Waiting For a Baby
When my husband and I finally decided to have children, it didn’t come right away. I am diagnosed with PCOS and after a year of trying, I went on some hormonal treatment. One round and we were finally expecting! My pregnancy seemed pretty normal as far as pregnancy goes. I had a great midwife- but we ended up moving two hours away from her for work and I was about 7 months along. Eventually, we came to the decision to get induced so that I could keep my provider.
Delivery & Medication Reaction
The day came (a week before my due date) to get induced. The process started and we were excited to meet our little one. I didn’t advance all that much and my midwife decided to break my water. I had meconium in my water so the baby was distressed, but they kept a close eye on him. We went through the night and I was informed the next morning that I was going to have a c-section because I did not advance much. I was only at 2 cm, which is where I started. They began administering drugs for the c-section and I became violently sick and started shaking. As they were wheeling me to the operating room I was still vomiting.
The c-section seemed to go fine and out came my sweet boy. The only issue is that I started to feel them stitch me up towards the end. They decided they were going to keep me longer than usual because of a reaction to the drugs administered for my c-section, but they never specified what kind of reaction it was.
I seemed to be okay up until about 12 hours post-c-section, I got up to go to the bathroom and came back with extreme chills. I checked the temperature in the room and it said 71. Then, I felt my head and it was extremely hot. I called my nurse to let her know that I thought that I had a fever. She came in, took my vitals, and quietly left, saying she would be back. The next thing I know (as I was still shaking) 5 or 6 nurses were in my room looking at my charts. No one was communicating anything to me. Eventually, they told me my fever was 104, my heart rate was 150 and I had dangerously low blood pressure. Thankfully, my team started fluids and antibiotics right away, or I would not be here today.
A Sepsis Diagnosis
The next few days are a blur. My fever fits continued. One minute I was burning up and the next I was ice cold. I was woken up from a nap because my heart was beating so hard and fast that it was moving my neck and chest. At that moment my heart rate jumped to 175 even though I was sleeping. I had over 30 blood tests done and all came back normal, except for my white blood count. That was “a little” low according to my doctor. I had a CTA done of my chest, and an ultrasound done on my leg. It seemed endless, so many different doctors came in to talk to me. Eventually, when everything came back normal and my body was taking to the antibiotics (slowly), they declared me septic. Sepsis occurs when chemicals released in the bloodstream to fight an infection, trigger inflammation throughout the body. I knew nothing about sepsis, I had not heard of it until it happened to me.
The first time I have ever seen my husband cry was in that hospital room. It was clear my health was declining and we had our newborn and no one knew what was going on for a few days. That’s when I thought maybe I was going to die. I was too afraid to sleep. I don’t remember much else. I am grateful my husband was there to help. I couldn’t have done it without him. By the 3rd day of treatment, I finally started to get better. My doctors sent me on my way, making it seem like no big deal, and assured me I would feel better soon. I spent a total of 6 days in the hospital. Unfortunately, more health problems followed.
Finally Home, But All Is Not Well.
I have honestly never felt so terrible in my entire life. Recovering from a c section is hard work, but sepsis on top of that was even harder. I came home with my forearms bruised (from all the IVs and blood tests) but my baby was healthy and thriving which made me feel better. I could barely stand up without feeling faint and started to see stars most of the time. I couldn’t walk across the room without feeling out of breath. My anxiety was out of control. I took my blood pressure every day for a few months and also my temperature. My Apple Watch let me know if my heart rate was high. Every time I felt cold I thought the sepsis was returning (as it does with some people).
A month passed and I noticed that the veins in each of my arms (where they had some of my IVs) looked bruised and felt hard. After some ultrasounds, they discovered I had a blood clot in each arm. My GP thought I should get some genetic testing done, turns out I have a blood clotting disorder called Factor V Leiden Mutation. There are two genes people can carry, thankfully I only have one, but it makes my chances for blood clots a lot higher. Trauma, pregnancy, birth control, hormones, smoking, IVs, and surgery also increase my risk for blood clots. I happened to experience 4 of these risk factors, which led to the blood clots. It’s genetic, although no one on either side of my family has ever heard of it or experienced a blood clot.
I went on a blood thinner for 5 months and I’m now on two baby aspirin for the foreseeable future. I’ve seen specialists for my Factor V and have been given great tips to help me manage my blood disorder.
As far as my sepsis- there are no answers as to why it happened to me, since every test came back normal. The best answer I received was that there may have been a bit of meconium left in my uterus which caused an infection. After I found out about the Factor V, I had a gynecologist explain that it may have been a rare blood clot that caused the sepsis as well.
After everything that happened my PPD spiraled out of control. I cried every day. I literally thought I was being punished for having a child. Eventually, it began to improve each day. I don’t take my temperature or blood pressure all the time unless I have fever symptoms. Physically, I feel better and back to normal. It took about 5 months to really start to feel normal. I can run a mile now.
Mentally I still struggle. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the sepsis. I think about it more often than the moment I met my child. I obsess over the fact I don’t know where it came from and if it will ever return. I live in fear each day that I could end up with another blood clot. My son is now 13 months old. Harvey is the sweetest little boy, I don’t know how I got so lucky. He was the easiest baby, which made recovery a lot easier. I don’t know what I would do without him. Words cannot express how lucky I feel to still be alive today which I why I’m sharing my story. Hopefully, it will save some lives or help someone else not feel so lonely after birth trauma.
About
I am from a small town in North Idaho. My family roots were planted here a while ago and not many have left. We currently live in Lewiston, Idaho. My husband works at a Papermill as Millwright and I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home with my son, Harvey. We also have a dachshund who I have had since I was 18 years old and has gone everywhere with me, I refer to him as my first baby. I have been married for three years, almost 4. We like to spend time outdoors and go up in the mountains and fishing as much as we can!! Harvey has been the biggest blessing to us, it’s been worth everything that’s happened!
