I wasn't sure of what was gushing out of me because I was wearing black pants and we have black seats in our truck, which is probably a VERY good thing. Steve was pretty fast grabbing our bag inside, especially since the bag wasn't exactly packed. I had stuff laid out, but just not exactly ready to grab and run. Imay felt silly having a packed suitcase ready to go a month in advance, but it would have been worth it. He came back out and helped me back into the truck. I remember being so scared and fearing the worst that I hesitated to go. What if I lost my baby? We were so close to having her, how could all that be taken away from us?
The trip to the hospital was fast. I'm not exactly sure how fast he went on the bridge, but thankfully God cleared the roads in front of us. We arrived at the Emergency room around 9pm. Unfortunately, the Birthing Center was already closed. So, we would have to check in through the ER and they would take us over. Steve ran in to get help while I continued to cry and pray. He came out minutes later with a nurse and wheelchair. I'll never forget being pushed through the ER waiting room thinking, "Oh Lord, here is this big pregnant women in a wheelchair crying with blood running off her leg". The people watched as they rushed me into the back. They started with the questions - how far along, contractions, when everything started, etc. I asked her why I could be bleeding and one reason she said was it could just be some bloody show from passing my mucus plug. Although, I knew it was so much more, it was a good way to keep me calm I guess. They were pretty fast to gather information and then take me over to triage in the Birthing Center.
That walk was horrible. Not that I walked, they pushed me in the wheelchair, but it seemed like forever. The sky bridges, the halls, the elevators, finally making it to triage. They wanted me in a gown and on a table. Steve went in the bathroom with me and helped me get my soiled pants off. I couldn't look down in fear of freaking out more from what I would see. I couldn't help it though as we walked out and saw the pools of blood I was leaving beneath me.
They got me on the table and strapped the monitors to me to attempt to find out what was going on. Finally, I heard the sound that gave me a little comfort. It was the sound of her heartbeat. It sounded strong and seemed to echo through my ears. It gave me hope, but the night was far from over. We spent little time in triage where they determined I obviously needed to be admitted to a room. Before moving me they checked my progression to see how dilated I was. According to the nurse, I was at close to a 2, but had no softening in my cervix. Time for another move.
It was probably nearing about 10pm when they got me into the room to monitor further. My back pain was excruciating and my contractions were like nothing I had ever experienced (even having already had a baby before). Steve was frantically on the phone trying to get our families and doctor contacted. At this point, we weren't sure when we were going to be having the baby, but we knew she was coming. My sister was en route from Redmond and the rest of our family was on stand-by. I was disappointed when Dr. West entered our room. Not because I didn't like him, but I didn't know him. I wanted to see my doctor, Dr. Frank.
He explained that I was being monitored to see how I would progress. If my body would progress then I could have a normal vaginal delivery. We had to wait and see what the bleeding was going to do or continue to do.
The nurse got a heat pack for my back and I moved to my side to see if that would ease some of the pain. My contractions were lasting for 10 minutes with 20 second breaks in between. Yes, 10 minutes long with a 20 second break, that is no exaggeration. The nurse appeared stumped and knew I was in pain. I had been in that room basically starting labor for almost an hour. She left the room to report to the doctor on my pain and strange contractions.
Dr. West returned to check my progress, not looking like he was going to deliver any good news anytime soon. He reported that I had no change in dilating and the bleeding was clearly not letting up. Although, a c-section was not the way we wanted our baby to enter the world, we had no time. If I lost anymore blood or fluid me or the baby could end up in distress so we had to move quick. An emergency c-section was at this point, the only option to consider.
I stared at Steve, with tears streaming, we knew that we didn't have an option. We wanted our baby to be healthy and if this was our best option or only option, we knew we had to do it. I responded to the doctor that we knew we had to do it, but I could barely see him. My vision was so blurry and it was starting to scare me. He explained how this was going to work and that we would be moving immediately to get started. Steve was getting our parents on the phone to let them know I would be going into surgery. The nurse was trying to get me to sign paperwork, but with my blurred vision, I couldn't see it. I scribbled in the direction she pointed on the paper.
Everything was moving so fast. It had only been a couple hours since my water even broke. It was so hard to gather my thoughts as to what was happening. The worst part now was that I had to go in alone to be prepped and then Steve would be brought in. He kissed me and we told each other we loved each other and then, without him by my side, they wheeled me out of the room.
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