Television, movies, and books portray the time after giving birth as one of pure joy. Proud fathers pass out cigars to their family and buddies, women spend time holding, caressing, and bonding with the baby that was once kicking, squirming, causing indigestion and heartburn. Phone calls are made to family members and friends. Pictures are taken in abundance. Flowers and balloons are delivered stating “it’s a boy” or “it’s a girl”. Grandparents meet their precious grandchildren for the first time. There are tears of joy, smiles, laughter, hugs, and kisses to go around all to welcome the new member of the family.
For me after giving birth to Gabrielle, the Hollywood picture was cut short hours after giving birth. I wanted the Hollywood memories, joy, and smiles. This was supposed to be my time to shine. This was supposed to be a proud mom and dad smiling and bonding with their new baby girl. We had already walked out of this hospital once with empty arms, a funeral to plan, dreams shattered and hearts broken.
At my last appointment with Dr. Geller we established a plan for the removal of the stent. The plan was he gave me a phone number to his secretary. I was to call her with any updates as far as induction. He in turn would know that I was at the hospital giving birth. I was to keep my epidural in place. They would use the epidural in the morning for the stent removal. Dr. G felt that because the stent had been in place for so long that it would be hard to remove and it would be encrusted. He planned on having me go into an OR room and having the stent removed under Laser Lithotripsy. He would contact me after I gave birth and finally this stent would be no longer.
I gave birth to Gabby at 2:32pm. I told the team of nurses and doctor’s everything that was happening with the stent. I did keep my epidural in place. I called Dr. G’s secretary several times starting with when I had the amniocentesis to determine if I was going to be at the hospital with an earlier induction. When I found that the lungs were not mature I again called the secretary to tell her this. I then called a third time when we had determined a date that I would go in for the induction. I trusted my doctor and never had any bad feelings that our plan was not going to work out.
The following describes the remainder of my hospital stay.
2:32pm Gabrielle Grace was born
Had a little bit of the “Hollywood” movie. My parents, sister, Father in law, and father in laws girlfriend were all at the hospital to meet their new granddaughter and niece. Pictures were taken, tears were shed for Samantha and Sydney, and bonding with Gabby began.
1720 (5:20pm) I arrived on the postpartum floor. Visitors had left by now and Jeff and I were with Gabby for a while loving her and taking pictures. Jeff bought us both something to eat. Jeff sent some e-mails to family and friends telling of the new arrival and thanking everyone for prayers and support through the pregnancy.
1920 (7:20 pm) the nurse provided me with teaching packets. At this point I still had the epidural in place and had yet to see anyone from urology.
2130 (9:30pm) A breast pump was brought into my room. Still no one from urology. I asked to see someone on call to get the ball rolling on this.
2220 (10:20pm) A man walks into my room. I remember thinking to myself wow; did he run to get here? He walked in sweating; I mean beads of sweat are falling from his face. He says hi and walks straight over to my sink and begins wetting paper towels to place of his forehead. I explain to him everything about the stent, my plan with Dr.G, the fact that the epidural is still in place. He proceeds to tell me that they do not remove stents in a hospital and that this is something I will have to go to Dr. G’s office for. No I tell him. Dr. G feels that it is encrusted. It has to be removed under laser. I ask to have him page Dr. G and talk to him on the phone have Dr. G explain our plan. He blows me off. It is obvious that there will be no stent removal first thing in the morning. I ask to have the epidural removed from my back, because now it is causing pain and becoming very uncomfortable.
2230 (10:30pm) Jeff has left by now. The anesthesiologist comes in to remove the epidural. I call Jeff very upset about what this doctor tells me. I ask for some pain medication and try to fall asleep. I ask for Gabrielle to be taken to the nursery for the night.
Because I have my medical records I am able to read everything that was written by these doctors. What I have stated to them about the plan with Dr. G is all in quotes like they are mocking me. There is nothing about paging or even calling Dr.G. It is all about them trying to take over and handle the stent themselves. There is no regard for the patient or the plan.
These are direct quotes “Patient states Dr. Geller was to remove stent after delivery and get a “cat scan” to determine cause of “hydro”. Pt. with stent discomfort, but no worse.
This is his care plan:
“Stable and stent to be removed in the office”
“Ok to D/C epidural”
“F/U with Dr. M”
Then there is another doctor who sees this and comes along and writes “Agree with D/C stent at office”
I give the nurses credit. There are many times where they have written in their notes add to Dr. G. The problem though is that Dr. G himself is not coming. I am getting all of Dr. G’s colleagues.
