It all began on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 37 weeks and 6 days. I was on quarantine for work to be sure I didn’t have Covid when I delivered since I’m a teacher. I woke up and felt fine. As the day progressed, I began to feel more uncomfortable. My stomach was starting to hurt, but I couldn’t really pinpoint what was going on. I didn’t feel like cooking, so we ended up ordering take out for dinner. I was able to eat, however as the night progressed I began to feel more sick. By that night, I was extremely uncomfortable. I mentioned to my husband that we should maybe go to the hospital, however he felt like I was just in early labor. We both wanted to avoid being sent home from the hospital, so we tried to go on a walk outside. I only made it about two houses down, when we had to turn around. It was late, so my husband said we should just try to go to sleep. He went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I began pacing the house and then realized I had shooting right shoulder pain. I’ve always held tension there, so I just assumed I was nervous about my impending delivery and put a heating pad on my shoulder. I didn’t sleep the entire night and by 3:00 AM, I was vomiting. I finally woke my husband after the second time I vomited. I asked him to go get some Sprite and crackers. It was after he left that I called the on-call doctor. When she heard what was going on, she said it was probably best to head to the hospital.
The Emergency Room
When my husband came home, he quickly threw a bag together and we headed to the hospital. By the time we arrived at the hospital, I was unable to walk from the ER to Labor and Delivery. They asked me to change and use the restroom, but I just didn’t feel like I could. I had a hard time stating what was going on other than just telling them I didn’t feel well. I just kept telling them my stomach hurt, however I never mentioned the shoulder pain because I assumed that was just my stress. My blood pressure was normal and the baby’s heart rate was fine. All of my symptoms really seemed to indicate a stomach bug. We really thought we were going to be sent home, however I got up to go to the restroom and my son’s heart rate dropped at that point. I am so thankful the monitors picked this up, because I had been fighting keeping them on my belly. I was in excruciating pain and I kept pulling them off. After my son’s heart rate dropped, my doctor ordered an ultrasound to complete an assessment on my son. This was extremely painful, however this is what saved my life as well as my son’s. The ultrasound technician asked if I had fallen. Apparently, my liver was enlarged and she could see a lesion. I hadn’t fallen, so she continued with the test. When I asked how my son did, she said my son was in distress. It was then that we realized we were going to be having a baby that day. At that point, my doctor said he wasn’t sure if I would have a c-section or a vaginal delivery. I knew there was absolutely no way I was pushing him out. They immediately ordered a blood test, and it was when that came back that everything began moving so incredibly quickly.
The OR
They had sent my husband to the car to bring in all of our bags. While he was gone, my doctor came in and said they would be performing a c-section and I would have to be under general anesthesia. I was devastated. My husband came back into the room and I was sobbing. They explained what was happening, and then I looked at the nurse and told her I was going to get sick. The doctor later said that when they looked at me, all of the color drained from my body. I began vomiting all over myself and the nurse. It was at this time that the memories began to come and go. They immediately began wheeling me to the operating room. The doctors wanted to perform my surgery in the OR as opposed to where they perform c-sections, however they didn’t think they had enough time to get me there. My OB later said that if they’d made the decision to take me to the main OR, I would not have survived. I do not remember being wheeled into the OR. Once inside, I met the anesthesiologist. She was amazing and very comforting. I begged her to put me to sleep because I was in so much pain. I remember them having to put me onto the metal table and I remember everyone racing around the room to prepare. I had no idea what was going on or what I was going to be waking up to, I just knew I needed to be put to sleep. Right before they put me to sleep, I looked at the anesthesiologist and told her to please be sure I’d wake up. She told me she would make sure of it.
I did not wake up until the next morning. They were easing me out of sedation to see how I responded. I was still on the ventilator and was strapped to the bed so that I could not pull it out. All I could think about was how I couldn’t breathe. It was 4 AM and the hospital had allowed my husband to stay on the mother and baby floor in case I woke up. I was in the ICU and due to Covid restrictions, he was not allowed to remain in my room overnight. My son was in the NICU, and again, due to Covid he could not stay in the room with him. They called my husband’s room and told him to come down to me. The only way I could communicate was by writing. He told me our baby was a boy and showed me his picture. I don’t remember much from this encounter, just the few things my husband has since told me. They put me back under sedation until they removed the ventilator later that morning.
A Diagnosis and Terrifying Realization
I woke up to my OB sitting by my bed later that morning. He explained that I had HELLP syndrome with DIC and that my liver had ruptured. They’d had to cut me open from my pubic bone to my breast bone. That definitely explained the extreme pain I was experiencing. I’d received 24 different blood products, including 7 units of blood. Through our conversations over the next several months, I learned just how scary my situation was. I learned that at one point, my surgeon placed his hand on my aorta to feel for a pulse because there was no blood pressure. I learned that they were ready to begin CPR at any moment. I learned that my nurse in the ICU was thankful when she came back the next day and saw how much better I was doing, because she was nervous when she went home that night. I truly learned how very fortunate my son and I both were to be alive.
Meeting William
I was in the ICU for 2 days. On the second day, they told me I had to get out of bed. I was terrified. The tiny nurse lifted me from the bed to the chair. She brought me supplies to wash my face and brush my teeth. I finally felt human again. After sitting in the chair for a few hours, they decided they could move me back to labor and delivery, and it was on October 2, 2020 that I met my son William Patrick for the first time. I couldn’t care for him like I’d hoped. If I wanted to hold him, my husband had to hand him to me. We were able to do skin to skin like I’d wanted to the day he was born when we finally met. We stayed in the hospital for a total of 5 nights. My recovery was brutal. I had about 15 pounds of fluid in my body and my feet hurt horribly from the swelling. I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams how awful this was. It took me a little while to bond with my son and reconcile all that we had been through. I still have flashbacks and I still see things that stop me in my tracks. Just the other day I was looking through my planbook at school. I just happened to flip to the plans I had left for the substitute that week. Seeing what they were doing at the exact time I was laying on the hospital table dying, took me back. There will be times William does something cute or when he just smiles at me, and I think just how close I came to missing out on all of these moments. I hope that by sharing my story, I not only increase awareness for the need for blood donations, but also increase awareness for HELLP Syndrome. If it saves even one woman, then it is totally worth it!
The Author
My name is Katherine Bredemeier. I am 35 years old and this was my first baby after a miscarriage in August of 2019. I live in Kansas City, MO and teach second grade. I enjoy volunteering at local animal shelters. We currently have 3 rescue dogs: a terrier mix named Alex, a Scottish Terrier named Winnie, and a chihuahua mix named Ginger. I am looking forward to my first summer of not teaching summer school and just spending every day with William!
