A Presbyterian Vacation: Round 2

I never wrote about my October "vacation" at Presbyterian hospital, so I'll do a quick summary before I recap round two... I was very sick for a little over a week in October before we found a doctor who realized that my symptoms were not normal to pregnancy when he found a 6-centimeter mass in my abdomen that ended up being a very dangerous situation for both the baby and me. I was immediately admitted into the hospital on a Friday, had surgery to remove it the next morning and spent the entire next week battling fever and an elevated white count in the high-risk pregnancy ward at Presbyterian of Dallas. The care at the hospital and from home was incredible. My mom spent the entire time in Dallas taking care of both me and Robin by spending time at the hospital when Robin needed a break. When she wasn't at the hospital, she cleaned our house and cooked and packaged meals for our freezer that we have since thoroughly enjoyed and will continue to enjoy after the baby arrives.

I slowly regained my strength (not the energy or focus - it has continued to elude me) and was doing fairly well until Monday, December 22 when I started to feel sick to my stomach again. Convinced that the feeling would go away, I didn't call the doctor until Wednesday, which happened to be Christmas Eve. My doctor's office was closed and the nurse suggested I either go into labor and delivery triage or wait until the office was open on Friday. Since we're still digging our way out of the mountain of my October medical expenses, I opted to save on the emergency fees that we would have assumed in the triage unit and waited until Friday.

Christmas Eve and day were spent relaxing at home -- something that Robin and I both needed.

On Friday, I went into the doctor's office and because of my prior history, my symptoms were not dismissed as "normal pregnancy symptoms." The perinatal offices were closed for the holiday, so we couldn't get in for a sonogram to see what was going on, so Dr. Thurston sent us to the lab to have blood drawn to check my white count. He ordered the results stat so we would be assured of having them back that afternoon.

Robin and I had been cooped up for two days and were feeling a little restless and thought maybe a walk around NorthPark Center would be good for me. We were there a little while when I realized that I had a gift certificate to the Tiffany store that I really should spend. While in the store, I realized I had missed a call and had a message. Thinking it might be my results, I quickly retrieved the message. It was Dr. Thurston calling to let me know that my white count was elevated at 18K (normal is 5K - 10K) and that I needed to be admitted into the hospital that afternoon. Being the emotional pregnant person that I am and not wanting to revisit my experience in October, I immediately started crying -- in the corner of the Tiffany store. At that moment, a security guard walked up and handed me his freshly pressed handkerchief -- a random act of kindness that was perfect for the Christmas season, and a gesture that I will always remember.

After I gained my composure, we hustled home to pack a bag and then checked into the hospital for the night, where I was put on IV antibiotics and then ordered NPO (nothing by mouth) at midnight in case I had to have surgery on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, I had an MRI to detect if a mass had reformed. I had trouble getting through all of the tests, so the techs were very kind to let Robin in the room with me so he could hold my hand and fan my face. The results came back clear, which let us know we caught the issue before it escalated.

The doctors kept me in the hospital on IV antibiotics through Monday afternoon, still unsure of why I am having problems, but comfortable enough with my reduced (but not yet normal) white count to let me go home with oral medicine.

While I am not feeling great, I am feeling better and we are so glad that the baby seems to be unaffected by my complications. Because I am pregnant, the doctors haven't been able to do any diagnostic testing on me, but I have been assured I will go through plenty of testing about six weeks after delivery to determine next steps.

As for my next Presbyterian vacation... I hope to come home with a nice snugly baby girl as a souvenir!