April And Everything After: Chapter Two

Friday, April 7, 2006

It was bad enough that I was being transferred to a different hospital, more than an hour away, on very short notice. It was bad enough that my husband was not going to be able to ride with me because he had to go home and pack a suitcase for us. One word comes to mind when I think back on that ambulance ride: OUCH.

The pain in my lower right side combined with the constant contracting of my large uterus, not to mention the bumpiest highway in North America, made for a terrible, terrible ride. I held my stomach protectively the entire way there, trying my hardest to just breathe, but every time we hit an enormous bump I cried out in pain. And I have a pretty high threshold. It was a little embarrassing to be yelling out every so often in front of about four strangers, but after a while I just didn't care. You learn that at the end of your pregnancy, mainly because you just have to.

Waiting at the hospital were one of our church elders and his wife, who we consider close friends and sort of 'parents-in-the-faith'. How comforting it was to see familiar faces! Their son would be arriving shortly after with Casey. I was taken to a room in the Ante-Labor ward, and this being a newer and seperate hospital for women...well, let's just say it was very nice.

I soon found out that I would be undergoing an amniocentesis so the doctors could rule out an infection in my uterus (which would be very harmful to the baby). Having heard only horror stories about the needles used in this procedure, I was a little nervous. However, the obstetrician performing the amnio had done this "hundreds of times," and so I apparently didn't have anything to worry about. And it was true! I came back to my room wondering why women are told such crazy, scary stories, because what I had experienced was barely a bee sting.

We were thrilled to hear that there was no infection in my uterus, and so for now the baby would not have to be delivered early. His lungs were found to be a bit underdeveloped, but were doing better than expected because I had been taking small doses of prednisone my entire pregnancy for my auto-immune disorder. The doctor's main focus for now was to make sure I was doing alright before he sent me home at the end of the week. Our prayers were now aimed at my going home by Friday, April 14.

I would love to say that the days passed by uneventfully, but it just isn't so. There was pain -- a lot of it, and not much could be done, unfortunately. I remember one night when my uterus was in a state of contraction for at least six hours straight. What I mean is, there was absolutely no letup -- just a tight, painful uterus for hours and hours at a time. One night early in the week I was sitting up, with Casey at my side, feeling as though I could barely get a breath. We had called for the nurse, but before she arrived I began crying out to God. When you are in anguish, whether it be physical or emotional, I suggest crying out to God.

"Please God!" I cried in agony.

"Lord, please!" Casey said, joining in. I know he was feeling my pain. It was hurting him to see me hurt. The nurse came in, but there was not much she could do. I found myself begging her, that there had to be something they could do to relax my uterus, but I mostly just had to ride it out.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

We received a sweet gift from our college group that evening, when they called during the weekly 'Prayer & Praise' meeting to sing "Good to Me" so that both Casey and I could hear. It was a wonderful reassurance that God was continuing to bless us with prayerful supporters and a loving Christian family.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

I was feeling better, and looking forward to being able to leave the hospital on Friday. I have to admit that there was a constant nagging in the back of my mind about that lower-right-side pain, but I was so anxious to get home and enjoy the rest of my pregnancy. I wanted this baby to have the best chance to arrive in the world as healthy as possible.

Because I was doing alright that day, Casey decided to make a short trip home to teach the Wednesday night Bible study. After all, the school year was coming to a close, and he was the campus minister. He was feeling the need to be with his college students, and I encouraged him to go. I would be alright.

Casey arrived back at the hospital several hours later. We had a good talk and visit, and ended up going to bed quite late, somewhere around midnight.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

12:45 a.m.

I was fast asleep, so glad to finally be getting some actual rest after such a crazy week. But my eyes shot open wide as I felt something I had never experienced before, but somehow knew exactly what it was.

"Whoa..." was all I could say. And then, "Case, wake up! I think...I think my water just broke!!"