A normal, boring woman as usual……

2008 had been a so-and-so year, starting with the death of my MIL.  Of course, DH and his brother miss her alot, and it was a start to understanding and acceptance that a loved one is not with them anymore.  It is very hard, but they say they want to move on but still have her in their spirits as always.

Then I found out I was pregnant while having a garage sale, after I said to DH that I gave up trying after a miscarriage in October 2007.  I thought the pregnancy was going so smooth, but after a bleeding bout got me in hospital for three days back in July, as well as getting the runaraound on gestational diabetes result and blood pressure wait-and-see situation, I didn’t think this would happen that would end with the greatest miracle of all.

It was December 14, 2008, at exactly 4 in the morning, I woke up to find that I did need to go to the bathroom, but at the same time, I felt there was something that I was unable to control and that is,………….the water broke.  I thought, but I am only 34 and a half WEEKS!  DH woke up to ask if I was okay and I said,”no, not really,……………..I think the water broke, and I can’t control it”.  So I called the local hospital, and I spoke with Lori, the nurse whom I knew from the time DS1 was born, and she told me to come in as soon as possible when my BIL gets in to look after DS1.  Well, we waited almost an hour for BIL to get there (he had to let the truck warm up good due to freezing weather) and while we waited, we had our Explorer warming up good.  As soon as BIL got here at 5:30 am, my contractions went too intense for me to handle it.   Dh and I got to the hospital and after I was settled in bed, DH called a few people, from my parents to his boss and even my sister.  Then my GYN came in, and he told me sadly that he couldn’t deliver me here in the local hospital, because the ward was not equipped for high-risk premature delivery as well as have the proper equipment for preemies (except the travelling incubators for ambulance travel to Regina), so he had to call Regina General Hospital Mother and Baby Unit to have me transferred there. Even worse, the nurse tells us that the ambulance service is NOT covered by the government, so DH had to call to wake the HR manager about the ambulance coverage through his benefits plan and she said yes, so by ten that morning, the paramedics came to take me to the ambulance. DH was not allowed to be with me in the ambulance and we nearly cried (heh heh, we didn’t mean to make one of the EMTs in tears because he is a dad to a 3 year-old DS LOL).  The ride was good ( I have never been in an ambulance before!) and the times I was awake during the ride, the EMT and I had a good conversation about everything, from family life, to rental increase of apartments and townhouses in the local city, to preparing his 3-yr-old for preschool.

Well, after a two-hour ambulance ride to RGH, I was placed in the maternity triage for 4 hours, and the contractions settled down, meaning that I was no longer in labour for a while.  The baby was fine, just moving from place to place inside me.  Then that night, I was moved to the room, and I was so desperate to call DH to see how he is doing with DS, so I had to call the operator for phone service right away instead of waiting for the service person to come around for go-ahead the next day.  My oldest brother found out from my mom that I was here, so he came to see me and asked if I needed anything.  I said that all I need was a calling card to call long distance, so he went and not only he got me the calling card, he got me a crossword puzzlebook, a wordfind book, a magazine and a pen.  How nice that I have a brother who looked out for me since I was born LOL.  Even the next night (Monday, Dec. 15/08), DH’s cousin (who lived in the city) had to see me as she was worried big time (she is a godmother to my SIL, who was born a preemie) about me, so we visited for a good two hours. 

DH finally came to be with me the next day (Dec. 16), and I had a feeling that the contractions came back after lunchtime.  The non-stress test and the U/S showed that the contractions were happening and that the level of the fluids in the sac we severely low so I had to be transferred to the birthing room to wait for the time to come for c-section.  Close to the prepping for the surgery, my contractions were very intense that by the time the OR nurse told me it was time, I was ready to PUSH!  But I knew I could not push for risks of uterine rupture on VBAC so I was wheeled to OR.  After getting on the table, DH was getting dressed up to be with me, so while I was waiting for him to join me, I was giving the spinal tap and I had to not only hold on to the pillow with the OR nurse supporting me, I had to BITE the pillow to put up with the intense pain from the needle.  After the procedure, I had to quickly lie down before the part of my body went into the freeze mode.  It wasn’t a numb feeling at all, it was a hot feeling that when the OR nurse asked me to move my legs and feet and I said,” what legs?!  I didn’t know I have FEET?!” It was funny.  I was then given the oxygen on my nose to breathe easier and to me, it doesn’t mix well with the spinal tap effects so I nearly choked on the oxygen, but it wemt well.  DH joined me, and then few minutes later, Layne Andrew Neil was delivered at 10:30 at night and I could not get a good look at him after he was cleaned up, due to the effects of the drugs and oxygen on me.  Layne had to be taken to NICU so DH went with him and the nurses while I had to be stitched up.  And when all was done, I was taken to recovery for an hour to shake off the effects of the spinal tap.  Then I was wheeled back to my bed. 

Will type more later, as this is long overdue,…………………………..