Beals Family

December 7, a day of infamy...the day starts with a routine doctor's appointment where they discover my blood pressure is high and want to do more tests to make sure everything is okay. Especially with my history of high blood pressure during my pregnancy with Kensley. My doctor sent me to the hospital for tests because they would get the results back quicker. I tell Kensley I will see her in a few minutes and get my blood taken and lay there with a fetal monitor for a couple hours. After receiving the test results, my doctor informed me that she would like me to stay in the hospital overnight for further testing and just to be on the safe side. She tells me that I will probably go home in the morning, but be on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I am admitted and am thinking it is not so bad when they give me a room service menu and tell me I can order anything I want for lunch. I am a little bored, but even happier when 3pm rolls around and a lady comes in saying "Cookies at three for Mommy and Me" and gives me a yummy homemade chocolate chip cookie. So, I get more blood taken and take a 24 hour urine test which is totally obnoxious and spend the night in the hospital. The next day rolls around and with it my new test results and my doctor says I can't go home and wants me to get the steroid shots to develop the baby's lungs faster and induce me the next day. Me and Stephen weren't very happy with this turn of events since I wasn't due until January 25. My doctor gets a second opinion from the on call perinatal doctor who decides that I definitely have preeclampsia but thinks that we can wait on being induced as long as I continue to be monitored in the hospital. After the first steroid shot, my platelet count increased to 104,000, it had previously been 98,000 and the normal number is 150,000. He said as long as I stayed above 100,000 we could wait and that I was still a candidate for a normal delivery. In the meantime, I have to stay in the hospital and hopefully make it to at least 35 weeks and they take my blood every 6 hours and turn me into a human pin cushion.

I was able to get both steroid shots and then soon after the 48-hour window I was having some back and chest pains. We thought it was just from spending two nights in the most uncomfortable bed ever and was given some Tylenol which did absolutely nothing. We were still trying to figure out how to make me more comfortable when the latest lab results came in and it was discovered that my platelets had dropped to 84,000 and my liver was going nuts (which seems to be the cause of all the pain I was in). It was determined shortly thereafter that I needed an emergency c-section before my condition worsened. They considered inducing me so I could have a normal delivery, but we didn't know how long I would be in labor as I was only 33 weeks along and my body was not ready to have a baby. Add to the problem that I couldn't take a deep breath because of my chest pain and wouldn't be allowed to have an epidural because of my platelet count, a c-section seemed the only alternative. So, Pyper was born at 4:15 AM on December 11. Shortly after this, my doctor and the perinatal doctor met with me and informed me that after delivery my platelet count dropped to 34,000, but they believed that I would start getting better since getting the baby out of me was the cure. It was mentioned, though, that if my platelets dropped below 20,000, I would have to get a blood transfusion, but they didn't think that would happen. Well, guess what? It happened. My next lab results came in and my platelets had dropped to 15,000 and my liver was going bonkers. Apparently normal liver function is at 50 and mine was at 3000. I am not sure what that really means, just that it isn't good. I was diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome which stands for Hemolytic Elevated Liver Low Platelets. I guess it is deadly and I could have basically started bleeding everywhere in my body with no way to stop the bleeding. This turn of events earned me a trip to ICU where I received a bag of platelets and 2 bags of red blood cells. It was really one of my worst nights ever. The next day all my numbers were starting to improve so I was moved back into a post partum room where I spent another 3 days. I continued to slowly improve and was released from the hospital on Tuesday, Dec 15. Pyper was 4 lbs 10 oz when she was born and spent a little over two weeks in the NICU. She did very well for being so early and never had to have a respirator. She had an IV and was on oxygen for a little while until she ripped it out and they found that she was doing fine without it. Eventually the IV was taken out and they started trying to get her to eat and she had a feeding tube in her nose. Once she was eating on her own well enough, the feeding tube was removed. Me and Stephen visited the hospital everyday and once the nurses were convinced we were capable of getting her to eat, they let her come home with us. We also had to take an infant CPR class before she was released to us on Monday, Dec 28. We have had her for two nights now and are just trying to get used to having a baby and find some kind of normalcy and rhythm. We feed her a bottle every 3 hrs of breast milk fortified with formula to add extra calories. We are also having to give her a nasty liquid vitamin every day that she hates and usually spits back up at us. Tomorrow is her first regular doctor appt. When she finally left the hospital she was at 5 lbs 1 oz. Kensley loves her and every morning when she wakes up she looks for Pyper first thing. They didn't let kids in the hospital so it was a difficult time for Kensley and for us to be seperated so long. One day, they finally let her in OB so she could see Pyper through a window. When she saw her for the first time she said. "Ohhhhh...she is cute!" and gave her a kiss through the window. So, there you have it. That is my story. We haven't made any permanent decisions, but we are thinking our family is complete. This whole adventure was pretty scary and we are afraid that if I tried to do it again, it would be worse.

Stephen was all excited to go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin with Kensley so they could carve a jack-o-lantern. I have to admit, this is really not my thing and we have never done it as a family. In fact, I have never been to a pumpkin patch in my entire life. I still can't say that I have ever been to one because Stephen couldn't find the one he thought he knew where was so we ended up buying a pumpkin at Fry's. Carving pumpkins just isn't fun to me, but I am happy to be supportive and to let it be a daddy daughter fun time between the two of them. :o)

I made the mistake of saying "gross" when Stephen got the lid off the pumpkin. The smell of pumpkin guts is gross to me and all that yucky gook inside. So, when Kensley started helping all she could say was "gross" and now won't even try the pumpkin seeds we roasted. Sorry Dad.