Again I go to bed on the 26th exhausted from delivery and the events of the day. Knowing that in the morning after some sleep I will be in a better frame of mind to get this whole stent problem resolved. So I think.
June 27th 2005
At 0945 Dr. F (a.k.a Dr. Jerk) walks into the room. Imagine a very young cocky son of a gun. A resident who thinks he is God’s gift to medicine and no matter what you say you are wrong, you are beneath him, you are dirt and he has the power to make you concrete. Funny, but not so funny that I had seen him before on the ICU floors and was praying to God that I did not look familiar to him in any way. I got the same old song and dance from this dr. I was crazy, they do not remove stents in the OR, and this was a procedure to be done in the office once I went to go see Dr. G. I was done now. I started to get angry and stating call Dr. Gellar. Why is no one listening to me? Why is this time that is supposed to be joyous turning into a nightmare? Why do I still have this piece of crap stent in place when I was promised it would be out as soon as the baby was delivered? I wanted answers. I called Dr. G’s office, spoke to his secretary, but got nowhere closer to talking to Dr.G.
Jeff came to the hospital. He began getting upset. He also tried to get answers from the nurses and was coming up as dumbfounded as I was that there seems to be no communication at this hospital. I felt like they were protecting Dr. G and just not calling him for some reason. He and I had a really good patient doctor relationship. We joked around, he was always empathetic to my needs, and he was supportive about my concerns of losing the baby after the loss of Sam and Syd. I did not feel like he would treat me like this and it just felt very clear that he was in the dark about what was occurring.
I had had the nurses keep in my IV and hep lock it for when I was to go down for the removal. It looked like the removal of Mr. Stent was not happening. The order had been written prior for it to be removed. I wanted to go take a long hot shower so I had the nurses pull the IV before I went into the shower.
Dr. Jerk’s note dos state that he “will discuss RX plan with Dr. Geller.” At 1440 while I was in the shower he came into the room. He had a consent for me to sign and was willing to take me to have the stent removed. Not in an OR, not with lithotripsy, just take me to a L&D room where stirrups are available to have the stent removed. I agreed. I signed my name to the paper thinking finally get this thing out of me. Let this pain stop. Let me enjoy being a new mom again. Let me get out of this hospital pain free. Let me go pee pee on the potty without seeing blood in my urine. Let me get on with my life with my family.
1500 I am taken to the L&D floor. I walked there following behind Dr. Jerk with Jeff at my side. I was taken into a room with stirrups and laid back on the table. The room was small. There were nurses in the room. A lot of laughing was coming from the nurses. Other nurses were coming into the room because this was something they had never seen before. There was no IV in place any more. Nothing was given for pain prior to the removal. It was just Jeff and I ready to get this over with. I got rid of my modesty and just went along with what was occurring around me. Embarrassed that I knew there was blood coming from my vaginal area because of giving birth and also embarrassed that my whole bottom half was in view for anyone who wanted a peek. Again I tried my best not to be modest or think about it. The only thing I was thinking of ways that Mr. Stent was going to be Mr. GONE!!
I should have taken cues from my thoughts that things were not right. I heard Dr. Jerk say something about not having sterile gloves nor having beta dine. He even asked a nurse if he should use beta dine. I remember thinking “hello dummy, you are going into a sterile organ” yes, sterile would be a good thing!!! He did get all the necessary sterile equipment necessary. He cleaned the area and started pulling on the string that the stent was attached. Suddenly the room got quiet, the jokes stopped, happy faces got very serious, and a patient was in the most pain EVER!! I began crying out. My husband yelled “can someone get her something?” A nurse came running into the room and injecting me with Morphine given IM. (Intramuscularly) Dr. Jerk finally spoke and told us that the stent was encrusted. If he kept pulling at it he would tear my urethra and that the stent is now hanging half way out. He then tells me that putting in a Foley catheter would be a good idea and that he was going to now call Dr. G. Yes, friends he finally admitted maybe not knowingly that Dr. G had NEVER been called. I would have to be taken to the OR where lithotripsy would need to be used to have the stent removed.
1600 I am taken back to my postpartum room. This time I am wheeled in a wheel chair. Now instead of having no stent I return with a partial intact stent and a Foley catheter. I am not a happy camper.
