was not going to leave the hospital pregnant! Still very dizzy, my husband took me across the street to the hospital, which luckily is where he works and I was admitted. Baby was always fine, he was never in distress. However, while in the hospital, my BP increased. My chest felt as if it were sinking in I had a horrible headache & it hurt to breathe. My BP reached 190/120 so I was started on Magnesium Sulfate, which I now refer to as the "Death Serum." I had never felt so ill in my entire life. At this point, I was given one injection of Celestone to mature the baby's lungs, "JUST in case". 7/4/02 Early AM, blood tests showed my liver enzymes tripled, & my platelet count began to drop. I was told I was developing HELLP syndrome. I am a Medical Assistant, and have worked in OB/GYN for almost three years, and certainly knew what pre-eclampsia was, but I had never heard of HELLP! I was told that the baby and I could die and the only cure was to deliver so I was given another injection of Celestone. At around 7 AM and my labor was induced and after about three hours, my cervix was not dilating so my water was broken, but still nothing. My baby's heartbeat began to drop and I was rushed into the operating room for an emergency C-Section. 7/4/02 12:30 PM, Logan Charles was delivered. He was stable, just very small. He was on the ventilator less than 24 hours, & breathing room air within 48 hours. He was the biggest baby in the NICU and at 9 days old was eating 12 CC's of my breast milk every 3 hours through a G-tube and weighed 2# 7.2 ounces. I was able to kangaroo hold him every day which was the highlight of my days. He was taken off the billi-light when he was 4 days old,& off of the nasal canula when he was 8 days old. He did experience brief episodes of apnea & brady-cardia several times a day but they became less & less. Logan continued to thrive, and never skipped a beat, requiring minimal nursing care. Since my husband worked at the hospital, he was able to visit all through the day, and I made a trip to kangaroo him every single day. Logan was able to come home exactly 6 weeks after he was born, and had to wear an apnea monitor for several months, but without complications. He is amazingly normal considering everything, and is actually developmentally advanced . He had frequent ear infections so in November 03, he got tubes and has only had one infection since. His vision is perfect. People frequently comment on what a happy baby he is. He is my little forth of July miracle. |
 |
 |
 |