On June 22, 1998 my mom borrowed my grandfather's van to take me to my doctors appointment in Clovis. Before leaving for Clovis, we stopped and got a burrito and some tater tots for breakfast since we didn't have time to eat at home. We had my suitase with me and my mom's coaching bag just in case.(I had been in the hospital previously for high blood pressure and we didn't have any of our things then.) We got to the doctors office and they took a urine sample and weighed me and then I was strapped into the Non Stress Test machine which monitors the fetal movements. I knew something was up when I was the nurse looking at a color strip which she dips into the urine sample to see the protein level. She was studying it awful hard. My mom set in the room with me where they monitor the baby and he wasn't moving very much. The nurse came in and saw the readings and asked if I had any breakfast. I replied, telling her what I had eaten and she said that he should be moving around. So she got a little buzzer, put it to my tummy, and buzzed it to wake the baby if he was sleeping. Morgan jumped and his heart rate went up, which was normal, so the nurse left the room. About five minutes later he was "asleep" again. The nurse came in later, shut off the machine, the she sent me into the waiting room. She spoke with the doctor and the doctor came out, handing me papers to be admitted to the hospital to induce labor. They believed that because the protein was high in my urine that I had the first stages of pre-eclampsia, which if left untreated can result in fetal death. Another thing that bothered the doctor was that I had really bad swelling in my feet and legs which is also another symptom of eclampsia. I took the papers and thanked the doctor and my mom and I headed out the doors to the van. We drove across the street to the hospital and parked behind the emergency room doors. There my mom called my dad and let him know that they were going to induce labor. He was told to bring down the remainder of our stuff: the video camera, the snack bag, the baby book, and the picture camera. I then called my friend Cristin and left a message on her machine telling her they were going to induce labor, but not to hurry or panic. Cristin, being the type to panic, grabs her stuff and dashes out her door, driving to her moms workplace, and telling her that she was heading to Clovis. (it didn't take her long to get there) My mom and I then went inside the hospital and waited for about an hour until the receptionist finally took our admittance papers. They had me fill out consent forms and then told us to wait, that a staff member would come with a wheelchair to take me to the Obstetrics ward. So we waited and the staff member showed up. She was probably about late seventies or early eighties, very small and frail looking. She asked me to sit in the chair, which I did, and she began to push me. Well the chair was broken and I was pretty heavy. The woman pushing the wheelchair was panting up a storm and I was worried that she would have a heart attack. My mom offered to help push, but she insisted that she was doing just fine. Slowly but surely we got to the ward and I was left in the hallway, sitting in the chair waiting for another nurse to take me to my room. My mom was standing behind me as Doctor Cross came past us. He was my primary care physician. He stopped and talked with us for a minute and I handed him my birthing options paper that I had written up for the staff. He wished me well and scooted down the hallway and into another room. My mom and I listened in horror and a womans screams echoed up the hallway.
"I can't do this any more!! Oh god it hurts!!"
Her voice was gutteral and she was groaning and grunting in pain. I am sure that my face was either white or green. I looked at my mom and told her, half joking, that we could go home now. That I really didn't want to do this anymore. She and I smiled at each other and continued waiting for a nurse. Finaly one showed up and took me to my room. She gave me a gown to put on, telling me that everything had to come off but my bra unless I wished to keep it on. So I went into the bathroom and slipped on the gown. I was then ordered to get into bed. There they hooked me up to the fetal monitor and to the blood pressure machine which was scheduled to take my blood pressure every thirty minutes. My mom sat in the chair next to my bed and we watched T.V. for a little while. My dad showed up not much longer later and my mom went outside to help him carry bags in. I was never so happy to see both my mom and dad there with me. It made me feel confident and relaxed a bit more. We all set around and visited and watched T.V. for a while until the doctor came in and I excused my parents. The doctor then gave me a suppository that is supposed to ripen the cervix for birth when they induce labor. That suppository was supposed to stay in for twelve hours. A few minutes after that, my friend Cristin and her sister showed up and we all visited for a bit. A Few minutes later my grandma showed up and stayed until about eight o' clock. My brother also showed up for a short while. Later that evening the room cleared out as everyone went home but my mom. She unfolded a chair that transforms into a