Phone calls were made and I tried to get some rest. Pain meds were given as well as something for nausea. Another IV was now inserted back into my arm.
I was told that in the morning I would be heading to the OR for removal of the stent with lithotripsy. I was also going to be NPO at midnight for my upcoming removal.
1945 (7:45pm) my mom and dad, aunt and uncle and Jeff were all visiting. Gabrielle was in her cute little outfit having her hospital pictures taken. My phone rang and I answered my phone to hear the voice of one of the Urology doctors. He was at a totally different hospital calling to tell me that my stent removal in the morning was now postponed and would be rescheduled in the following days.
I was beside myself. I was seeing RED. I was so mad. The “f” bomb starting coming from my mouth. I am normally not someone to say the “f” word. I was taking no precautions to the fact that I had visitors in my room. I kept thinking are you kidding me? Is this a really bad dream? There is no way that any man would be walking around with a stent hanging half way out of his penis and a Foley catheter also in place. Why was I being treated this way? Why are my pregnancies always so difficult and why oh why can I just not enjoy having a breathing baby girl after the loss of Samantha and Sydney?
My dad was around for everything that was transpiring. He walked out to the nurse’s station and asked to have the doctor paged. The same doctor that called my room and just spoke to me.
2010 “Patient and patient’s family upset about procedure being cancelled”. “Emotional reassurance given.” “Dr. Memo paged to speak with family and answer families’ questions.”
2030 Dr. Memo speaking with family
2035 Spoke with Dr. Memo, patient to be NPO at midnight!!!!! Whatever my dad said worked. I was now going back in in the morning for the procedure!!!!!
June 28th 2005
0612 Patient transferred on cart to go down for procedure
1100 Patient transferred back to room after procedure
I was transferred back to the room with get this ANOTHER stent!!! I was not happy when I heard that news. This one was taped to my leg! I was to go into Dr.G’s office a few days later to have it removed and then be done with it. It was to dilate the kidney and make sure that after the first stent was removed that there was no more obstruction.
June 29th
I was discharged home! Thank goodness.
June 30th
Went to Dr. G’s office. Stent was removed. No pain, very easy removal.
7-15-2008
As of today, I have these symptoms with kidneys, bladder, etc. I have to go potty frequently. I know where all the bathrooms are at grocery stores, Target, Wal-Mart, and the malls. I maybe should go see Dr. G to see if this is normal, but I am not going back there. I do still have lower back pain as well. It is nothing like when I had the stent, but is now just a part of my everyday life. I know that it is there and just try to ignore it. I have three pregnancies. All three very different. I have experienced emotional pain and physical pain. I can say that the emotional pain never goes away and the physical pain was temporary. Jeff and I were blessed with four kids. We still wish all four kids were here on earth in our home, but have come to realize that was not part of the plan. Gad has a bigger plan for us. We may never understand his plans. I do not understand why I never had a normal pregnancy. The Hollywood pregnancy. The glowing and happy pregnancy. Mine were all very terrifying, filled with anxiety, worry, and distress. Needless to say Jeff had a vasectomy and there will be no more babies coming from my body. That saddens me, but I also know that it is probably for the best. We would like more children, but at the same time we are now enjoying being diaper free, bottle free, and a happy family of 4 (6).
Showing posts with label kidney stones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidney stones. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Part II of Pregnancy #3
The time is now around 2 pm when I get transferred on 1-25-05
I am now on the antepartum floor and I have had 10mg of Morphine injected into my body. I am now tired and sleepy from the drugs and the pain is a 6 out of 10. The pain is much more bearable and I am able to get comfortable. We are no closer to an answer as to what is wrong with me. This is very frustrating to me because as far as I am hearing from the doctors and nurses I am staying at the hospital for “observation”. An ultrasound was not done one time on the baby. My biggest fear was that this was a baby issue and it was stumping me as to why an ultrasound was never done or talked about. To help reassure me that the baby was okay I was hoping at some point for someone to want to have an ultrasound done to look around. I would even bring it up to the nurses and doctors and I was getting blown off. I just wanted to know that the baby was okay. That there were no signs of an impending miscarriage, but my wants were different than the staff at the hospital. My mom stayed with me as long as she could, but at some point she had to leave to go help my sister with Joey and figure out a plan as to how she was now going to rearrange her schedule. Jeff was now at the airport and trying to find a way to get home.
