The Last Few Days...

I've decided that I'm going to stay in bed every Wednesday until the baby is born. Why? Because that is the day that bad things seem to keep happening. This past Wednesday, I was at work on a conference call - just a typical day around the office. My colleague asked me to forward an email, and as I went to try and type, I realized the fingers on my left hand weren't moving. I then realized that my entire left arm was numb and I couldn't move it. I thought - "hmmm. that's strange. I must have been leaning on it weird." And then it got worse...
I suddenly felt my shoulder go numb, and then the left side of my face, gums, tongue and then throat. You would think at this point I would be freaking out - but I still figured it was something I did or that the baby was pinching a nerve. After about 4-5 minutes, I knew something wasn't right and called the OB. I described what was going on, and she said I needed to get to the Emergency Room immediately. That's when I realized something was MAJORLY wrong!

I wasn't able to drive, so my colleague drove me up to the hospital. My husband met me there, and they admitted me to the ER. Now, this is where I need to vent for a moment. You would think anything with the name "EMERGENCY" in it would make people move with some quickness, or at least a sense of urgency. Maybe it's because I'm in the deep south, but these people were moving slower than molasses. AND completely dismissing everything I was saying. From the receptionist to the ER nurse to the ER doctor - everyone said to me, "Oh - the fun of pregnancy! The baby's probably just shifting around It happens all the time." And the best line that I heard - "This must be your first baby - every little thing scares you~" Umm - EXCUSE me?! The left side of my body is NUMB! This isn't NORMAL! Ok - on with the story... So I was still in the ER where they hooked me up to an IV, and told me I was just experiencing a migraine and gave me some Tylenol. The doctor literally said to me - "Don't worry. You don't have a brain tumor." Well, thanks Doc! Appreciate it!

It was only on the third ask - this time by my frustrated husband - did they agree to page my OB for me. Before then, they pretended like they didn't hear me. So begrudgingly the ER nurse discharged me and wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery. They hooked me up to monitors and saw the baby was doing great. By this time the numbness had faded and I felt back to normal. They were actually going to discharge me from there too, but then my OB came in and said - "I think you need to stay. I want you to get an MRI/brain scan and meet with a neurologist to make sure everything is ok." So I stayed the night - experienced the joys of the MRI (aka coffin) for the first time in my life - and had more than 30 viles of blood drawn.

In the end, they realized I didn't have a migraine - that I in fact had a Transient Ischemic Attack (aka Mini-Stroke) and that I had a genetic disorder known as Protein S deficiency which caused a clot to form and block bloodflow to the right side of my brain. SCARY!!!! So we'll see what happens from here. They are doing more tests, and I now have to inject myself with the blood thinner Heparin twice a day until I give birth. I'm supposed to speak with the doctors again today to figure out what the next 10 weeks will look like.

Ay yi yi! So now you can see why from now on, you'll be able to find me hiding under the covers every Wednesday for the next 10 weeks. Come on baby girl! Only 10 weeks left - we can do it!!!