Just now sharing my traumatic birth story. HELLP Syndrome & Preeclampsia.

My sweet boy, Taegen (Pronounced "Tay-gen)who we call "Tag" for short, was originally due November 26th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Our first viable pregnancy (3 previous pregnancies all lost before 9 weeks). We were so excited. Even though I turned 40 while pregnant my pregnancy was stellar. Nausea in the first trimester and a pesky small fibroid were my only real complaints. No back pain (even though I have scoliosis!), no swelling, only light fatigue, no hemorrhoids, acne, crazy mood swings, etc. Everything was going perfectly including blood sugars, blood pressure and weight gain. My midwives were super impressed, as was I. Then at 36 weeks I began having what I believed were Braxton Hicks contractions with terrible, terrible heartburn. It was causing me excruciating pain that was only relieved by warm baths. I literally lost sleep because of the pain and could NOT get comfortable in any way. After 2 nights of this I went to the hospital. Upon checking me out my BP was slightly elevated but they chalked it up to distress from the pain. It began to come down after the pain/contractions lessened. My contractions were erratic, so they confirmed that they were, indeed, Braxton Hicks. A Fetal Stress Test revealed baby was ok. They felt my Upper Right Quadrant (URQ) pain was a result of the baby being so high coupled with my heartburn. They advised me to go home and rest and not worry about anything. That was on a Friday. The next day I was at 37 weeks. I had an appointment the next Tuesday at my midwives office. I suffered through more days of excruciating pain until that appt. That day my midwife ordered a CBC and liver enzyme test, plus a protein urine test. They did a fetal stress test in ofgice, and again baby sounded healthy and great and I was actually starting to feel much better. They said they would call with the results. Early the next morning they called to tell me to IMMEDIATELY get to the hospital. My husband and I were unsure of exactly what was going on, but due to their tone we knew we had to take this seriously. I knew in my heart that my natural, drug-free vaginal birth was not going to happen. We got to the hospital and I was told I was so sick that I could wind up in ICU. I immediately began being prepped for an emergency c section. I was preeclamptic and had HELLP Syndrome. I had no choice as delivery of the baby is the only cure for preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. Without delivery the mother will die - there is no other outcome. HELLP stands for Hemoglobin, Elevated Liver Enzymes, Low Platelets. Basically, it is a very rare syndrome that affects less than 1% of pregnancies. It causes your liver to shut down which causes your kidneys to fail. Also your platelets can get dangerously low. Normal people have around 200,000 - 450,000 platelets in their blood. I had the worst class of HELLP Syndrome due to my platelet count being at 30,000 (there are 3 classes, class 1 is 0-50,000; class 2 is 50,000 - 100,000; class 3 is 100,000-150,000). Because of my low platelet count I had to receive a platelet transfusion right away. This explained why I spit up blood that morning simply from brushing my teeth. I had also had nosebleeds the past week. My blood simply couldn't clot. Even with the transfusion I couldn't have an epidural because I risked permanent paralysis from blood clotting issues in the spine, or death from bleeding out in the spine. So I required general anaesthesia. I would not be hearing my baby's first cry or be the first one to see or hold him. At this news, I lost it and just cried and cried. I was ridiculously scared as they wheeled me into the OR. Seeing bags of blood set up in case I began bleeding out during the surgery was just too much. I PLEADED with God to please let me live to see my child and to be able to raise him. My baby boy was born within 15 minutes of being wheeled into the OR. 5# 14oz, 19 inches long. Healthy baby!!! A bit of IUGR, but he was breathing well and would not require any time in the NICU. I, however, spent 2 days in the maternal ICU being monitored closely. I was placed on magnesium sulfate to keep me from seizing as my blood pressure was very, very high and kept in a dark quiet room to keep stimulation low. Magnesium sulfate is NASTY stuff. It makes you feel totally drugged up. I could barely form words to speak and even had trouble swallowing. I lost all of my reflexes from it, that is how much it relaxes your body. I was unable to breastfeed or even hold my baby. I could barely keep my eyes open. It was seriously terrifying - like being trapped in your own body. I could NOT will myself to move or speak. Fortunately, I was taken off if it after about 30 hours and recovered body control in about 5 hours after being removed from it. I recovered a total of 4 days. When I was sent home I was told to be mindful of any bleeding, headaches, visual disturbances, nausea as HELLP Syndrome can reoccur up to 6 weeks after delivery! I was scared for those 6 weeks. It was always on my mind that I could get sick again and potentially die. Women and babies DIE from this condition and it is tragic. I am now trying to educate people about HELLP Syndrome. I will have an elevated risk for every pregnancy after this, but I stand a better chance in catching it and dealing with it successfully because I will be monitored more closely and will know what to watch for. Anyway, just like *that* a pregnancy can go from picture perfect to rapid onset complications. Thank GOODNESS I had knowledgeable midwives who caught the HELLP/Pre-E and literally saved my life.