What will forever be one of the most special memories of our lives is Baby Mains that is still growing in my tummy. She’s exactly six months old this week, and has just 3 more months to go before she enters this beautiful world. Boy does she know how to make a long, dramatic entrance though….
WARNING: This is LONG. We wanted to capture the memories forever for us, but this may very well be a long, boring read for you!
I’ll never forget finding out I was pregnant. I prepped myself to expect to take a loooong time to get pregnant…in fact, I convinced myself that likely we’d have trouble conceiving. Not for any logical reason, but just because I see how many couples struggle with that and it breaks my heart…I wanted to prep myself for that pain. So, I definitely wasn’t expecting that very shortly after trying, we’d in fact conceive. September 12, 2013, I packed myself a healthy salad for lunch and went off to work as usual. Come lunch time, I went to get my salad from the fridge and just about vomited at the sight of it. So, down to the cafeteria I went in search of something better…and the smell alone made me want to vomit! So, I hopped in my car and started driving to Noodles & Co. for Mac & Cheese. About half way there it occurred to me that I have never, ever in my 5 years of working left work on my own to go get food at a restaurant. In fact, I rarely leave my desk to eat even what I bring! And, bing! I thought, oh gosh what if I’m pregnant?!
After gobbling down my delicious Mac & Cheese, I stopped at CVS for a test and then went back to work. I didn’t take it right away, still convincing myself there was no way I could be pregnant. Shortly after coming home that night, I took the test. Immediately those infamous two lines appeared. The feeling you get when you see that I would describe as mostly disbelief. So, of course, you take another test. Now, seeing the two lines for a second time you are amazed. I instantly fell to my knees and thanked the Lord for this incredible blessing and promised him I would forever be grateful for this gift. Then I cried and hugged the puppy that was wondering why in the world I was on the ground in the bathroom praying :) I decided to wrap up the test and give to Dee that night as a belated birthday present – his face is one I will never forget.
Baby Mains #1 at 7 weeks (1 week after finding out we were pregnant):
The next two months were super fun. I spent them so incredibly nauseous. I only threw up a handful of times, but there is just nothing worse than feeling like you constantly want to vomit and nothing sounds good to eat, but hey…it’s worth it because you know it means there’s a baby growing inside.
But that’s not what I’m referring to when I say “dramatic entrance.” Cue the drama…
My first prenatal lab work returned with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. I was flabbergasted given I have no family history or risk factors for it, but learned that 2/3 of women who get this diagnosis don’t – it’s simply the way their endocrine system reacts to the placenta. Luckily, I’ve been able to manage it through a very controlled diet and exercise (no medication thankfully).
Thinking this was the worst thing to happen to me in my pregnancy lasted maybe a good two weeks until my regular endocrinology check-up (I get checked every 6 months for my thyroid). It’s never routine for any doctor to check calcium levels, even in pregnant women. But, my endocrinologist does since I’ve had hyperparathyroidism in my past. Interestingly, once pregnant my calcium levels shot through the roof…and my parathyroid hormone did too. Both of which are clear signs of a tumor growing on a parathyroid gland. It’s rarely seen in pregnancy, since usually women with this disease cannot get pregnant at all…and unfortunately, it carries a miscarriage risk of 80-90%. My endocrinologist decided to order me for another set of lab work in one week, hoping these results were just an anomaly.
Well, the following test showed even higher levels of calcium in my blood….lethal levels for the baby. My endocrinologist called me at 5:30pm on a Friday night to deliver that news…all I remember is calling my mom immediately afterwards hysterically crying and panicked and begging her to fly out here to be with me. It’s amazing the way in which God works miracles. Had I never had a Thyroid cancer scare, I would have never been seeing an endocrinologist regularly, and I would not have had my calcium levels being monitored, and I would have most likely lost this baby. It’s amazing to me.
How did the miracle get worked exactly? Well,…. Shortly after hanging up the phone with my mom, Dee took me to the ER where they administered all the necessary tests to ensure my heart was functioning properly (a major risk with high calcium), and administered an IV to bring the calcium levels down at least temporarily. While in the ER, my mom called her sisters for advice – one of them had a best friend that worked for one of the best Material & Fetal Medicine doctors in Orange Country (AKA high risk OB). Her friend was more than happy to fit me in to see this doctor early the following week (since it was only the weekend now). I didn’t think that was necessary, as surely one here would see me. Well, even with UHC PPO as your insurance, all high risk OBs operate purely on referrals and had a 2-3 week waiting period due to how severe a shortage these doctors are (at least in my area). I’ll never forget working from home on a Tuesday, my Aunt calling me saying this high risk OB friend of hers would see me Wednesday, and purchasing a plane ticket for a flight that left only 3 hours from that point, driving to the airport and flying down to SoCal to save our baby.
