Dear Family and Friends-
Some of you know Emily has gone into the hospital due to pregnancy complications. First, let me assure you who may be learning this for the first time that things are going well. Second, if you don't mind, I'll give you some of the details because we'd very much like to share them with you and let you know our status, but I'm also lazy so I want to get most of the story out there all at once. Emily had some vaginal bleeding and went into the hospital last night (Sunday night) around 10:30pm. Things simmered down and they released us about 2am with a prescription for antibiotics for a bladder infection. I went to bed and Emily ate a sandwich ( I cut up some tomato for her). Anyway, the bleeding started up again and at five am Emily and I were off again to the Hospital. She was losing anywhere between 50 to 75 cc's of blood an hour. Contractions were about 5 minutes apart. The doctor was getting everything in order for an c-section just in case. That means, no food for Emily. An active I.V. in one arm and another ready in the other arm. A bunch of different drugs, via the IV: an antibiotic for the infection, an anti-inflammatory for the bladder discomfort, a magnesium sulfate that disperses the contractions, a steroid for the baby's lungs. At one point the doctor was getting us ready to airlift Emily to a more NICU intensive hospital in SLC but the perinatalogists wouldn't let her go while she was still bleeding. Plan B was for them to try and manage the case here (in Mt Timpanogos Hospital). This hospital is set up to take care of babies who are at least 28 weeks along. Emily is at 26.5 weeks and the ultrasound measurements put the kid at 25ish and weighing in at 1 pound 15 ounces so the little one would be stabilized right after c-section and then whisked up to St. Marks in SLC. Even at this point, 80% of the babies born at 26 weeks do well but at 28 weeks it bumps to 90% and the group with long-term challenges is reduced further.
Luckily, Emily's bleeding slowed down some but the clotting factors in her blood also went down (normally an inverse relationship). The lab ran the test twice to make sure the results were correct. Both results showed that she was dangerously low and could risk bleeding a lot more. Plus, with her outward bleeding slowing down (to 40 to 50 cc's), the blood must be going somewhere else, possibly pooling above the cervix. She was prepped for some blood transfusions which, if they didn't restore her clotting factors to proper levels, would push us to the c-section immediately. Luckily, throughout this whole ordeal, the baby's heart-rate was undisturbed and strong so instead of immediately getting the transfusion, the doctor took the time and ordered one more round of blood tests. Please understand that Emily was getting blood drawn (not counting the blood loss she was having) every one to two hours and they kept poking a needle into the one arm without the active IV (they even tried once on her foot), each time more painful it seemed than the last. And her veins we increasingly difficult to draw from. At one point they even had the anesthesiologist give it a go and it took him several attempts to get it done. She's been a bit of a pin cushion and her left arm is bruised from it all.
Even as the transfusion supplies were prepped and wheeled into our room, the new tests came back with an amazingly high count of clotting factors. The nurses rushed in with the good news that the transfusion was no longer needed (at least for now) and a moment later they also found out that the doctor reduced the blood draws from one hour to two. Emotionally, it was a huge release for the two of us. It pushed back the inevitable c-section to give Emily's body time to continue to work out the bleeding and give the antibiotics time to have an impact on the bladder infection (the presumed cause of the early labor). We also learned from the ultrasound that the placenta is secure but has a bit of a node that has grown over the cervix making it placenta previa instead of a blood clot over the cervix (thats kind of like finding out that contrary to news reports your house didn't burn down, instead, it was an earthquake) Still, pretty good news since that meant that it wasn't a placenta abruption (a likely cause for unexplained bleeding).
Over the last hours, things have simmered down enough that, as I write this, it is about 10:30 pm and she has snatched a few moments of sleep. The last pad they pulled from her bed didn't have any blood on it. The nurse just told us that they won't probably have to draw her blood again. Medications in her IV will go at least until 6am on Wednesday but she might be able to eat again tomorrow afternoon. Right now, regardless of how things go, Emily will be in the hospital at least for observation for the next several days.
Throughout this ordeal, I've been reminded of the strength of the mothers in my life: Emily, my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister and sisters in law. Each of them work a wonderful miracle with each new spirit they bring into this world. Emily has shown tremendous courage in her efforts to nurture and care for the dear little life developing within her in the face of very real dangers to her own wellbeing. It reminds me of some thoughts Elder Holland shared about motherhood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYLKVgwztY&feature=player_embedded#!Indeed, angels have watched over Emily today and we have relied on the Lord. As of this writing, things are calm. The baby's heart-rate continues to be strong and distinct. She must be a brave little trooper to put up with all the extra noise and the probing and the poking of her mother and we look forward to meeting her and introducing her to you. However, with your continued prayers, we hope that meeting will not happen for another few weeks. We are grateful for each of you and for your friendship and your prayers.
Weston
Our dear family and friends-