When I would wake out of my groggy state there were two things concerning me. One was that the time seemed to keep getting later and later and there was no one in my room taking me for tests to figure out what was going on. The second was that there seemed to be no plan. Now call me crazy but I don’t think it is normal to experience the pain that I experienced and think it is okay to send someone home in the morning with no answers as to what is going on.
At some point I started getting angry. I took matters into my own hands. Yes, I was in a hospital and you would have thought that these people were on top of this and trying to come up with a diagnosis. I didn’t see this happening so I got on the phone and called my OB at her office. I told the receptionist that I need to speak with my OB and that I am in the hospital can I talk to her like now. She ended up calling me back and I explained to her what was going on. I said Dr. H why is no one doing an ultrasound? Why is no one trying to figure this out? What do you know? I don’t feel comfortable with this “observation” and the possible discharge in the am with no answers. She was shocked that thus far nothing had been done but she also stated that maybe the reason was because I was pregnant I was unable to do some tests they would normally do to rule things out. For example Cat scans and even MRI or using any type of dye. So I said to her can’t they use ultrasound?
She must have made a call, because now things started to move along. At some point a general surgeon came in and did an exam on me. He made a comment about opening me up in the am to have a look around. Um excuse me? Remind me NOT to sign that consent form. I was able to learn that they were going to start ruling a few things out. (Ovarian cyst, splenic artery aneurysm, and gall stones). I remember my dad coming and staying at the hospital with me. We were watching American Idol. I also remember that it kept getting later and later. I was supposed to go for the ultrasound around 6-7pm. I don’t think I ever left the floor until after 9:30pm. I do remember though that to have this ultrasound done they wanted a Foley catheter in place. So I had the joy of having my first Foley catheter inserted! I was finally wheeled down to the room where the ultrasound was done to look around. I tried really hard to ask the tech to give me a peek at the baby. I just wanted to see movement, but she was unwilling to do that “stating she is not trained in OB”. I don’t know why a little glimpse just to see movement and put my mind at ease would be such a big deal, but I guess her job may have been on the line. I would never have told anyone, I just needed reassurance.
1-27-05
The day was basically a waiting game. The urology team was running late basically all day long. I finally went down to have the stent put in late evening. I am talking after 10:00 pm. They used an epidural for anesthesia so that the baby was safe and also so I would not feel anything. Dr. Geller told me something interesting when it was all done and over with. What he told me was that when they put the stent in some fluid that was cloudy and dark came out. *Could that have been the stone? Could that have been the cause to all of this?* He did not know so he went with the plan and left the stent in place. This is the quote from the medical records “her left ureteral orifice was surrounded with edematous bladder mucosa.” Here is another quote after the stent was placed “thick urine with debris was seen coming out of the stent located in the patient’s urinary bladder.” This is always something I will wonder only because of the complications and pain associated with the stent and what lied ahead. I wonder if the remainder of the pregnancy would have been a piece of cake as opposed to all the fun that a stent caused. What if after the fluid came out instead of using the stent and just exiting without this contraption in place would the pain and all the symptoms associated with it have gone away since the obstruction seemed to now have been taken care of? After the procedure as promised there was a nurse that was there to take Doppler’s. Once again the sweet sound of a heartbeat was heard. The following day an ultrasound was also scheduled to look at baby and anatomy.
Late February I noticed something new with my whole stent. I would void in the toilet and there would be blood. I have sent a lot of urine to the lab for analysis and something they always check is if there is blood in the urine. That test did not have to be done. You could see the blood when you looked at my urine with the naked eye. This blood was also fresh blood. Like when you cut yourself. The first time it happened I freaked out and thought it was blood from the vagina. After a bit more investigation I found it to be from my urine. This caused more stress and worry for me. I would then call my urologist and worry about the stent. Is it digging into something it should not be? Is this another sign of what I experienced previously? At some point I was also put on Ditropan. Ever seen that commercial? Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now? Well that was me. The Ditropan was to help with bladder spasm, urgency, and frequency. When I went to Dr. Geller’s appointments I would always get a chuckle as I sat in the waiting room. I was always the youngest person in the waiting room and I felt like one of the elderly waiting to see the doctor. I always wondered if they were on the drug too.
