Ectopic Pregnancy

The last few days have been awful. I was five weeks on Sunday and I went to work. I was fine, I talked happily with a coworker about the baby for a few minutes before going to work. I am a CCA with the post office and was sorting packages (all light) when I started to feel some cramping. I hadn’t been having regular bowel movements so I thought that might be why but then it got worse. I almost didn’t tell anyone but I ended up going in and telling my supervisor in tears that I needed to go to the hospital.

When I arrived I struggled to get from the parking lot to the ER. They had a medical detector where the security guard was making jokes about how I must want to be seen judging by the look on my face I shook my head yes and he told me where to go. I then went to the registration and tried to tell the lady how bad it was. She still made me fill out paperwork and sit in the waiting room. I sat there for about five minutes sobbing in pain, unable to barely move. When the nurse called my name to come back I could barely get up and she waited for me to get all the way to the door before she offered a wheel chair while another nurse joked about hoping I delivered all the mail first.

Once back in the room it took another five minutes of sobbing in bed before anyone came in to see me. Finally I got a nurse to draw blood and she was nothing but nice and sympathetic. She told me stories of her pregnancies and how I should be fine. I was still in a lot of pain but she made me feel more at ease at least. An older nurse came in with an attitude and almost seemed to roll her eyes when I told her it was my first time being pregnant. I almost felt like I was being foolish for being there. Finally my husband showed up and asked me if I wanted my parents to know. I told him no, it was better to wait till we knew something and I was starting to feel like I was being silly for being there even though the pain was increasing, one of the nurses said it could be early Braxton Hicks and since I wasn’t bleeding it was a good sign. I was given morphine and when I tried to ask if it was safe for the baby the nurse acted annoyed. I just wanted to make sure my baby was safe.

I was then asked to get a urine sample. None of the nurses helped me to the bathroom even though I struggled to get there. My husband helped as much as he could. Once in the bathroom I was in absolute agony. Peeing hurt so bad I was screaming and could barely feel it when I was letting it out. I don’t even know how I managed to get off the toilet seat but I did and sobbed all the way back to my room. At this point my neck and chest started to hurt.

I was then taken for ultrasound and despite everything was kind of excited to finally get to see my baby. They wouldn’t let my husband go in with me and when I got into ultrasound the screen faced away from me. I could only sit there as the pain got worse and I tried asking the tech if she at least saw a baby and she wouldn’t answer. She did an ultrasound of my ribs too.

They wheeled my bed into the hall and I waited there as the pain in my chest increased. No one was around me and there was no call button so I waited and hoped for the best. Every breath hurt. Finally someone came to transport me back to my room and the minute I got there I hit the call button and told the nurse that I was having bad chest and neck pain and it hurt to breathe. She said she would let the doctor know and it was a while before anyone came back into my room. I asked my husband to let my family know.

When he came back we finally got to hear from a physicians assistant, not even a doctor the horrible, horrible news. He told us I had an ectopic pregnancy where the baby was growing in my Fallopian tube and that one of three things could happen: it could rupture, it could rupture or it could rupture. He then said he was waiting to hear back from the obgyn on what they were going to do. I asked my husband to go let my mom and dad know what was going on.

When he left I started to feel really nauseas and my vision started to go black. I couldn’t reach my call button and I started screaming for someone to help me. At one point I remember thinking no one was coming, I was so scared and thought I might be dying. I fought passing out as much as I could and kept screaming for help. Finally two nurses ran in and started asking me what was wrong. They put me on oxygen and tilted my bed back and took my blood pressure, they said it had bottomed out. I slowly started to feel better and regain consciousness but couldn’t move my neck or body hardly at all. My pressure went back up and the physicians assistant told the nurse to give me pain medicine. I remember her saying she wouldn’t even give me half until my pressure went up and then I never received any so I continued to sit in pain.

I was told I was to have surgery right away, which was scary. My husband said my mom was on her way and I told him I didn’t want to see her till after surgery because it hurt too much to cry and I was worried it might make me pass out again. They had me sign paperwork but my body couldn’t move so they had to guide my hand to the paperwork and have me sign. I asked if my husband could sign for me since it was so hard on me and the nurse said no, I couldn’t even read the paperwork because it hurt too bad to move.

The surgeon came in and explained what was going to happen, how I might lose one of my tubes and that he thinks the ectopic pregnancy had ruptured and that’s why I almost passed out and that’s why I could barely move because of all the extra fluid in my body.

It seemed like forever before they took me for surgery. I remember thinking how ready I was for them to put me under because I was in so much pain. I was asked a lot more questions and made to sign more paperwork. Once in the operating room they told me to move to the other bed and I told them they didn’t understand I physically could not and they again repeated I had to, finally someone said they would give me pain medicine beforehand and that’s the last thing I remember pre surgery.

I then remember waking up and asking if I was okay. The nurses said yes, gave me pain meds and I went back to sleep. They took me up to my room and my family came in shortly after. I asked them what happened. They told me I had scar tissue from endometriosis in my right tube that prevented the baby from being able to grow in my uterus and that they had to remove my tube with the baby. They said I lost about four pints of blood internally so I would be pretty weak for awhile.

My neck and chest still hurt so bad I couldn’t lift them off the pillow. I hit the call button and the nurse said they couldn’t give me any pain medicine until I proved I could eat and not throw up so without removing my head from where it was I ate really dry crackers and water. It took awhile before the nurse came back with meds. I was told I would probably leave that night and my family went to go get my prescriptions so my husband and I could be alone.

I had to pee really bad so the nurse came back in. My hospital gown was covered in blood, I figured it was from the surgery but the nurse freaked out. One of my incisions had come open and she had to close it with a pressure bandage and got me another gown.

She then suggested I use a bed pan this time. My husband stepped out and I struggled with the pan. I had the nurse help me up but my neck started to get spasms so I had to lay back down. It took me probably 30 minutes to use the bathroom and it hurt so bad.

My family came back and I was told I would be kept over night now. It was hours before my neck and chest pain subsided. I finally fell asleep but was awoken by the fact it was still really hard to breathe. My nurse walked me around the maternity floor, where I got to walk right pass the nursery and hear the babies cry. She was very nice so I don’t think it was intentional, but it felt so cruel to be reminded. After the walk my chest felt better and I got some, still very little, sleep.

The next day I was released but I never got to talk to the doctor. I would ask the nurses questions and they didn’t know the answers. I asked them about showering and the said it would probably be okay. I asked them about the endometriosis and they had no idea what I was talking about. I left there and called the doctors office and they said I could come in and talk to the doctor. He came down and talked to me while I sat in the car and answered my questions.

This whole experience has been absolutely awful. I’m lucky to be alive, but I hate what I lost. My husband has been so unbelievably amazing through it all and my family and friends keep checking on me. I’m lucky to have such an amazing support system. But it will be a while till I’m the same again. I’m just going to hope for the best at this point, and continue my recovery.