Logan's Story-Pregnancy

Scott and I were married a year and a half when I got the baby bug. I had always wanted to be a mother and felt we were getting to a place where a baby would fit right in. We had bought a house, got a dog, had good jobs and were saving money.

We were blessed to get pregnant right away. I had terrible morning sickness that really lasted all day. Thankfully, it was my first baby and I could just rest and take care of me and no one else at the time. I didn't know what a luxury that was at the time.

We went in for our ten week check-up and were excited to be able to hear the heartbeat! I don't remember now what the speed was. I didn't care; it was the best sound in the world!

At 15 weeks I felt my first kick. I still remember it distinctly. I was sleeping in on my day off and woke up to a bedroom full of sunshine (I really miss those days). All of a sudden I thought I felt something. I pulled up my shirt and there was a tiny movement the same time I felt the kick. It seemed like a baby bird pecking at its' shell. What a miracle!

By 20 weeks I had a little bump. We went in for our first ultrasound with a blank tape in hand. We were excited to capture images of our new baby. I couldn't believe how well all the parts were formed! I especially remember the spine. It looked like a string of tiny pearls. Pictures were taken and video was recorded, but we decided that we didn't want to find out the sex of the baby. A healthy baby was all we needed.

I was allowed to use the restroom and change when the radiologist came in to take a look at what the tech had recorded. He said he wanted to take a look himself. As a healthcare provider, I knew this didn't sound good. I was suddenly very nervous.


He focused on the baby's head and then told us that he was seeing some cysts. He wanted to send the report to my O.B. and she would discuss it more with us. He did also say that this was common, maybe more common than we think, since everyone gets their ultrasounds at different times. They often don't cause any harm and disappear on their own.


My O.B. sent us downtown to a perinatologist for a level 2 ultrasound. I guess it is supposed to be more detailed. It seemed like more static to us. Anyway, after a long, hard week, we found out the cysts were gone! He said they usually disappear as the radiologist had said and we didn't need to come back. Man, the thoughts that went through my mind over that week. What a scary situation to have to go through.


The rest of the pregnancy seemed good until about 5 weeks before my due date. I started to feel sick and had a lot of pain in my back between my shoulder blades at night. I was throwing up and had to call in sick to work several times. I was having braxton hicks contractions and even went into the hospital 3 times to be checked out.


Scott told me I needed to get used to the pain, because I still had 4 weeks until the baby was born. I know now that he regrets those words. I started noticing more bruises on my body and having changes in the color of my skin. The last time I went to the hospital to be checked out, I asked the nurse if I looked yellow to her. She said it was probably the lights.

I was supposed to follow up at the doctor in 2 days, but my next appointment was in 3, so I waited. The office called me and told me to go straight to the hospital. I was annoyed because I thought the hospital and the office weren't communicating with each other. I drove myself to the hospital and told Scott not to worry; I'd straighten it all out.


When I arrived at the hospital, they put me straight in a room, not the triage room. This was quite worrisome. I was told to put on a gown and they were going to hook me up to the monitors and draw some labs. The blood work came back really bad. I had HELLP syndrome.


It stands for hymoptosis, elevated liver enzymes (liver failure) and low platelets (your blood won't clot). Apparently, it's a step beyond eclampsia, but I didn't have that or I did but it progressed so quickly that I didn't know I did. Also, I was never taught about this in school (I am a respiratory therapist, but this does affect the cardio-pulmonary status of a patient), so I didn't know anything about it or to look for it.

My labs were so bad that the doctors thought I couldn't be sent to the bigger hospital because if there was an accident I would bleed to death. Remember they had me drive myself to the hospital? Anyway, they turned down the lights because my blood pressure was so high they thought I might have a seizure, they told me I was going to have a c-section and I would have to be put under for it. I wouldn't be able to hear my first baby cry for the first time. They didn't tell me, but did Scott, that I had a 40% chance of dying on the table.

Thankfully, I made it through surgery and had a beautiful baby boy, Logan. I was in ICU and he had to have oxygen and an IV for a day or so, but we made it out healthy. We were able to be discharged together after only 4 days in the hospital! He is truly my miracle baby.

Scott and I would just look at him in amazement. We would thank God for him and wonder how He could make such a beautiful baby out of 2 tiny cells. What a miracle babies really are!