recovering

Hello! I'm just recovering-- from vacation and my medical surprise while we were away. Last Thursday night, as I was preparing for our trip, I had terrible pain in my lower abdomen. But it went away within an hour and I didn't think about it again. Until Monday night! I had just taken care of Claire at midnight when I felt the extreme pain again. I immediately took ibuprofen because the pain was so severe. Twenty minutes later, I was throwing up in the toilet. You know how when you are sick enough, vomiting seems okay because at least you feel a little better afterward? Unfortunately, that was not the case this time. The pain was extreme and just unrelenting. I tried to sleep it off a little but by five a.m. I knew that we needed to go to the hospital. Something was terribly wrong. I was frightened to leave and wished that my Mom could come with Chris and I but we needed her home to watch our girls. Chris acted calm and was sweet and assuring as he drove me to the hospital. Just waiting in the emergency room while he filled out paperwork was excruciating. They wheeled me into a triage room and asked me standard questions about my medical history and pain. They asked me how many pregnancies I had and how many were full term. I answered "two" for both. One of the tests they needed me to do was a urine sample. Just sitting up was too much for me and I vomited again from the pain.

Minutes later they informed me that I tested "positive" for an initial pregnancy test. I told Chris it meant I had an ectopic pregnancy and that we wouldn't be able to have this baby. I knew this because two women I had known had this happen and my Mom even mentioned this could be an option while I was in pain at home. After blood test and ultrasound confirmed it, an obstetrician performed emergency surgery.

It hurt worse than delivery and recovery of both my babies. It was like transition labor with Hallie except that in that case it was just contractions. This was just endless pain and pressure and vomiting. There was a lot of pain throughout the entire experience but it is amazing what our bodies can handle. I had a lot of blood loss but the wonderful news is that nothing was damaged and I am recovering well. So, there went over half our vacation and I am sure we will see big dollar signs in medical bills. Yet despite that, Chris and I are humbled by modern medicine. This is something that would have killed me if I lived one hundred years ago. I am thankful for my family and friends who took care of me and for my husband who is so strong. Even as they delivered the news, I was thankful just to know what was going on. Throughout the entire process, I felt strongly that going through this painful process can help me be sympathetic in the future to others who experience something similar.