We lost who would have been our third daughter, Stella, in December 2015 when I was about 21 weeks pregnant. I decided that I would proceed with a D&E following the loss. During that procedure, while I thankfully was under anesthesia, the anesthesiologist noticed my vital signs drop, and I began to bleed out. Thankfully, immediately, both the OB and anesthesiologist acted and stopped the bleeding and stabilized me. After I became stable, while still under anesthesia, I was transported via medivac to a different hospital that is larger and has a more experienced trauma center. I woke up that night, intubated at a different hospital in intensive care. Needless to say, I was surprised, upset, scared but happy to be alive. I spent two nights in the ICU, and a third night in the perinatal unit. For six weeks, I had to give myself a blood thinner shot in my stomach each day. It took me months to process both our loss and my experience….at first, I feared that I would never feel like ‘me’ again. Finally, I felt as though the fog lifted and I began to feel ‘normal’ again. Having had this experience has changed who I am, how I react to things, and it has had a real impact upon my memory. I find myself forgetting things, for example, I may stare at a pencil for 10-15 seconds before I remember it’s called a pencil!
We had the incredible support of family and friends. The outpouring of cards, food, gifts, etc. that we received continues to touch us and remind us just how fortunate we are to have such an amazing support system.
I finish my story with this: life is short, life is precious, thank God for your blessings, and don’t be embarrassed to remind people that you almost died so you deserve the world! 🙂