3-1-05
The day before our trip to leave for Florida I had an ultrasound. Baby was doing great everything with the pregnancy seemed picture perfect and it is a GIRL. This brought feelings of happiness as well as sadness.
Before leaving for Florida we made a quick stop to have some photos printed of Joey making the announcement of the sex of our baby.
3-4/2005
While we were in Disney I was in the restroom before getting ready to leave to go to the park. While voiding I felt something strange. When I looked in the toilet a LARGE clot was in the toilet bowl. The fear of it all brought tears. We got through the day and tried to make the best of it. The walking was painful, but again as a mom you suck it up sometimes for your kids. The Ditropan allows me to get by with having the stent (a drug for spasms).
4-17-05 another ultrasound our little Gabrielle is doing well. She is now breech and but is growing in the 20th percentile. There is concern about “an unusually thick placenta”. I am now 27 weeks and there is a recommendation to have a repeat ultrasound in two weeks for growth and also to take another look at the placenta
4-27-05: back to the hospital, this time for vomiting, fever, pain and cramps. Now I also begin to having burning in my urethra when voiding. An IV was inserted and the fun begins again. This time they decided that it was not due to the kidneys or an infection from the stent, but gastroenteritis.
5-5-05 follow up ultrasound. Baby is now in the 25th percentile for growth. Stated they were concerned about a possible “mass” with the placenta in the past, but now there is not a concern he thinks the thick part is from the placenta bending.
6-15-05 today I was seen for an amniocentesis. I was 35 weeks along and the blood in the urine was getting worse and so was the pain. If I passed the amnio and the lungs were mature we were then going to go ahead with the induction as soon as possible. As my luck would have it the lungs of Gabby were not mature and so we continued along.
6-25-05 I was now inpatient in the hospital and we were going to go ahead and start the induction. I was 37 and 3 days. This is the last family picture of the three of us before going into the hospital the following morning. I went in the early morning. Joey spent the night of the 25th with my parents (nana and papa) the plan was after the birth to have kept the epidural in place and then Dr. Geller would come to the hospital for the removal of the stent.
June 26th 2005
Delivery went well. No problems or complications what so ever. Great epidural easy as cake labor and delivery. This was the calm before the storm. This story will be continued.
HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY GABRIELLE! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
I am now on the antepartum floor and I have had 10mg of Morphine injected into my body. I am now tired and sleepy from the drugs and the pain is a 6 out of 10. The pain is much more bearable and I am able to get comfortable. We are no closer to an answer as to what is wrong with me. This is very frustrating to me because as far as I am hearing from the doctors and nurses I am staying at the hospital for “observation”. An ultrasound was not done one time on the baby. My biggest fear was that this was a baby issue and it was stumping me as to why an ultrasound was never done or talked about. To help reassure me that the baby was okay I was hoping at some point for someone to want to have an ultrasound done to look around. I would even bring it up to the nurses and doctors and I was getting blown off. I just wanted to know that the baby was okay. That there were no signs of an impending miscarriage, but my wants were different than the staff at the hospital. My mom stayed with me as long as she could, but at some point she had to leave to go help my sister with Joey and figure out a plan as to how she was now going to rearrange her schedule. Jeff was now at the airport and trying to find a way to get home.
When I would wake out of my groggy state there were two things concerning me. One was that the time seemed to keep getting later and later and there was no one in my room taking me for tests to figure out what was going on. The second was that there seemed to be no plan. Now call me crazy but I don’t think it is normal to experience the pain that I experienced and think it is okay to send someone home in the morning with no answers as to what is going on.
At some point I started getting angry. I took matters into my own hands. Yes, I was in a hospital and you would have thought that these people were on top of this and trying to come up with a diagnosis. I didn’t see this happening so I got on the phone and called my OB at her office. I told the receptionist that I need to speak with my OB and that I am in the hospital can I talk to her like now. She ended up calling me back and I explained to her what was going on. I said Dr. H why is no one doing an ultrasound? Why is no one trying to figure this out? What do you know? I don’t feel comfortable with this “observation” and the possible discharge in the am with no answers. She was shocked that thus far nothing had been done but she also stated that maybe the reason was because I was pregnant I was unable to do some tests they would normally do to rule things out. For example Cat scans and even MRI or using any type of dye. So I said to her can’t they use ultrasound?
