Urgent Prayers Needed For My Baby ... Placenta Previa and a Bleed

I have been having a reoccurring nightmare off and on for several days. I kept dreaming I was waking up to blood. I figured it was from all that runs around in the back of my mind daily, but last night I saw blood.

I was sitting Indian style on the couch with my husband eating dinner and talking. I hadn't been off the phone even an hour with my friend Tina who I was just discussing the dream with. I felt something gush and I immediately knew something wasn't right. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom with my husband behind me. I immediately saw lots of bright, red blood coming out of me and I started shaking all over.

I yanked my clothes from the waist down off and changed into a new pair of underwear and shorts. I was not thinking clearly or I would have put a pad on as well. I grabbed my wallet from my purse and my cell and keys and was in the car in seconds. My husband came running out behind me carrying a towel and asking me to let him drive. I was already ready to back out and we were only a few minutes from the local hospital so I told him I could and though he didn't agree, he didn't waste time arguing.

I pulled in and went straight inside. There was another man back in the admissions section being admitted so I stood there. I had a look of distress on my face and one of the other ladies came to the window and asked what was going on. I explained to her and she led me back through the doors.

I explained what had happened and she told me that they didn't have an OB unit anymore. I asked if I would be able to have an ultrasound anyway and she said yes because the tech only lived a few minutes away. The doctor came in next and told me he would be doing an exam and blood work on me. He looked at me like it was no big deal and said, "You might be having a miscarriage." I just looked at him with a dumbfounded look. Like I didn't already think that. He said it so easily yet it had taken me so long to get to this point. I asked about the ultrasound and he said no he wouldn't be able to let me do an ultrasound. My mom rushed minutes later and I told her what he said. She told me she'd rather him not go poking around if he didn't know what he was doing and that it was pointless if they couldn't check the baby via ultrasound. So I signed out and we left.

I was still bleeding heavily so we decided to try one of the supposed best hospitals for maternity care in our area. For you faithful readers, this is the same place that I had the drama a year ago about the follicle scan for infertility. We signed in and I asked about an ultrasound. The lady told me that yes they could do one there. I had already called my doctor in Knoxville (1.5 hours away) and was waiting for them to page him. We waited with my parents and brother for about 15 minutes and then they finally called me back. The nurse was asking questions and then told me that I was not far enough along to go to OB and that the ER couldn't do an ultrasound on me. I was shocked. She said you had to be 20 weeks to go to OB. So apparently my baby didn't count because it was 5 and a half weeks to young. I stood up, asked if I had been admitted and she said no. I then preceded to tell her that it was a shame that the nurse up front had told me that I could have an ultrasound and she said that the nurse didn't know. I replied that she should have known and I walked out.

There was no choices left to make... we were heading to the University of Tn's ER. I told my dad and brother to go on home and to rest (dad had been at work all day and had to work early the next day and I wanted my brother to be with him) and to Pray. They didn't really want to but I knew that I wouldn't be able to take them all back with me and that they'd be worn out waiting in a waiting room not knowing anything all night.

So we hit the interstate and took off. I decided to call again to have my doctor paged so the ER could be ready for me. I called the after hours number again and spoke with a woman this time (women always seem to be more compassionate in these situations). She asked if the doctor had called me and I told her no. She acted frustrated and told me to not hang up and that she would take care of this. Seconds later she came back on the line with my doctor.

I explained to him what had happened and he told me that he wished that I had came straight on over instead of stopping at the other two. Of the "best maternity care hospital" he stated that he wouldn't take his dog to that ER. I told him that I was sorry but that I was alarmed and wasn't sure of what to do. He told me that it was OK and that he wasn't upset at me and that he just worried. He then told me that if it was something bad that there would be nothing they could do to stop it but that there are other reasons you could bleed. He went into it a bit and then asked how far away I was. I replied 50 minutes and he told me that he'd call ahead to let them know I was coming. He also told me to tell them that I was his patient when I got there and to take me back.

I laid in the front seat with my legs propped up on 2 small boxes I had left in my car from the work that was done on my wheel bearings earlier in the day. I laid back and just Prayed and tried to stay calm. My mom sat in the backseat and kept holding my hand and rubbing my head. She told me that it would be fine. Then I watched her Pray and cry in the dark. My husband, who had just driven over an hour home from work, was now racing another hour or so to get us there. I was upset but I had peace that could only come from God. I could feel the Prayers that my dear friends were bathing me in.

We arrived at around 11pm and I signed in. The man told me to have a seat and I just looked at him. Here I was standing with blood dripping off my shorts and he wanted me to sit in a seat. I explained that I was still bleeding and he told me to just stand by the door and they'd be calling me back in just a few minutes. I waited 15 minutes and then went back to him. By this time my eyes were tearing up again and he told me that it would be any second. About 2 minutes later the door opened and I went in to be admitted.

After being admitted, I was taken to a bed in the hallway. People were still coming out of my room and it then had to be cleaned. Finally they took me into my room and my nurse's aide (who I thought was my nurse) came to talk to me. I told her what was going on and she told me that a doctor would be in shortly and if I needed anything to just page her. She also told me to hang in there because she had been through the same thing after infertility and been on bed rest for 6 months. She told me that her daughter was working that very night in the ER with her. How encouraging!

Next, I had blood work drawn and was finished being admitted while I laid on a bedpan. Quite strange answering questions about your address and phone number while you are waiting for someone to take the bedpan away. : ) Another nurse came in with a Doppler to see if she could get the baby's heartbeat but said that she had never tried to find it on a UU. She did find a heartbeat but wasn't sure if it was mine or the baby's. Next, the doctor came in. She was young and very knowledgeable. She told me that they were going to put me in a room where I could be examined and have an ultrasound. Finally! An ultrasound! She also said she'd get my blood work back and let me know about it.

