Baby Drama - An Impromptu Trip to the Maternity Ward

Let me start off by saying two things:

1) I did not go into labour early, and;
2) Baby and I are both just fine.

I did, however, have a bit of a scare yesterday morning which landed me for several hours in the triage unit at the Foothills Hospital (sadly, I didn't get a preview of the Peter Lougheed Hospital, where I will actually be giving birth in a few weeks.)

Since I am sure that I will be teasing my daughter with this story for the rest of my life, I figured I should jot down the details now before I forget. So, here's what happened:

I was, ironically, on my way to a prenatal appointment where I was hoping to find out how much Baby has grown since my last appointment. I was driving northbound on Deerfoot, one of the busiest roads in the city, and am just grateful that it wasn't too busy considering what was about to happen. I started feeling a little nauseous, which is not uncommon in the mornings when I'm on my way to work, but this time it wouldn't subside with my usual remedies; windows down, music playing, seat warmer on, etc.

I started to worry when I realized what was happening - I was starting to have short, 1 second long blackouts. I tried to shift my position, bounce in my seat, slap my face and self-talk to keep my brain active. But it wasn't working and I knew I needed to get to the side of the road or this would end horribly, because I started to lose my vision and control of my body. Somehow, I made it to the side of the road, and put on my hazards. I remember worrying, stupidly, that I had popped a tire which would hinder me when I felt better and started driving again. I reclined my seat and blasted the AC, hoping that would snap me out of it. I wondered if maybe I just needed a quick cat nap. I glanced at the clock and realized I would miss my appointment, wondered if they would charge me... and then I didn't care.

My vision was obscured completely by bright white light. I've blacked out before and this was different. When I had blacked out before, I remember, very clearly, that it literally went black and I lost control of my body. This was so different - I felt like I was going to throw up, my head was pounding, and I felt like I was dying. I realized I would lose consciousness, that this might be serious and there was no way I'd be fit to drive, and would need an ambulance, so I fished for my phone and guessed where 9-1-1 was on the keypad because my vision was quickly being flooded with the white.

The lady on the phone asked some questions, which I answered, though I don't remember what she asked. It didn't take her long to send an ambulance (telling people you are 32 weeks pregnant gets quick service) and she stayed with me on the phone while I waited, which was basically spent fighting off fainting. I had to put my phone on speaker because it felt too heavy to hold. She was smart too - told me to unlock my doors in case they came and I was already unconscious. Made sure I had my hazards on. I'm grateful that she was doing this, particularly unlocking the doors. If I had lost consciousness, I guess they would have had to break in, and a pricey repair bill was not something I wanted in addition to everything that was happening.

In my haze I saw the ambulance pull up behind me in the side view mirror, and suddenly there was a man tapping on my door (I must have blacked out at that time, though not for long.) Seeing them renewed me and I was a little more aware again for a couple of minutes. I grabbed my stuff and somehow he locked the doors and helped me to the ambulance.

I was very unstable. I knew my feet were moving but I wasn't really in control of them. I was leaning on the paramedic and was vaguely aware that he was shorter than me and likely outweighed him, and felt bad for being so big. These are the stupid things you think of in these moments. Once I was on the gurney (sweet relief) he asked more questions, but I was dipping in and out of consciousness. He gave me some fluid through an IV and the ambulance had, at some point, started moving. I could hear the driver complaining that people weren't moving for her even though she had the lights and sirens going.

I think he did an ECG as well because later in the hospital they removed the stickers. I think it takes a special kind of person to be a paramedic, and he was perfect for the job. Something about him was very soothing, he was gentle and didn't jump to any conclusions.

I loved those paramedics. They stayed with me in the waiting room where I lay on the gurney, and we waited for about 45 minutes before a bed became available. They chatted with me and kept me awake, and when we finally got a bed they wheeled me right in and helped me into bed. I don't know their names. But they were awesome.

I wanted to sleep but couldn't because there were lots of nurses who kept coming in, asking me questions and hooking me up to the machines. They monitored Baby's heartbeat and movement (I was happy to be in the moment with her, listening to her heart and watching her movements on the chart.) They kept pumping me with fluid and ran some tests.

Finally I was left alone, and was able to call Jared, Mom & Dad, work, and my doctor to explain why I missed my appointment. Jared came to the hospital and my Mom worried, Dad wanted to help with whatever he could, and my doctor rescheduled for next week, where I'm sure I'll have to go over my results with her.

I was in the Triage unit and that was actually very good because there were two women in there who were in labour. I could hear them breathing through their contractions, could hear their babies' heartbeats on the monitors, and could subconsciously mentally prepare for my own labour in a few weeks.

I mostly just waited for 6 hours. They frequently tested my blood pressure, which was slowly going back to normal, did another ECG and drew blood. The result? They don't really know.

Could be Baby put pressure on my vena cava vein, cutting off circulation.

Could be my low iron.

Could be the heat.

Could be a combination of all 3.

I've had a couple moments since then in which I felt a similar sensation, so I'm not sure which issue is causing it. But I do know that Baby was perfectly fine and unaware that her mother was in such a state, so that's good.

That's the short version of my drama. All in all it was an interesting experience that I hope I don't have to go through again. There's something very frustrating about going to the maternity ward where all the other women who are surrounding you are having their babies that day, and you aren't even in labour yet. Still I took a lot from the experience and and just extremely grateful that my health plan at work covers ambulance costs!