Click here to start at the beginning.
(My Second Near Death Experience)
As soon as I was back from the MRI I was put on a Magnesium drip for 24 hours to relax all my muscles so I wouldn’t have seizures or go into a coma, and hopefully to bring my blood pressure back down to normal. Usually when a woman gets preecclampsia the doctors deliver the baby and the blood pressure returns to normal. Preecclampsia after the baby is born is the most lethal. My nurse warned me that I would feel horrible when the magnesium started going through my body. She said it would feel like the worst day ever, like my best dog died. She was right. It was horrible. As she was hooking me up, I asked, “So what if this doesn’t work? Then what will I have to do?”
She looked at me kind of funny and said, “This is the only thing we know that we can do for you. Doctors don’t really know what causes this, and there isn’t any other cure.” I blinked as the realization hit me. This was it. This was my one shot. If it didn’t work, I would die. I didn’t realize the seriousness of what was happening to me until that point. Suddenly, my face being half paralyzed seemed almost insignificant. I looked over at my newborn baby and wondered if she would ever know her mother.
The nurses would come in every hour and draw blood to see if there was any improvement. I have the tiniest of veins and even the best of lab techs often have trouble drawing my blood. So amid all my other worries and miseries, I would just hold my breath and pray that the next lab tech would not dig on my arm, or arms I should say, since we were alternating back and forth. By the second day I would have certainly passed for a junkie. It was then that two techs walked in together, because one was in training. The rookie took a look at one arm and then at the other before looking up questioningly at her supervisor. “Oh, let me show you what to do, said the supervisor.” She talked her student through taking blood from a spot between my wrist and my elbow. Well, I don’t know what exactly happened, but the next thing I knew, I was screaming in pain, and I had a bruise the whole length of my arm. I tried to be nice–through clenched teeth, I’m sure. When they finally left, I told Mom that I couldn’t believe they sent some rookie to take my blood–to which my loving and honest mom replied, “Well, they have to practice on someone.” Ha ha! I let her know that was not exactly the sympathy I was looking for!
The blood tests were showing improvement and by the end of the 24-hour magnesium drip, my blood pressure had returned to normal and my kidneys were functioning. Praise the Lord for His healing!
Click here to continue to Part 9. 🙂
Every day when I finish reading your post, I find myself on the edge of my seat holding my breath.
Yes this was a scary time in your life. Good for your Mother to have a sense of humor!
I love you and wish I could give you a motherly hug. You are a great writer, love reading your posts!
I found this poem and thought of you….Your story is inspirational….
May you have a healthy body,
To move around freely and roam wherever you desire to go.
May you have good vision,
To enjoy all the beauty the universe has to offer you.
May you have good listening ears,
To hear all the mighty tales and incredible stories that make up life.
May you have a good sense of smell,
To inhale in all the rich aromas and fragrances floating in the air.
May you have a warm sense of touch,
To give out loving hugs and comforting pats.
May you speak with kindness from your heart,
To soothe someone’s hurt and to uplift someone’s mood.
May you have lots of laughter,
To brighten up someone’s day and make a difference.
May you have lots of courage,
To go after your dreams and turn them into reality.
May you have lots of love,
To spread around and leaving this world a better place.
May you have enough to feel blessed,
And to share your gift of blessings with others too.
Copyright © 2006 Fion Lim. All rights reserved.
I have blood drawn weekly and I beg the rookies to take a shot at me, they never want to try!! I always say “one day you are going to be the only one here to do it, you may as well practice now that you have help available” You should see them squirm and try to get out of drawing me..LOL
You are so good at getting across the emotion and intensity of the situation. I am glued to the page!
Glad you lived to tell the tale! Hooray! 🙂