little bed and slept there all night. I hardly got any sleep as nurses came in every hour or two and because I was cramping due to the suppository. When I woke up in the morning I was really tired because my discomfort kept me awake all night. My dad came, bringing down Cristin and her sister to spend time with me. My other friend, Nathan, also came in(his mother works in the hospital). A Few minutes later the nurse came in and started the IV for the pictocin drip which starts contractions. Cristin turned away as the nurse put the needle into my arm. What a mess that made. Then everyone was asked to leave as they took out the suppository. After that everything went well until about noon or one. The nurse came in to check my dialation. While she was checking, my water broke. My contractions began coming and they were in my back. I lay in bed doing my breathing. The contractions were irregular so they were hard to keep track of. The contractions hurt and on the monitor they were shown as the high 40's early 50's. A few hour later they were around the 100's and 110's. My back was aching and my mom and my grandma were standing over my bed crying as I cried, saying, "I can't do this mom, it hurts to much." I was crying so hard that I could barly breath when the contractions came on. The nurse then came in and asked me to sit up. She then demonstrated to my mom a position that could be used to help with the contractions. My mom watched then took over. She did so well. And the position really worked. Finally I asked for a nurse who had had and epidural before to come in and talk to me about it. She was really nice and told me that it was painless and really quick to work. I agreed to get one, and as I waited for the doctor to show up with the epidural, I stayed in position with my mom, working on my breathing. It took a few hours for the doctor to show up, but when he finally did I had never been so happy to see a needle that had to be brought in on wheels. (The needle was in a big cart on wheels.) The nurse came and told me to hunch over. She pushed down on my shoulders to curve my back as much as possible. The doctor swabbed my back with iodine and then inserted the needle, then the needle through the catheter. It was absolutely painless. I couldn't feel anything at all. After the catheter was inserted I rested back on the bed with was set in a sitting position. In about fifteen minutes most of the pain was gone from my contractions. I could still feel alot of pressure and a little twinge, but I could relax now. I finally fell asleep. While I was asleep, my grandma stayed with me while my parents went to get something to eat. I had never been so greatful for a nap in my life. My parents returned and maybe around six thirty or seven o' clock the nurse came in and checked my dialation and I was fully dialated. She told me to begin pushing. Holding the push for seven or so seconds. Everyone left the room but my mom and I began to push. I pushed for about five minutes. My dad was in the doorway looking in. He was worried about me. I waved him and my grandma in and said that they could stay. About ten minutes later, Morgan's head crowned and the nurse called the doctor in. The doctor came in and set everything up. He kep telling me to push and I did. He then slipped a vaccuum onto Morgan's head and pulled while I pushed. When Morgan's head came out I was ordered to stop pushing. Morgan was asleep and the umbilical cord was around his neck. the doctor cut the cord and I began pushing again. A few seconds later Morgan was born. The doctor was telling him to "wake up big boy." Finally Morgan cried and I was overjoyed. The nurse took him and put him in the heated bassinet to check his vitals. All I could do was hear Morgan crying and I wanted to see him so bad. Everyone else was over there looking at him saying how handsome he was and I was envious of them all. I had a nasty tear from front to back so I was being sewed up while Morgan was then whisked away to the nursery to be cleaned, measured and weighed. It took them about and hour and a half before I finally got to see him. The nurse brought him in and placed him in my arms and I had never been so happy in my life. I was everything everyone had said and a whole lot more. Finally he was here and I was holding him. The nurse came over and helped me put him to my breast to nurse. He was an eager eater and learned quickly. After I was cleaned up and gotten a fresh gown I was moved to a recovery room that I shared with another peron. I stayed in the hospital all that night, all the next day and night, and finally went home late afternoon the 25th. While I was in the hospital I had Morgan with me in the room at all times except when he was to be bathed and his PKU was done. I stayed up the entire time that I was in the hospital, Morgan resting on my chest as I sang to him. I did drop him off at the nursery for his PKU so I wandered the halls and went to get something to drink at the lounge. All the rest of the time I was busy enjoying my son and resting in my room, not letting him out of my sight for a minute if I could help it. I will tell you one thing. I have never loved anything more than I do him. He is a great joy in my life and I am glad that God blessed me with him.
