The Day I Scored a Helicopter Ride

So...I have quite the story to tell.

Yesterday started out as a regular day.  It was an early morning as Jack woke up just before 7:00.  From the time I woke up... I could tell something felt a bit "off."  However, at about 37 weeks pregnant... feeling "off" kind of comes with the territory.  As the morning went on...I was able to muster the energy to get myself and Jack ready.  I had been talking to Annie- telling her I didn't feel very good- but was heading to the store.  She insisted that I bring Jack over while I went grocery shopping...which I refused at first...but after feeling dizzy and faint... I decided I'd take her up on it.  After Jack and I had been on the road about 2 minutes- I quickly decided that I shouldn't be driving.  I felt like my brain was not functioning normal...and had a feeling like I was either going to be really sick really fast or was going to loose feeling in my face.  I immediately turned around...called my mom to tell her how I was feeling in case I lost consciousness or the ability to speak clearly...let Brett know...and stayed put at my house. 

Soon...I lost feeling in my left hand/arm.  Luckily, my mom and Brett were already both on their way to me.  I was freaking out.  I had a similar experience on the day Jack was born (refresh your memory here) and was not mentally prepared to go through all of that and labor.  I was frantically throwing things in a bag...trying to love on Jack...bawling my eyes out... Wow.  I was a mess.

It was about 10:30, Brett had called my OB and they told him to immediately take me to the ER.  My sweet mom stayed with Jack, and we headed to Timpanogos ER.  The whole way I kept blubbering to Brett, "I just want to go home!"  Upon arriving at the hospital...Brett explained that I was pregnant and experiencing stroke-like numbness...and man... did they act FAST! In about 1 minutes time I had over 10 people around me...poking me...putting IV's in...monitoring baby, etc.  It was nuts!  Over a bit of time, they sent me back for a CT scan, and then informed me that they had doctors at the U of U monitoring my case via satellite.  Things settled down a bit...until the ER doctor came in and told me that the neurologist at the U of U along with OB doctors wanted me up at the University Hospital ASAP.  They wanted me on the life flight helicopter and to the hospital in SLC.  I was in total shock. Brett was in shock.

Dramatic enough for you?

I held it together, and then they told me due to limited space, Brett would have to drive up and meet me at the hospital.  The Dr.'s left the room, and I kind of lost it.  I was nervous about what was wrong with me, nervous about flying in a helicopter, nervous about being alone.

Soon, I was strapped down and headed out to load up the helicopter with an OB specialist, an ER medic, and a neurology specialist.  They told me the flight would be around 10 minutes...which wasn't long... but being flat on my pregnant back and harnessed tightly in a super confined space was not my idea of a good time.  So...life-flighted I was.  I kept my eyes completely closed about 98% of the time...sucked in the oxygen they were giving me...and tried to stay calm. 

After landing, I was quickly examined by another 10-15 doctors/nurses/residents.  They continued to treat me as seriously high risk, and almost immediately took me in for an MRI.  Let me just say this-- if hell is anything like a 50 minute MRI while 9 months pregnant... I will do just about anything to make my way to heaven.  It was by far the worst part of the day.  With my head strapped down in a cage...and the inability to move for so long... I tried my hardest not to completely lose my claustrophobic mind.  I counted as each song played in my earphones to try and figure out how long I had been in there... but it just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.  I couldn't help but fear what they were going to find going on in my body...fear for the baby... worry about Jack (although I knew he was fine), fear for what long lasting effects this whole ordeal might lead to.  Would they induce my labor in a few short hours? Would I be having brain surgery? 

To say I was relieved when they let me out of the MRI one hour later is an understatement.  They wheeled me into a private ER room, where my dad and sweet Brett were waiting for me.  I have never been so happy to not be alone in my life.  It had been a scary and lonely couple of hours. It was about at this point that I started to feel some feeling coming back, but I also started to get some pretty intense pain in my head.  Nausea, and incredible discomfort took over while I waited for the results of my tests.  My mom had left Jack with Annie (a lifesaver again), and soon arrived.  Brett's dad also came up... and again... I can't tell you how relieving it was to be surrounded by my family and to know Jack was well taken care of.

Over time...hours.... they determined I was experiencing a complex migraine... and that was most likely the cause of my stroke-like symptoms.  The MRI came back clean...no brain tumor...no blood clotting...no stroke.  Just a lot of pain in my head.  After what they called a "migraine cocktail" in my IV, and then later Morphine, I started to come out of the pain.  I was so exhausted and so ready to go home. 

We left the University ER around 6:30. hit gnarly traffic, but were finally home around 8:00.  Brett was so amazing the whole day, staying calm and keeping me sane.  My mom met us at my house, with a car full of groceries, Annie brought Jack to me...and I felt like I could finally breathe again. 

I met with my OB doctor today, and everything with baby seems to be good.  It would seem, since I had a similar experience when I was pregnant with Jack, that something in late pregnancy causes this to happen to me.  If I have other experiences like this in the next week or so... baby looks ready to be induced. 

It was most definitely one of the scariest/craziest days of my adult life. For now- I could not be more grateful that everything turned out as it did.   Thank you so much for so many phone calls, treats, flowers, visits, dinners, comments, texts, etc. etc. 

I'm doing so much better now... just have a few bruises and some emotional scarring that will take time for me to recover from!!!  I will say I have received significant sympathy....

In fact..maybe I can score some more with this:

 One of my IV sites. Ugh.