I waited for quite some time and they finally wheeled me to the other room. I laid on the exam table for 2 hours and no one came. My mom went to the desk and they told her they were trying to see if they could grab a doctor from OB and that it had been really busy. My back was killing me on the exam table. My nurse's aide came to check on me and when she found out I hadn't been seen yet she told me that she would see what she could do. She went and talked to the head nurse and they had forgotten to call back to OB again.

A few minutes later, the doctor walked in. She had another young, female doctor with her. They told me that my blood work was good and my levels were good. Then they checked me. The good news was that the bleeding had slowed down. She said they had had an issue with their ultrasound machine and it was broken and that non of the ultrasound techs were available to use theirs. She said she was going to try to borrow the trauma center's machine and that possibly a tech could come in. Worst case scenario was that she would use an old, ancient machine that they had.

Nothing panned out so, you guessed it, she used the old machine. It was the first hand held ultrasound machine I had ever seen. She told me not to freak out if they couldn't see anything because it didn't mean that something was wrong just that the machine was old and wasn't picking up. But she did see the baby and it was moving all over the place and the heart was beating normally. My mom and husband got to see it and then I did (though it had stopped moving around when I saw it).

They told me that they were going to release me and that I needed to be on bed rest until my appointment on Thursday with my doctor. I explained that I thought I would just spend the night in town and try to get an appointment that day since I was there. They then told me they would try to find me something to wear out.

The nurse came in and I was discharged but I still had no clothes. The nurse's aide came to check on me and said that she'd find me something and she did. I left in mesh underwear, a thick pad, and papery scrub pants. She wheeled me to the car and I told her I appreciated her so much. She was so, so nice. Turns out that she is from my area and drives there to work daily. I will have to look her up and send her a card.

We left and began to try to find a Wal-Mart. We were not near the west side of town so I wasn't too familiar with where Wal-Mart would be. After awhile we gave up and stopped at a ATM to get cash. Then we went through a McDonalds and checked into a hotel. We didn't check in until almost 5 am. After we ate, we fell asleep.

I was up at 7 with everything running through my head. I kept going to the bathroom and I was bleeding again. I waited until 8am and called the doctor. They told me I could come in at 11 or anytime before. I took a shower and did the best I could with my shirt and scrub pants. We got to the office at 10:30 and waited longer than I've ever waited. There were a lot of ultrasounds that day. Finally, I was called back.

The ultrasound tech was the nicest that I've ever had. She showed up everything and spent about 40 minutes going over it all. She explained that I had placenta previa that was partially covering my cervix. She told me that this early in pregnancy could mean that it will probably move away from the cervix as my uterus expands. She said the bleeding was from where it was trying to attach and there was nothing there to attach to at that opening. I also had another spot that she thought could be a fibroid but ended up being a blood clot from the bleeding. It wasn't the kind that would go through the cord to the baby though.



I asked if I would be able to find out what the baby is at 18 weeks. She said really you could at 16 weeks and that she'd see if she could see what it was for me. She determined that she thinks it is a girl. She told me she wasn't positive but that she believed it was because of the 3 lines that made up the baby's sex organ. So I guess we'll see in a few weeks for sure. We also got to see the arms and shoulders, elbows, butt cheeks, legs and face. I have two really cute pictures to post but they are with my mom right now. They show the baby laying on it's side with it's arm over it's head. Sorta like how I lay at times. It also kept moving it's mouth the entire time. My husband said that it was like me always talking. : )

The doctor came in next and I had never met him. He is the partner to the doctor I always see. He was really nice and explained the same things. He told me that their was still a chance of miscarriage but that he felt really optimistic about the whole thing. He stated that I could bleed for weeks and that I may even pass the blood clot. He said that if the bleeding became bright red, heavy, and was accompanied by cramps to come straight back. He put me on modified bed rest for 2 weeks until I go back. He said then we'd see if I needed to stay on bed rest from there. I asked a few questions about bathroom issues, sleeping positions, and my meds and then he left.

We stopped at my favorite Japanese buffet and ate. I love their mushroom soup so I had a bunch of it. Then we headed home. I slept for 4 hours and went back to sleep at 2am. I have laid around all day today. The bleeding has slowed down today but is still there. I talked to the ARNP this morning and she told me it was OK. I just worry and of course I want to check.

Sooo... I went through this whole story for 3 reasons.

1. To be able to refer folks to it so that I don't have to keep retelling the whole thing
2. To be able to document the whole thing for myself later on and
3. To ask my beloved Blog friends for your Prayers for my baby, family and I!

Please, Pray for everything to be OK with my lil baby. Pray for God to guide the doctors and to guide me with decisions. Pray for things to heal and get better on their own. Pray for me to not go stir crazy in the bed. Pray for God's will!

God has been so good to me in these last few days, just as He always is. I could never thank Him enough or be worthy enough to accept His goodness. I am so glad He sees me through His Son's blood instead of seeing me as my own dirty self. Thank You Father for your love, mercy, and your guidance. Thank You for Your hand that I truly believe is holding my womb and sheltering the baby inside. I once again declare that this is God's child and I am just a vessel that He has chosen to share such a miracle with. I am His child and my child is His child. I Pray for early salvation for this child and for he/she to be used to lead others to You Father. I Pray for a healthy baby and for a safe pregnancy. I Pray that You will also be with my family as they work so hard to help me through all this. Shower them with Your love and blessings!

Also, if any of you have a story about placenta previa or pregnancy bleeding to share, leave me a comment. I'd love to know more.



Much love to each of you!