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10 weeks 5 days post partum

Samantha ⚓️ • Mon, Sep 26

Let me introduce myself. My story is quite unique and different from everyone else's but I am still a birth mother. I was a traditional surrogate (used my own egg, biologically my daughter) for a lovely couple. I had a great pregnancy until I was 25 weeks. I woke up on July 9th at 430am with a tremendous headache. Told my girlfriend I was going to take a bath and didn't realize it until I got to the hospital (will explain) that I had passed out in the tub. I woke up and went back to bed. By noon that day, my headache had disappeared. I figured it was a bug that was trying to pass through. Well the next day, July 10th, I woke up with the same exact problem at 630am. Tried a bath, passed out, went back to the room. My girlfriend had to work at 9am that morning. After she left for work, it got worse. I had the headache, blurred vision, getting sick every 30 minutes. I called everyone I could think of (didn't want to bug my girlfriend at work at the time) to see if someone could bring me to the hospital. I was a nanny for the summer and it was a weekend so I knew my boss (kids' mom) was home. I called her and asked if she would bring me. She brought me to the ER and I didn't leave. I was 25 weeks 1 day when I got admitted. My doctor came in and diagnosed me with severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. My body was giving out. My liver and kidneys were shutting down. My blood pressure skyrocketed. They immediately started me on magnesium to prevent seizures.

I immediately texted the intended mother (she was in Michigan) and told her she should get on the earliest flight she could and get to North Dakota.

For the next three days, I held on the best I could. Kept getting pumped with magnesium, pain meds for the headache, blood pressure meds to help with that. The morning of July 13th, my blood pressure kept skyrocketing even with the meds. My doctor made the decision that it was time to prep for a csection. At 10:12am on July 13th.. A 1lb 4.5oz baby girl was born. My doctor told me if I would have waited even 15 more minutes before going to the hospital, it could have been even more fatal for myself and baby Emma.

It definitely wasn't the way I wanted it to go, but Emma is with her mom and dad in Oklahoma in the Nicu.

As I said, I have a different story and I don't regret doing what I did (it had always been a dream), but I am still her birth mother.

Jenna (intended mother/Emma's mom) sends me pictures everyday and keeps me updated of how Emma is doing. She unfortunately has a eye, liver, lung, and heart disease but we are hoping they are all acute and hopefully go away as she matures.