This doctor was a gift from God. A devout Christian himself, and a graduate of Stanford, I couldn’t have been in better hands. After an exam and reviewing all my labs he gave me the assurance that this was caught in perfect timing (I was 12 weeks at this point). He told me that the ideal time to operate on a pregnant woman to remove this tumor is between 13-18 weeks. He then proceeded to help me get in touch with a surgeon and a high risk OB in my area. Now for more proof of just how amazing God works – the surgeon he said was the best, was the same surgeon I had seen 2 years prior for my thyroid scare and was just 2 hours away from where I live in San Francisco. This surgeon was transferring to Stanford and was no longer accepting new patient, but agreed to squeeze me into her closed schedule given my special circumstance and having seen me before.
Before leaving his office, he asked me if I wanted to know what we were having. I of course, lacking any semblance of patience, said YES! And he proceeded to tell me it was a GIRL (at just 12 weeks along…and now we know for sure he was right). I didn’t think I could feel more protective than I already did of our baby, but knowing the gender for some reason amplified that protection even further. That was the day of Halloween…less than 4 weeks later I would be going in for surgery at 16 weeks pregnant at UCSF.
Those 4 weeks I was a mad-woman…I traveled to San Francisco for scans, pre-ops, and consults with the surgeon 3 times, had numerous dr. appointments here in town to prep, and just the week prior to surgery found out my calcium had reached an all-time high of 13.9…needless to say, had my surgery been even a week or two later, that may have been too late.
The surgery… I have the most incredible parents in the world. From the moment they knew I was having surgery, they assured me they would be there in person for it. I never even asked, in fact I tried to tell them I know how busy they are (my mom travels internationally for work about 2-3 weeks out of every month), but they wouldn’t hear of it! Then then proceeded to go above and beyond to make sure I was as comfortable and relaxed as possible – they insisted on us staying at the Ritz Carlton in Union Square, where we were treated like royalty. The day before my surgery they flew in, and Dee and I went to pick them up. I remember crying when I saw them come out of the gate, and my dad saying I needed to put on some weight for the baby (at this point I had lost about 13 pounds since getting pregnant due to the hyperparathyroidism that I was getting surgery to remove). We had a lovely dinner together in Union Square, and afterwards my mom took me maternity clothes shopping at the 6 floor Macy’s in Union Square, where she insisted on buying me an entire wardrobe. I knew she wanted to spoil me and take my mind off the surgery I was panicked to undergo while pregnant, so I happily obliged. :)
The whole day of the surgery was actually quite peaceful…much to my surprise. I remember being in the waiting room receiving texts from friends, family, and co-workers…all of which kept me smiling that so many people were praying for baby. I was blessed to have amazing nurses and an amazing anesthesiologist on top of an amazing surgeon tending to me. They had me laughing in the pre-op room, and knew all I was worried about was my baby. They treated me as if I was their own daughter and promised to take the very best care of me. My surgeon even hugged me before wheeling me back. I remember looking at my mom just before they took me to the OR and it was the only time I cried…I could see the tears welling in her eyes, and I could tell she was fighting them for my sake. It crushed me – I knew exactly how she felt being a mom now. As much as I was worried about my baby in this instant, she was worried about her 27 year-old one about to be wheeled back to surgery. We both quickly wiped our tears away, my amazing husband kissed my forehead and off they wheeled me. I remember being so calm, they didn’t even need to give me a sedative – I even moved myself onto the OR table. The anesthesiologist gave me the meds in my IV and 3 seconds later I was in the best nap ever. I woke up in the OR 3.5 hours later, and felt like I had strep throat times 1000. Looking back now, I think the most pain I experienced was from the breathing tube and not the actual incision across my neck. A 1 hour stint in the recovery room and some pain meds and I convinced the nurses I was ready to be discharged and recover in MUCH nicer and more peaceful surroundings back at the Ritz. My daddy and hubby were so kind to pick me up my favorite Jamba Juice (with extra Whey protein to reduce the blood sugar spike), and despite how painful it was to swallow, I was so excited to drink and eat, having gone nearly 24 hours at this point without doing so (while pregnant!!!).
My surgeon saw me before I left and was so pleased with how well the surgery went. She explained to me that a normal parathyroid hormone range was 15-60, and that when they took my blood just before removing the tumor, my level was 104. She then said that 10 minutes after removing the tumor, they took it again and it plummeted all the way to 8. A sign she says that I had this disease for quite some time, as all 3 other parathyroid glands had obviously gone to sleep due to how overactive this one with the tumor on it was. As a result, she told me to expect to begin experiencing symptoms of LOW calcium while my other parathyroid glands wake up and start doing their normal job of regulating calcium levels. I was instructed to take TUMs every time I experienced tingling in my hands, feet, or face.