She must have made a call, because now things started to move along. At some point a general surgeon came in and did an exam on me. He made a comment about opening me up in the am to have a look around. Um excuse me? Remind me NOT to sign that consent form. I was able to learn that they were going to start ruling a few things out. (Ovarian cyst, splenic artery aneurysm, and gall stones). I remember my dad coming and staying at the hospital with me. We were watching American Idol. I also remember that it kept getting later and later. I was supposed to go for the ultrasound around 6-7pm. I don’t think I ever left the floor until after 9:30pm. I do remember though that to have this ultrasound done they wanted a Foley catheter in place. So I had the joy of having my first Foley catheter inserted! I was finally wheeled down to the room where the ultrasound was done to look around. I tried really hard to ask the tech to give me a peek at the baby. I just wanted to see movement, but she was unwilling to do that “stating she is not trained in OB”. I don’t know why a little glimpse just to see movement and put my mind at ease would be such a big deal, but I guess her job may have been on the line. I would never have told anyone, I just needed reassurance.
Around 11:00 pm finally we had an answer! I had hydronephrosis of the left kidney with fluid obstruction. They were unable to see a kidney stone and did not know if I had passed a stone or if one was hanging out. I was relieved to have an answer as to why I had all this pain and know what was happening in my body, but I was now a bit puzzled. I had never had a kidney stone before and no one in my family has ever had one either. I was also told of a study that had been done and the worst pain rated was from labor and second to that was the pain from a kidney stone. Good to know that this was not all in my head and I was just being a wimp. I was able to get some sleep now that I had a diagnosis and the plan was to meet with the urology staff in the morning to find a treatment plan. I was also so relieved that the general surgeon would no longer be coming to my room and talking to me about possibly opening me up to “have a look around”.
I met my urologist in the morning. He was a very nice man. His name is Dr. Geller. Now that we had a diagnosis it was time for a plan. The nurses had already been straining all my urine. At this point so far there had been no stones passed. I am a person who is a doer and so I felt more comfortable with doing something for this problem as opposed to doing nothing. This pain that I had been feeling was something that I never wanted to feel again. As far as waiting it out and possibly passing a stone or getting by with pain medication was not something I wanted to endure. The other option was to insert a stent to allow the water and buildup around the kidney a way to escape. The thing with this though is to dilate the kidney more. Once the stent is in the stent stays in until the end of the pregnancy. The procedure is called cystoscopy with left ureteral stent. He explained the procedure and I was able to confide in him about the loss of Samantha and Sydney. He was very empathetic and he reassured me that they would have someone come down after the procedure to do fetal Doppler’s. I was also able to have him talk to my OB and I did as well about having an ultrasound done before I left the hospital. This was more for peace of mind than anything else. I was now able to eat if I wished and the following day the stent placement was scheduled. The Foley was still in place and I know that I asked several times to have it removed and finally someone wrote an order for its removal. (Like we are talking 7 pm) I was NPO at midnight. I think that day was just spent sleeping and visiting with my parents and I want to say that Jeff may have been home then also.
I met my urologist in the morning. He was a very nice man. His name is Dr. Geller. Now that we had a diagnosis it was time for a plan. The nurses had already been straining all my urine. At this point so far there had been no stones passed. I am a person who is a doer and so I felt more comfortable with doing something for this problem as opposed to doing nothing. This pain that I had been feeling was something that I never wanted to feel again. As far as waiting it out and possibly passing a stone or getting by with pain medication was not something I wanted to endure. The other option was to insert a stent to allow the water and buildup around the kidney a way to escape. The thing with this though is to dilate the kidney more. Once the stent is in the stent stays in until the end of the pregnancy. The procedure is called cystoscopy with left ureteral stent. He explained the procedure and I was able to confide in him about the loss of Samantha and Sydney. He was very empathetic and he reassured me that they would have someone come down after the procedure to do fetal Doppler’s. I was also able to have him talk to my OB and I did as well about having an ultrasound done before I left the hospital. This was more for peace of mind than anything else. I was now able to eat if I wished and the following day the stent placement was scheduled. The Foley was still in place and I know that I asked several times to have it removed and finally someone wrote an order for its removal. (Like we are talking 7 pm) I was NPO at midnight. I think that day was just spent sleeping and visiting with my parents and I want to say that Jeff may have been home then also.
