By Kailyn Gath
In November of 2018, I started having really bad pains in my right side and in my back. It was to the point where I couldn't sleep or even move. The pain slowly but surely got worse. I thought it was kidney stones or something. On November 11th, 2018, I decided to go see the doctor because the pain was unbearable. Since it was a Sunday, a lot of doctor's offices were closed, plus it was veteran's day weekend.
I was waiting at urgent care for what felt like forever. The doctor called me back and instantly knew something was wrong because my skin and eyes were turning yellow. They took a urine sample and my blood pressure and they were extremely concerned with how high it was. They kept monitoring my blood pressure and it kept getting higher. Shortly after, they informed me that I has protein in my urine and that they had a positive pregnancy test. I was so in shock. I didn't know what to expect or if the baby was okay because I had no prenatal care.
I knew, suddenly, I had to be at least 7 months pregnant because the last time I had been sexually active was in April. They told me I had preeclampsia, gave me a steroid shot, and sent me to the hospital. At the hospital, they informed me that I actually had HELLP syndrome. They immediately started me on magnesium to get my blood pressure down and did a ultrasound. That's when I found out I was 31 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. He was breech and hiding up in my ribs, but he was there. I couldn't believe it... they kept me on magnesium to get my blood pressure down, but they still weren't comfortable with the numbers. After 5 or 6 hours of questions, magnesium, ice chips, and shock, they decided I needed to have an emergency c-section.
He was born on November 11th, 2018 at 11:57pm weighing 3lb 14oz. I didn't wake up until the next day, and even then, I still couldn't wrap my head around what had happened.
Where most women have 9 months to prepare for a baby, I basically had 9 hours.
I didn't get to meet my son for about 24 hours after he was born, his father actually got to see him before me because I was recovering. My mom called him while I was sleeping and told him everything that happened. We had actually taken a break from each other in May. We had been together for 7 years, but we felt like we were smothering each other. We had no contact from May to November, so the first time I saw him since we broke up, we had a family together.
He walked into my hospital room and it felt like we fell in love all over again. He told me how beautiful our son was and how proud he was. When I finally got to see my baby, nothing else in the world mattered. I had a perfect baby boy, and he was healthy. He stayed in the NICU for a month. He was so tiny, but oh so mighty.
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