Recovering at the hotel with my family was as nice as a recovery could be. They picked me up my favorite meal from Cheesecake factory and we all ate it in the hotel…eating was a bit of a challenge as I literally could hardly swallow or move my neck. I could also hardly talk…nothing above a whisper was all I could get out, which had to be a nice break for everyone ;-) That night I remember waking Dee up when I was experiencing major tingling in my hands, left foot, and nose….incredibly weird sensation. I took a bunch of TUMs, and while it lessened, it never went away entirely. I didn’t sleep much, not being able to move my neck hardly at all. The next day, we made the two hour drive back to Sacramento, and I was so happy to be home in my own bed. This week was Thanksgiving, and I was so thankful to be around family. My youngest brother Kevin flew in that night so he could spend Thanksgiving with all of us. The week was also a hard week of recovery. Despite following the surgeon’s orders to take TUMs every time I felt tingling, it wasn’t going away, and by Thanksgiving day it had gotten really bad to the point where my whole face, arms, and legs were constantly feeling like they had pins and needles in them. Add the pain from the actual surgery on top of that, and I was not a happy camper. That day, I got so sick from taking too many TUMs that I threw up, and the surgeon ended up instructing me to go to the ER. They found nothing wrong in the ER, and were speechless at why I was experiencing low calcium symptoms, when finally my calcium levels were in the normal range. In my post-op with the surgeon the following week, she explained to me that it was likely due to the fact that I had this condition for so long, my body took a while to realize that normal calcium levels were in fact not low…my body just thought so because for so long high calcium levels were my body’s “normal.” Turns out it would take about 4 weeks for my body to regulate and the low calcium symptoms to finally dissipate.
One week after surgery, the twelve stiches were removed and Dee and I were both ecstatic that this nightmare was behind us. Our baby, our “fighter” baby as we referred to her now, had survived this, and we could now relax and enjoy the remainder of our pregnancy. I personally could now allow myself to get excited about being pregnant, as I had forced myself to not be due to how significantly high my miscarriage changes were.
Now for more amazing proof of just how amazing God works… I went for a post-op review with my new high risk OB here at home…who I LOVE. He was a little upset that I didn’t see him prior to surgery as he wanted to be the one to diagnose me :) He did a 20 minute-long ultrasound showing me all the baby’s organs, parts of the brain, etc….and everything looked perfect. Praise God! This was 19 weeks now at this point. Just at the very end of the ultrasound, as he was about to stop, and he spotted something “unusual.” My heart stopped while he looked for a good 2-3 minutes, and all I could think was “why, oh why, did I tell Dee he didn’t need to come to this one appointment with me?! I’ll never be able to pick myself up off the floor if he tells me something is devastatingly wrong!” He told me I have a very serious condition, but one with a high success rate if I follow his advice carefully. It’s called Vasa Previa….and again, it’s extremely rare! Basically, the blood vessels of the baby’s umbilical cord fuse to the cervix…which carries two huge risks. One is that as the baby grows bigger, she can crush her nutrient supply and the second, and most devastating, is that if I go into preterm labor the blood vessels rupture and the baby loses her entire blood supply in 2-3 minutes (before I could ever get to a hospital). For this reason, they put you on pelvic rest at about 20 weeks (no exercise…not even walking), and most have to go on hospitalized bed rest at 30-32 weeks to monitor the baby. All have to have a c-section sometime between 34-37 weeks to ensure no risk of preterm labor.
While we’re sad to have yet another rare complication that threatens the health and life of our precious baby girl, we have faith that God will protect us and deliver her safely into our arms. It’s amazing to think that if I didn’t have hyperparathyroidism, I wouldn’t have had a need to see a high risk OB and I wouldn’t have found out about this condition in time….to think about the horror of carrying my baby to full term, going into labor, and losing her….after all we’ve been through…there are just no words for that. So, thankful is the primary emotion we feel at this time…a little scared as well, but I love that she’s big enough now that I get to feel her move all day every day….it’s my reassurance that everything is perfectly fine for now. I get to see my doctors every two weeks for the next month now, and then every week after that….hopefully no more rare complications come as surprises, and from here on out we can just focus on getting Baby Mains here safely and healthy.
Despite how difficult, and excruciating at times, this pregnancy has been, I still consider it the greatest blessing I have ever been given. It’s not something I’m looking forward to repeating any time soon, but I know I’ll look back and feel that it was all very much worth it when our baby girl is here in our arms. I’m so thankful to the Lord for so carefully watching over us, to my husband for his unwavering support, uplifting words of encouragement, and being my rock every time I was scared. To my incredible parents, and our incredible family and our amazing friends for their amazing support, prayers, and encouragement. To a boss who has let me drop work at a moment’s notice to fly to SoCal, drive to SF, and go to a million doctors appointments, and has prayed for me through it all. To incredible co-workers that have supported me while I missed a good month of work in my road to surgery. And I’m so thankful to our baby girl…a dramatic entrance she is indeed making, but I love her unconditionally already and I’ll take all the drama she can give me as long as I have her in my arms soon. 3 months and counting!
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