1-27-05
The day was basically a waiting game. The urology team was running late basically all day long. I finally went down to have the stent put in late evening. I am talking after 10:00 pm. They used an epidural for anesthesia so that the baby was safe and also so I would not feel anything. Dr. Geller told me something interesting when it was all done and over with. What he told me was that when they put the stent in some fluid that was cloudy and dark came out. *Could that have been the stone? Could that have been the cause to all of this?* He did not know so he went with the plan and left the stent in place. This is the quote from the medical records “her left ureteral orifice was surrounded with edematous bladder mucosa.” Here is another quote after the stent was placed “thick urine with debris was seen coming out of the stent located in the patient’s urinary bladder.” This is always something I will wonder only because of the complications and pain associated with the stent and what lied ahead. I wonder if the remainder of the pregnancy would have been a piece of cake as opposed to all the fun that a stent caused. What if after the fluid came out instead of using the stent and just exiting without this contraption in place would the pain and all the symptoms associated with it have gone away since the obstruction seemed to now have been taken care of? After the procedure as promised there was a nurse that was there to take Doppler’s. Once again the sweet sound of a heartbeat was heard. The following day an ultrasound was also scheduled to look at baby and anatomy.
1-28-05
As promised in the morning before being discharged I was wheeled over to the floor for an ultrasound of the baby. The baby measured 16 weeks and 1 day and was perfect. Even though I tried to find out it was too early to determine the sex of the baby. The amniotic fluid volume was normal and so was the placenta. After being discharged I was excited to get going again after this bump in the road. I was happy to see Joey as well. There were a few things though that started to take place. One was in the ‘feeling’ that something that is not supposed to be in my body is now in my body. The sharp, constant, unbearable pain was gone, but now there was a new pain and uncomfortableness associated with the stent. One evening Jeff, Joey, and I went to the mall to use some of our Christmas gift cards and to do some returns. I know almost February, but being sick for now two months this was the first chance we had to get out. I remember that after shopping we got in the car and I had a breakdown. I was so uncomfortable and my back was hurting all the time. In some ways it felt like metal in my back. I can’t put into words these new feelings and pain I was having. I had moments where I just felt sorry for myself. I thought I had gone through so much with Joey’s pregnancy and then the loss of Sam and Syd this third pregnancy has to be an easy one right? Third time is the charm isn’t that what they say? This was not fun at all. I liked the breathing baby in the end of it all, but not all this stuff going on during incubation of the little person. Another thing we would soon be facing was the one year anniversary of the deaths of the girls.
As promised in the morning before being discharged I was wheeled over to the floor for an ultrasound of the baby. The baby measured 16 weeks and 1 day and was perfect. Even though I tried to find out it was too early to determine the sex of the baby. The amniotic fluid volume was normal and so was the placenta. After being discharged I was excited to get going again after this bump in the road. I was happy to see Joey as well. There were a few things though that started to take place. One was in the ‘feeling’ that something that is not supposed to be in my body is now in my body. The sharp, constant, unbearable pain was gone, but now there was a new pain and uncomfortableness associated with the stent. One evening Jeff, Joey, and I went to the mall to use some of our Christmas gift cards and to do some returns. I know almost February, but being sick for now two months this was the first chance we had to get out. I remember that after shopping we got in the car and I had a breakdown. I was so uncomfortable and my back was hurting all the time. In some ways it felt like metal in my back. I can’t put into words these new feelings and pain I was having. I had moments where I just felt sorry for myself. I thought I had gone through so much with Joey’s pregnancy and then the loss of Sam and Syd this third pregnancy has to be an easy one right? Third time is the charm isn’t that what they say? This was not fun at all. I liked the breathing baby in the end of it all, but not all this stuff going on during incubation of the little person. Another thing we would soon be facing was the one year anniversary of the deaths of the girls.
Late February I noticed something new with my whole stent. I would void in the toilet and there would be blood. I have sent a lot of urine to the lab for analysis and something they always check is if there is blood in the urine. That test did not have to be done. You could see the blood when you looked at my urine with the naked eye. This blood was also fresh blood. Like when you cut yourself. The first time it happened I freaked out and thought it was blood from the vagina. After a bit more investigation I found it to be from my urine. This caused more stress and worry for me. I would then call my urologist and worry about the stent. Is it digging into something it should not be? Is this another sign of what I experienced previously? At some point I was also put on Ditropan. Ever seen that commercial? Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now? Well that was me. The Ditropan was to help with bladder spasm, urgency, and frequency. When I went to Dr. Geller’s appointments I would always get a chuckle as I sat in the waiting room. I was always the youngest person in the waiting room and I felt like one of the elderly waiting to see the doctor. I always wondered if they were on the drug too.
