At 32 1/2 weeks, I began to experience pain unlike no other pain that I had
ever had. My lower back was extremely painful to the touch, and it hurt to
sit, stand, anything.
At first I thought that I was experiencing gas, but by
7 o'clock that evening, I called my ob-gyn and told him I was going to the
ER. I was given demerol for the pain and when that would wear off, the pain
would come back.
Finally in the morning, I finally saw a doctor and a priest
by my door. The doctor came to tell my husband and I that I would have to be
transported immediately to Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago because I
had HELLP syndrome and he wasn't sure how to treat it.
When I arrived at Rush,
the doctor told my husband that I might not make it thru the night because
my liver and kidneys were shutting down, my blood was not clotting and that
he may have to make a decision between me and the baby. For unknown reasons,
I was in labor for 16 hours and barely remember a thing until after my
c-section a short time after.
My beautiful little girl weighed 4 lbs 9oz and
was 17 inches long (Big for a preemie) She is in excellent health with the
exception of what we still believe is reflux.
I on the other hand have had 2
surgeries since with one on the way and are still experiencing complications
due to HELLP syndrome. I believe that more research needs to be done and
every ob-gyn should be made aware of how dangerous HELLP syndrome is.
Thank you for starting this website and for the work that everyone is
doing!!!