So it has been a while since I have posted and there is a LOT that we need to catch up on. My preeclampsia was getting bad and at week 36 my doctor made the decision to induce me. My blood pressure was getting bad and I was already starting to dilate. She set the date for April 8th at 4 o'clock in the morning! We planned for my mom to take me to the induction so that Charles wouldn't have to use that morning as one of his two days that he would get off of work.
My mom and I arrived at the hospital and they quickly hooked me up to the medicine via iv and the induction was started by 4:20 am. Charles ended up getting off early and being there within an hour or so after that. I was still dilated to one at this point and I had a very long way to go! Around 7 in the morning my doctor came in to check me (my absolute LEAST favorite part) and she ended up going ahead and breaking my water to try and get things going. This is where the longest, most drawn out process of my life began. I labored for 32 hours with Pitocin and another medicine that had to be inserted into me with pretty much no progress what so ever. By 2 ish the next afternoon and an epidural later, I suddenly spiked a fever and my doctor and I decided it was time for a csection. At this point there was no stress or issues with Furrby at all and things were seemingly going to come to an end and we would be a happy little family. This is what I THOUGHT...this is most definitely NOT what happened.
The nurses prepped me for surgery and I was quickly taken to the operating room. At this point I was beyond exhausted, could barely keep my eyes open, shivering uncontrollably from the epidural and the fever and pretty much just a mess. They moved me to the operating table and the medical team was introducing themselves to me and explaining their particular jobs to me. At some point Charles came in and they put his hand into mine so that I knew he was there. He sat next to me and together we waited anxiously for the arrival of our son.
The anesthesiologist was kind enough to explain the process of the operation so I knew what to expect and when. She was very nice and was reassuring me as to what was going on. I was lucky enough to have not only my doctor in there but the other doctor from her office that had taken care of me several times over the past two months when my doctor was gone or not on call. The surgery went pretty quickly and before I knew it I was feeling the pressure of them getting Furrby out of me. This is when chaos began to ensue.
Furrby (name to be revealed in next post) was born on April 9th, 2014 at 3:20 pm. He weighed 6 lbs and 1 oz. and at this time no one was sure of his length.
We heard no cries from our baby boy and we only could see him for the brief second as they whisked him off to the side to be cleaned up. That is when I heard the pediatrician call out that respiratory needed to be called immediately. My heart sank. I grabbed Charles' hand tightly and craned my neck as much as possible to see what was going on. That is when I saw the team of doctors and nurses trying to revive my son with CPR. Shortly after that they had intubated him with a tube down his throat so that they could breath for him. The next 30 minutes to an hour were such a blur. Xray machines were brought in to take pictures of our son's chest, the anesthesiologist ran over to help, Charles and I stared in disbelief as my doctors worked to finish my surgery.
Dr. Riggins, the pediatrician, came over to us as soon as she could to try and brief us on what was happening. The gist we got at that point was that he was born not breathing, his heart was barely beating and he needed to be life flighted to another hospital with a NICU that could support his needs. We originally chose for them to call St. Vincents because Riley hospitals were not in our medical network. When St. Vincents called back to say they couldn't get to him for another 4 hours we quickly said send him wherever can take him. They had a transport team due to arrive from the IU North hospital (Riley) in ten minutes. Before I knew it they had wheeled him out and Charles was gone and I was alone with the medical team finishing my surgery.
The team was so good to me trying to comfort me and reassure me but at this point I was in shock and pretty much inconsolable. They took me back to another room and the nurses continued to do their normal post op procedures. I attempted to listen to the various doctors and nurses that were telling me all kinds of various information about me and my son. Finally, Dr. Riggins came in and told me that the transport team was here and they were stabilizing Furrby for his helicopter ride to IU North. The assured me that just because he was being transported by helicopter did not mean he was more sick than if it had been an ambulance...this time it was because it was approaching 5 o'clock traffic and a helicopter was the first mode of transportation available. It seemed like decades before they were ready to take him and the transport team wheeled him into my room so that I could see him before he left.
He was so tiny in this huge incubator. They had given him some sedative for the trip and the incubator was pretty much sound proof. They moved our beds as close together as possible and opened one of the tiny portholes so that I could touch my son's hand before he left. This is when the transport team gave us the "low down" on Furrby's current condition and what had been done to him. All of the details of his condition will be in another post.
At this point Charles, my mom, and Charles' parents were at the hospital with me. I sent Charles and his parents to be with Furrby at IU North and my mom stayed with me. We were all in shock and pretty devastated at this point. I was horrified at the thought of my child not just needing a NICU like this, but of him being life flighted away from me and me stuck in the hospital in a different city. The transport team called me about 7 pm to let me know that Furrby had arrived safely and was being set up/stabilized in the NICU. I was told a doctor from IU North would contact me and go over his status as soon as they were done getting him set up. The anxiety was just kicking in....
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