2-28-05
We were getting close to going on a family trip to Florida and to take Joey to Disney. My parents have a condo in Sanibel and we were going there after we spent a few days with Mickey. This was a trip for Joey. I still felt bad that he missed the trip in December because of his sick mom. I went into the hospital on the 28th. I went in for hematuria (blood in urine) and left sided pain. The pain started getting worse (not like before, but worse than what I had been having after the stent) the pain was not being relieved by the Percocet. Another thing that was a stress was being pregnant and taking so much pain medication. I would take a half or a quarter of one as opposed to taking a whole one. Then I got to the point where I did not want to rely on Percocet so I flushed the pills down the toilet and tried Advil instead. They would do an ultrasound of the kidney when I went and find the stent to be in good position as well as no new hydronephrosis. It was found that the stent was causing irritation. This in and out business would continue for a few weeks. Ultrasound, morphine, and then send me on my way.
We were getting close to going on a family trip to Florida and to take Joey to Disney. My parents have a condo in Sanibel and we were going there after we spent a few days with Mickey. This was a trip for Joey. I still felt bad that he missed the trip in December because of his sick mom. I went into the hospital on the 28th. I went in for hematuria (blood in urine) and left sided pain. The pain started getting worse (not like before, but worse than what I had been having after the stent) the pain was not being relieved by the Percocet. Another thing that was a stress was being pregnant and taking so much pain medication. I would take a half or a quarter of one as opposed to taking a whole one. Then I got to the point where I did not want to rely on Percocet so I flushed the pills down the toilet and tried Advil instead. They would do an ultrasound of the kidney when I went and find the stent to be in good position as well as no new hydronephrosis. It was found that the stent was causing irritation. This in and out business would continue for a few weeks. Ultrasound, morphine, and then send me on my way.
3-1-05
The day before our trip to leave for Florida I had an ultrasound. Baby was doing great everything with the pregnancy seemed picture perfect and it is a GIRL. This brought feelings of happiness as well as sadness.
Before leaving for Florida we made a quick stop to have some photos printed of Joey making the announcement of the sex of our baby.
3-4/2005
While we were in Disney I was in the restroom before getting ready to leave to go to the park. While voiding I felt something strange. When I looked in the toilet a LARGE clot was in the toilet bowl. The fear of it all brought tears. We got through the day and tried to make the best of it. The walking was painful, but again as a mom you suck it up sometimes for your kids. The Ditropan allows me to get by with having the stent (a drug for spasms).
4-12-05 a urine culture came back positive and it was time for some antibiotics
4-17-05 another ultrasound our little Gabrielle is doing well. She is now breech and but is growing in the 20th percentile. There is concern about “an unusually thick placenta”. I am now 27 weeks and there is a recommendation to have a repeat ultrasound in two weeks for growth and also to take another look at the placenta
4-27-05: back to the hospital, this time for vomiting, fever, pain and cramps. Now I also begin to having burning in my urethra when voiding. An IV was inserted and the fun begins again. This time they decided that it was not due to the kidneys or an infection from the stent, but gastroenteritis.
5-5-05 follow up ultrasound. Baby is now in the 25th percentile for growth. Stated they were concerned about a possible “mass” with the placenta in the past, but now there is not a concern he thinks the thick part is from the placenta bending.
6-15-05 today I was seen for an amniocentesis. I was 35 weeks along and the blood in the urine was getting worse and so was the pain. If I passed the amnio and the lungs were mature we were then going to go ahead with the induction as soon as possible. As my luck would have it the lungs of Gabby were not mature and so we continued along.
6-25-05 I was now inpatient in the hospital and we were going to go ahead and start the induction. I was 37 and 3 days. This is the last family picture of the three of us before going into the hospital the following morning. I went in the early morning. Joey spent the night of the 25th with my parents (nana and papa) the plan was after the birth to have kept the epidural in place and then Dr. Geller would come to the hospital for the removal of the stent.
June 26th 2005
Delivery went well. No problems or complications what so ever. Great epidural easy as cake labor and delivery. This was the calm before the storm. This story will be continued.
HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY GABRIELLE! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
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