When It Rains, It Pours…

Sometimes life just goes along so smoothly that you have to imagine that something’s going to go wrong.  Not in a pessimistic way, just in an “it can’t always be perfect” way.

Well, that’s now!  Some of you may know that when I was 26 weeks pregnant with Max, I ended up in the hospital with heart issues.  It all ended well, of course, and we had a healthy full-term baby boy.

We didn’t worry too much about it happening again, but of course it crossed our minds.  Once I hit 3rd trimester this time, we figured all was good.  I didn’t even really think about it again.

Then, Friday at around 4 AM, I was half-asleep and rolling over to my side in bed.  Instantly, I thought, “Here we go again…”  Same feeling, same time of day – a very erratic heart rate and a trip to the ER.

Keith’s parents came to stay with the boys, my parents met us at the hospital, and the crazy day began.  Oddly enough, having been through this 2 years ago, neither Keith nor I was nervous.  I threw together a bag of clothes & toiletries, and we headed out the door.  We talked & even joked the whole way to the hospital. 

We got there, explained what was going on, and I got poked with a whole lot of needles.  EKGs, doppler to check the baby’s heart rate, IV to start the medication drip, chest x-ray... Nothing was scary this time, as it all pretty much went just like last time. 

We joked with nurses, and somehow just managed to stay calm and find the good in the experience.  Sure, there are definitely reasons to be concerned, but I’m thankful that we were able to keep the mood fairly upbeat through everything.

After about 5 hours, I was moved up to ICU.  This is the point where you’re praying and hoping that your heart converts to normal on its own before they resort to sedating you & shocking it back into rhythm.  And, praise God, it did!

As I was sliding from the ER bed to the ICU bed, they temporarily unhooked all the wires.  When the ICU nurse hooked it all up, she stopped and stared at the monitor and said, “She’s sinus!”  All it took was moving from one bed to the other, and my heart had converted back into normal rhythm!

The rest of the morning and afternoon, they monitored mama and baby (and finally FED me – it’s mean to starve a pregnant woman, ha ha!).  Last time, I was moved to a regular cardiac room for an overnight stay.  This time, they SENT ME HOME!  We were so excited to head home in less than 24 hours!

So, we call to say we’re coming home only to find out that poor Alex has spent the day with the stomach flu.  (Poor Grandma & Papa, too…) 

Alex was able to fall asleep late Friday night on our bedroom floor, but he woke moaning throughout the night, had to use the potty, begged for a glass of water, and then decided at about 4 AM that he felt better and was WIDE-AWAKE for the day.  We encouraged him to lay back down, but he kept popping up to talk, to bring me my chapstick, and any other thing he could think of to avoid sleep.  Finally, I just got up with him at around 6:30.  Talk about a night of very little sleep!

Now, my poor husband has spent the day with the stomach flu.  So far, Max & I are doing fine.  Oh, how we hope and pray it stays that way!  (A sick toddler who gives no warning?  NO FUN!  Being sick at 37 weeks pregnant?  Tried that while pregannt with Alex – it wasn’t fun, either.)  We’re all skipping church tomorrow, staying home, and hoping to rest and recover. 

We’d sure appreciate your prayers for a healthy family, and for Mama & baby to have a safe & healthy last few weeks of pregnancy and labor!