My husband rushed me to the hospital worried about my elevated blood pressure. I was pregant with our first child.
I spent the next 15 days on bed rest at the hospital. I was miserable! I laid there on my left side, staring at the wall. My neck was stiff, my legs were weak, and I was swollen. I had fetal monitoring done every 3 hours, blood taken daily, constant medication, and I had to save my urine in a bin for testing. Poor Jeremy was taking the worst of it. He had to listen to me complain, and I often called him at work just to cry. Not only that, but he had to spend his time between work, me, and our pets at home. He visited me in the morning before work, called multiple times during the day, visited after work, returned with dinner, and stayed until we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. He was worn out, and the baby wasn’t even here yet. Never in my life did I think life could get harder, but it did. My daily wheelchair ride was the joy of my day. Other than that, I was completely miserable.
On January 27th, during one of my wheel chair rides, I notified the nursing staff that I was seeing some black spots in my vision. The next morning, a neurologist was urgently sent to see me and performed numerous tests. He quickly assured me that the spots were not caused due to something neurological. Soon after he left, an ophthalmologist arrived. I didn’t get a good vibe from him. He did some tests, and left quickly. Within 2 hours nurses were in my room telling me that I was having an emergency c-section. They said my blood pressure had gotten so high that I had a mini stroke.
6 years ago today.....on Saturday, January 28, 2006
At 3:40 p.m., with my husband by my side, our daughter arrived. She had made it to 34 weeks, but she was only 3 lbs, 11 oz. She measured in at 15 ¼ inches tall. She came out crying! What a wonderful noise! She was here, she was alive, but her battle was far from over.
Her First Days
We named her Macy Elaine VanVleet. Macy had no significance, but Elaine did. Elaine is the name of my grandmother. Grandma Elaine is a very strong woman. My grandfather passed away one year before Macy was born, but my grandma continued on with life. Over the past year, no matter what, my grandma seemed to be so strong. My daughter needed to be strong; she needed to fight to survive. I knew that right away, and today, it couldn’t be truer.
My husband quickly spread the news to family who had rushed to the hospital. He made all the phone calls to spread the good news. He also headed to the NICU and took her first pictures. All of our family got to make short visits to our little angel also.
I, on the other hand, was not doing so well. Before the c-section, they gave me magnesium to control my blood pressure. I could barely open my eyes and I was constantly vomiting. Jeremy said the entire night consisted of my alarms going off and nurses rushing in to check on me. He was scared! I seriously felt like I was going to die. I don’t know what death feels like, but it had to feel similar to what I was feeling.
On January 29th, the doctors informed Jeremy that they heard a murmur when listening to Macy’s heart. They asked if he wanted to them do an echocardiogram to take a closer look. An echo is similar to an ultrasound, except it is on the heart. Jeremy agreed immediately. He wanted to make sure she was okay. I remember him coming to my room to tell me that they heard a murmur, but were pretty positive that it was simply that.
Sunday afternoon was a day I will never forget. A nurse practitioner entered my hospital room carrying a pamphlet and some papers. I knew at that point that this could not be good. She was sad to inform us that our little miracle had a heart defect called Tetrology of Fallot. Tetrology consists of four heart defects. She had a gap between the two walls on the bottom chambers, and a narrowed pulmonary artery (the artery that pumps blood to the lungs). Due to these two defects, it caused her heart to be more muscular due to it working so hard, and caused one ventricle to work harder than the other.
I was in shock. What was happening? This doesn’t happen to people like me. This happens on TV or in magazines, not to me! All of my siblings, cousins, friends, and coworkers have had children and they were fine.
At this point I didn’t know whether Macy would make it or not. They didn’t even inform us about that. They just said they were going to take her to the nearby children’s hospital to run more tests. They asked if I wanted to say goodbye. Goodbye? Was it forever? I cried and cried. I honestly can’t even tell you all the emotions I was feeling. It seriously was a blur. They had to literally take my daughter from my arms, since I was not going to hand her over! I reached for her crying as they carried her away. Would I see her again?
Today...Saturday, January 28, 2012
I have been spending the day preparing for my daughter's 6th birthday. Who am I kidding....I have been spending the last two months preparing for her birthday. Today is a celebration of her birth, but more than anything....today is a celebration of her LIFE! The life my little miracle has lived for 6 years now. The life that my little miracle has used to change the lives of so many. The life that my little miracle has used to bring me closer to The Lord, and change my life!
I am crying as I write this, and I often cry just looking at her. I can't even tell you what it feels like to watch her play with her friends, go to school, or even to simply watch her giggle! She is amazing!
So today, we celebrate LIFE! A life that started like a rocky road, and has been paved into a beautiful highway that goes on and on! A life with so much more of a journey! When we began this journey as a family of three, we had no idea where it would take us. Along the way we picked up another beautiful angel who has made us complete, and let me just say....the scenery is BEAUTIFUL!
Happy 6th Birthday Macy Elaine VanVleet!
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