In August of 2007 i got pregnant with my 3rd child. In my previous pregnancy i had pre-eclampsia she was born a mo nth early by and emergency c-section. My first 4 months with my 3rd pregnancy were fairly normal. In december i got sick thought at first it was a cold. After about a week i was terrible sick couldnt lie down to sleep my legs were swollen. I felt terrible anxious it was incredible hard to sleep. I called my ob after a week. He checked me and the baby out said i had the flu And that my legs were swollen due to pregnancy. He put me on meds took me off work and said that i just needed rest. A week later i went back still just as sick if not sicker he said it was strange this went on for 5 weeks i kept going to doctor he kept telling me a bad strain of flu. I continuely got sicker the rest of my pregnancy. The week before i had him i had no energy terribly congested. It had came to the point where the night before my c-section i wrote a letter to my family saying goodbye if i were to not make it thru delivery. I was that scared and weak. The next morning i had my 7lb 9oz little bundle of joy. After the delivery i actually felt better like some of the pressure in my chest was gone. 2 days later the ob said i looked great he let me go home a day early. The next mornng i woke up with a terrible headache the worst i had ever experienced. This went on for like 12 hours i believed it was a spinal headache from the c-section. Around 4 that morning i couldnt open my eyes and i began puking. I called my dad who came over and took me to the hospital. When i got there the nurse at triage said my blood pressure was high. She ask if i ever had a problem with it. I said no. When i went back to see dr he spent about 6 minutes with me he shot me full of demoral told me to got home and lie in a dark room. My dad took me home an i went to lie down. After about an hr i was crying in pain and with the amount of drugs they gave me i should have slept the day away. I called my ob he was out of town his on call said to go to hospital and tell them i need fluid injected into my epidural site. When i got to hospital my blood pressure was very high they took me for a cat scan my brain had begin to hemorrage. They took me back to a room at that point i was having a stroke they transported me to a heart hospital in the next state. They ran a bunch of test my lungs fille dup with fluids i spent 5 days in icu. Totally scared to death 4 years later i am not recovered dr says he feel there was to much damage. I believe because it took so long to diagnose i was in heart failure for 5 months before they even noticed. I went to the dr all the time and he just kept calling it the flu. I'm not going to dwell on the past i take my meds and try to move forward as best i can i got a beautiful son that meakes it all worth while. God gives us all blessings we wouldnt know what to be greatful for if we had never seen the darker moments in life..
My Details
- Date Diagnosed: 25/05/2008
- Child: 3
- Initial EF: 25
- Current EF: 40
Story By Toni Courtney-Baker
