The story

Tuesday, February 9th was life-changing. I woke-up that morning and thought it was just going to be another day. I was in a good mood. I even joked to Shaun that I looked like a relative of the Great Pumpkin in the orange shirt I was wearing for an event that night. My volunteer, Jim, came in that morning and we were joking around and having good chats. That afternoon at lunchtime I went to the chiropractor. Afterwards I returned to the office to tie up some things before leaving to setup for the event.

About 3:45pm I started getting abdominal pains. I've since been told those are Braxton-Hicks contractions. I just thought AJ was moving around and trying to find a more comfortable spot. So, I continued on my way to the party store to pick-up balloons and then finally, to the pizza restaurant where I was hosting the event. All was going well and I was just hoping people were going to show-up. My co-worker Yael ran home to nurse her son and bring him back to help me out. With everything all setup I remembered my camera was in the car. I headed out to the car to grab it and when I went to head back inside I got really dizzy. I THINK that I squatted down beside the car to brace myself but I'm not really sure...

The next thing I remember is that I was lying on something cold but I didn't know where I was or why there were a bunch of people gathered around me and kind of yelling at me. Even more confusing, I couldn't figure out why a firetruck was pulling in and the responders were approaching me. Very quickly I realized I was lying on the cold asphalt of the parking lot by my car outside the pizza place. I tried to get up and was pushed down by 10 or more hands. It was then that I realized my pants were wet and I wasn't having abdominal pain. Unfortunately for all the nice men helping me, I started bawling and couldn't form a sentence no matter how hard I tried.

When the ambulance showed up the firefighters and EMTs loaded me up and I was on my way. The back board was excruciating and I was nervous that I still hadn't felt Amelia move. When we got the hospital I was left on the back board wearing a neck brace. That's how poor Shaun found me when he arrived. I don't think he had ever been so freaked out in his life. Finally they got me off the back board and out of that neck brace. A nurse then came in with a Doppler to check AJ's heart rate. She made a comment about how she wasn't good at doing it and then kinda laughed as it took her a good 5 minutes to find the heart beat. It was the LONGEST five minutes of my life. And the scariest.

From there they moved me up to Labor & Delivery so Amelia & I could get checked out since the ER doctor wasn't sure if my water had broken or not. Up in L&D I was examined and had the fetal heart rate monitors strapped on. My water hadn't broken and AJ was looking good. So, the OB doctors wanted to figure out what caused me to pass out. At that point they did an EKG on me. The results came back abnormal so it was decided I would be transferred down to the cardiology floor for overnight monitoring.

The next morning I was hoping to go home. That's when I learned not only had my EKG been abnormal the night before, my heart rate overnight had been abnormal too. The doctors wanted to run a few more tests but they were pretty sure I had the same fatal heart condition my dad has - Prolong QT. It's hereditary and not only does my dad have it but his mom did too. The doctors told me it would require getting a defibrillator put in my chest the next morning.

We freaked. What did this mean for Amelia? How would this affect my delivery? What risks were involved to me and AJ during the surgery? The list went on and on. Luckily, I had AMAZING doctors. My OB came in and spent lots of time with us and talking to my cardiology team (yes, I had a team - not just a doctor - talk about feeling important!), the anesthesiologists and the internal medicine doctor. She approved everything they were going to do for the surgery - from how pain would be managed during the procedure, medicine after the procedure and several other things. It was reassuring to have the doctors working together and all of them taking the time to make sure Shaun and I had all our questions answered and feeling comfortable.

Thursday morning was the surgery. I couldn't be put under since I'm pregnant so they used some local anesthetic in my chest and gave me something intravenously that made me feel dopey even though I could hear everything. The pain wasn't bad but I could feel the pressure of the doctor putting the device in and something kinda funny when he scrapped the tissue away from the muscle to make a "pocket."

At the end of the surgery I was taken to Labor & Delivery for post-op so they could monitor AJ. She was a champ and seemed to have no issues with the surgery. She was bouncing all around and had a strong heartbeat. It was the highlight of the day to hear how well she was doing.

When I returned to the Cardiac floor I was glad to hear I could take Percocet because the pain was starting to kick in. I spent most of the afternoon in and out of sleep. That night was a little bit better than Tuesday or Wednesday only because I could take meds. Friday morning I was told I would go home sometime that day. I couldn't believe they were going to send me home in such pain but I was looking forward to a hot shower and sleeping in my own bed.

I FINALLY got to leave about 5pm Friday night. That night I took some Percocet but woke-up less than 2 hours later in pain. While I was surrounded by pillows, I wasn't propped up like I was in the hospital. I never realized how important that little detail was to my comfort. Luckily Shaun was able to grab one of the Boppy pillows we have for AJ to help elevate my upper body. It made a huge difference.

Today, Sunday, I'm feeling better. I can move my arm with much more ease and I've even tried lifting a few things. While I do have restrictions (I can't lift more than 10lbs with my left hand, I can't lift my left hand above my shoulder, and because I passed out, I can't drive) for the next month, I am happy to be home instead of still in the hospital.

Tomorrow I have an OB appointment. I don't foresee them keeping me home for any reason so I'll go to work when that appointment is done. Then on February 22nd I'll see the Cardiologist again. And then the OB again on March 4th. From there I see the OB every week until Amelia arrives. So, my blood pressure and heart rate will be checked frequently and AJ monitored pretty closely too just to be safe. And another Cardio appointment on March 22nd. The doctors keep assuring us that my labor won't be affected by my heart but it's nice to know I will be seeing a doctor every week for the next 6 weeks.

So, that's it. That's the story. It is a blessing in disguise. Yes, it stinks that it happened. But, thank goodness I wasn't alone when it happened. Thank goodness I was pregnant. If I hadn't been, they might not have done the EKG and the whole incident would have been falsely attributed to low blood-sugar or something else. Thank goodness I'll be fully recovered if AJ keeps to her due date and if she doesn't, we'll manage. But more than anything, thank God I'm alive. Someone was keeping their eyes on me Tuesday night and giving me a second chance. Shaun and I are lucky. We may have never won the lottery but we got through this week.