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One Mum's Story: Chloe & Oscar Smith
After meeting Jeremy we both knew we wanted children one day and we also knew the older I got the worse my chances became of being able to conceive became so we decided to start to try for a baby when I was 21. With the help of fertility drugs I became pregnant after 3-4 months and everything was going well. I started to put on weight really quickly and was given an ultrasound to see if I was having twins as they ran in the family and also because fertility drugs increase your chances of having them. The scan showed that we were having a beautiful little boy, no twins. Towards the end of the second trimester I was full of fluid and getting headaches that would not subside. I had put on 34kg throughout the pregnancy and knew this wasn't normal. Being a nurse I took my blood pressure which was extremely high so Jeremy took me to the hospital. I was diagnosed with the onset of pre-eclampsia and anaemia and given medication to keep my blood pressure down. Before long the medication had stopped working and my blood pressure skyrocketed. They trialled me on all sorts of medication but didn't succeed so I was admitted to hospital. Not knowing my exact dates they knew I was between 34 and 36 weeks gestation and gave me steroids to help develop Oscar's lungs. My kidneys and liver started to shut down and my platelets were decreasing so I was given an emergency caesarian. Oscar was delivered and blue from hypothermia. He was so tiny only weighing 5 pounds, but I knew everthing would be ok. They gave me a tiny glimpse of him and took him away to the special care nursery. In recovery my blood pressure was up over 200 - heart attack material and so was my heart rate, it's unbelievable that I didn't have a massive heart attack. Not being able to bring my blood pressure or heart rate down with the strongest of medication I was transferred to Intensive Care where I stayed for three days. I woke up with cords everywhere not knowing what was going on. I had oxygen tubes in my nostrils but then I noticed a beautiful photo of a little boy on the table next to me. They would not bring Oscar to me because he was in the special care nursery and they would not let me go to him because I was on a magnesium infusion and they didn't allow it on the maternity ward. I longed to hold him so I could believe he was ok.
After three long days they let me back to the maternity ward where I could see and hold Oscar for the first time. He had lost weight and was only 4 pound 8 when I held him but so gorgeous. He had jaundice, hypothermia and hypoglycemia but nothing that couldn't be fixed thank God although my blood pressure was still very high. After Oscar spending four days in the special care nursery they finally let him room in with me and we were allowed out on Christmas Day of 2007 after 10 long days in hospital. After I recovered I realised how serious this was and how close I came to losing my own life. I am ever so grateful to the doctors who saved me, because if they hadn't I would have died not ever holding my beautiful little boy. I am still recovering now. I have to take medication to keep my blood pressure down everyday and may never get off it. I really want to have another child but I am so so scared that it will happen again If anyone else has a similar story please contact me through Mum Zone - I would like to talk to you. (Mum Zone will forward any emails directly to Chloe.) If you are a Mum who has a story to tell or you know of one, email your story to admin@mumzone.com.au. If you have a photo feel free to include it in your email. |
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