Surgery and Hospitalization– December 3–5

(PSA: spell check is not working so if there are any errors, my apologies.)

Well, things sure can change in a moment. I think we all know this, but when something happens we remember it all over again.

Things were moving along swimmingly. I was maintaining my 11k steps per day, doing yoga, working, doctor appointments were going great, keeping up with housework, had plenty of energy and then it all changed with one doctor appointment.

I will try not to get to graphic, but if you want details I can share personally. Here is the story. I got a text from a dear friend that she had just been diagnosed with shingles and we had been in contact a few days before. I called my doctor to tell her about the possible exposure to shingles and mentioned some other things going on. While I was calling about the shingles, they were more concerned with the other things I had mentioned. The nurse, Allison, asked if I could come in right away. I was a little concerned, but thought it would all be fine.

I got to the doctors office and had a quick ultrasound. There was plenty of fluid around the babies and my waters were not broken – all great news. That would have been very, very bad if my waters had broken. My (amazing) doctor, Dr. Pridjian, also did a pelvic exam where she realized I was 3 cm dilated. WHAT? That was bad.

She told me I was going to be hospitalized and I was going to surgery in the next few hours. I lost my self for a moment. They put me in a wheelchair and rolled me to the hospital. I called Doug and my parents who got the word out. I was brought to Labor and Delivery as we could have had to deliver the babies. I was almost 21 weeks and it was way to early. They would not survive.

They put me in a hospital bed with my head lower than my feet. Put in an IV and prepped me for surgery. Doug arrived pretty quickly, followed by Ashley and Andrew, and my parents. Surgery was to start at 5:30 pm. I got to visit with everyone before they took me back. When Dr. Pridjian came in before the surgery she said we had a 50/50 shot at saving the babies. I was informed by nurses of girls who had lost just one baby and saved the second. Everyone was getting me prepared for losing both of them. It was pretty intense.

They took me to the Operating Room and did a Spinal. Before this happened I was pretty concerned about having a Spinal and now that is it done, I know what to expect and it really was not as bad as I expected. With that said, they had a hard time getting the Spinal in as they were trying to do it while I was on my side. Once they sat me up, it was in quickly. They sedated me so do not remember any of the surgery or recovery.

Dr. Pridjian performed a Cerclage:
Cervical cerclage, also known as a cervical stitch, is a treatment for cervical incompetence or insufficiency, when the cervix starts to shorten and open too early during a pregnancy causing either a late miscarriage or preterm birth.

I woke up and found out the surgery had been successful. Thank God and my amazing surgical team.  The next few days were a blur. They had a monitor hooked to me the whole time. I was having little mini contractions and they put me on muscle relaxers to calm my uterus down. Then they put me on this terrible medicine, Magnesium Sulfate. It is terrible. It makes you feel like you have the flu with fever and hot flashes. It is truly bad. I hope I never have to be on that again.

They were finally ok with my uterine activity a few days later. I got the word I might be discharged that afternoon/evening as long as my uterus behaved. When Dr. Pridjian came in she said the odds were better for keeping the babies, but each day was a win. I had to get to 28 weeks!

I was also, finally, allowed to get out of the bed to use the ladies room. My nurses, doug and mom had been helping me with bed pans for 2 days straight. I felt like i concured the world when they had finally let me us the toilet by myself. Well, kinda by myself- someone was always in the room with me.

The day I was possibly being discharged happened to be the 5th of December so Cinco came to the hospital! I had many visitors that Saturday evening so we all took photos with Cinco! (Doug’s hand is on my knee…it looks odd so I felt I had to explain.)

I was hooked up to all kinds of stuff for days. It was amazing to be able to get around on my own. It was a rough few days for me, but it was also really tough on Doug and my Mom who stayed with me the most. Sleep in a hospital is rare and fleeting. Everyone did a great job taking care of me. I also had some awesome nursing care.

We were finally discharged Saturday evening and then the bees were swarming everywhere. Ashley, Andrew and Sarah made it so much easier coming home. They were running around prepping the house, running errands, etc so doug could be with me.

We got home and I went straight to bed. Doug and I both had the best sleep of our lives that night. He got up with me once for the potty, but otherwise we were brand new people the next day. It is amazing what solid sleep can do.

We survived the hospitalization and we had new goals in mind. I was 21 weeks pregnant when we let the hospital. I HAD to get them to 24 weeks for them to be viable, but Dr. P really wanted me to focus on 28 weeks as a big win. Then 32 or 34 weeks was the next big goal. I had weeks/months of bedrest ahead of me. Really, the longer they bake the better. Every day is a win. The bedrest is important to keep the weight off my cervix.

When we were discharged I was told to only get up to use the restroom and shower once a day. I was to be on my back for 80% of the day. I could sit to eat, but I had to be mainly horizontal. I was only allowed to leave the house one time a week to go to the doctor.  My goal was to make it to the doctor every week without any challenges.

The bedrest began on Dec 3 post surgery and it will continue until the twins are here. Say a prayer for my sanity, the babies to stay in there, and doug’s patience!

More updates to come…

Love and Hugs, Lizzie