Katie's HuGStory
This is our story.
I say ‘our’ because along with all my suffering was this little human being trying to grow and develop. I think we made it through together. Without her as inspiration, I would have never made it.
My husband and I got married in 1998. Three months before our wedding my doctor told me that my endometriosis was progressing and that if I ever wanted to have children I needed to start trying soon. He also said that I would need medical assistance to get pregnant. Within two months of being married we started trying. During this time I wanted a child so desperately, I would get mad anytime I would here a pregnant woman complaining about morning sickness or weight gain or anything else. I use to vow that if I ever got pregnant I would not complain about anything, I would just enjoy every minute. Well, after 21 months of fertility treatments, shots during the day and sometimes in the middle of the night, trips of the doctor every other day, and a miscarriage…..the nurse called on June 30, 2000 to tell me ‘it was positive’.
I was a total of four weeks pregnant. I had been taking shots of HCG in my hip for the last two weeks and had been very sick. My husband had to actually come and pick me up from work one day because I was so ill I couldn’t get up off the bathroom floor. This was before I even missed a period. The doc said it was the shots and when I stopped those it would go away. Two weeks later and after switching docs I was told that it was just morning sickness, everyone had it, and it would go away. Well, by week 12 we were in the hospital watching the nurses as they looked for veins in my feet to draw blood out of. Still, I was hopeful this would end. But it didn’t. I can’t count the number of times we were hospitalized. At week 14 they put a PIC line in. It was done in the radiology department with an x-ray. They wrapped me in lead blankets, strapped both of my arms to a table, and told me to relax. I cried the whole time.
Once when I was hospitalized, the doc on call came in to check on me. He said not to worry it will end soon ( I was about 20 weeks). I responded by saying that I had resigned myself to the fact that I would be sick the whole pregnancy. The next visit I had with my doctor in his office, he told me that the doc on call had notified him that he was worried because of "my bad attitude." About that time I wanted to strap him to a table, take blood out of his feet and tell him in detail about my bad attitude.
I was sick the entire pregnancy. I had my PIC line for a total of 20 weeks and took continuous TPN as well as Zofran four times a day (through the line). I still threw up. At 34 weeks my line got infected and had to come out. I was back to regular IV’s and getting stuck once a day. My veins were so bad that they just couldn’t handle the fluid or the stress. I went into early labor. My doc chose to stop it and send me home. I cried. I just wanted it all to be over with.
I didn’t have to wait too long, the next week my blood pressure rose. An ultrasound showed that the baby was breech. The doc scheduled a c-section. At 36 weeks, my 9-pound baby girl was born. You see, even though I went through what my doc said was one of the worst pregnancies he had ever seen, my daughter had not suffered a bit. Although it may not seem like it as you are praying to your toilet every other hour, our bodies are amazing. Within two days of having her, my HG was completely gone. I haven’t thrown up since.
Kennedy is 5 weeks old now. I praise God everyday for her. I praise God everyday for helping me make it through. Although I promised myself before I would never complain about this pregnancy…..I did….and don’t feel bad if you do too. HG takes it toll on not only the body, but the spirit as well. My only advise it to remind you that you are not alone. There is a precise little someone who is going through it too, and he or she loves you so much for your sacrifice.
Sincerely,
Katie
If you are suffering from HG and need to talk, please feel free to contact me at mkkasten@worldnet.att.net
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