Saturday, September 8, 2012

Corrin's Birth Story

I know it's taken me a while to write this, but things have been kind of hectic around here. 

*****

Tuesday morning, I went for my last biophysical profile before Corrin's scheduled cesarean section on Monday.  I woke up and dressed.  I dressed with the intentions of going to work after the appointment.  When I walked into the waiting area, I should have known that it was going to be a long day.  There were approximately 2,834 people in the waiting area.  Okay, not that many, but it was fulled to capacity.  There was even one guy squatting against the wall with his toddler.  I managed to find a seat in the chaos, and preceded to wait my turn.  I was eventually called back for my biophysical.  Corrin, of course, decided to be stubborn again, and refused to move around for the ultrasound tech.  I ended up having to turn onto both of my sides and my back again before she would move around.  Other than that, she scored an 8 out 8 again. With the biophysical profile out of the way, I returned to the waiting area.  Slowly, everyone trickled out little by little.  Finally, I was the only person in the waiting room.  I watched as the receptionist locked the office door so that she could get lunch, and still I waited.  Then it was my turn.  My doctor came in, and was very happy to see me, as I was her final patient before she got a break for lunch.  We discussed the results of the biophysical profile.  She then does an internal check, because I had informed the nurse that I was having some painful contractions.  I was dilated 2 centimeters and 70% effaced.  She answered a few questions for me. Then I was on my way.  I checked out, and headed for my vehicle.  My intention was to get gas, a Pepsi, and lunch, before heading to work.  The best laid plans...

My phone ring as I stepped out the door into the parking lot.  Why is my doctor's office calling me, and I literally just walked out the door from an appointment?  I answer the phone, and hear my doctor's voice.

Doctor "Mrs. Giles?"
Me "Yes?"
Doctor "Would you like to have your baby today?"
Me "HUH?"  {I know I was the most articulate person she had spoken to all day in that moment.}
Doctor {Gives a long technical explanation for why she wants to complete the cesarean now instead of waiting for Monday, while reassuring me that everything should be fine developmentally for Corrin.}
Me "That sound good to me. What should I do now?"
Doctor "Go over to Labor and Delivery and check in.  I'll call my orders over to them."

There went my plans for lunch and that Pepsi. {I typically do not drink Pepsi, but for some reason I really wanted one.}  I sit in my truck, and call Mikey, my mom, my supervisor, and a few others to inform them of the change of plans.  Then I walk across the parking lot to Labor and Delivery, and check in as instructed.  The time is now roughly 12:40 pm.  I hadn't eaten anything since I ate some fruit at 10:00 am.  I am placed into a room where the nurses do their thing to prepare me for surgery.  Mikey arrives at the hospital after dropping Micah off with my aunt.  We sit waiting.  I am informed that I won't be able to go in to surgery until after 5:00 pm, to give my body time to digest the fruit that I ate for breakfast.  I am starving at this point, and take a nap to give myself something to do other than think about how hungry I am.  I wake up a couple hours later, when my sister-in-law comes to visit.  We all sit around and talk for a while.

It's during this time, that the nurse comes in to check on me and tell me that there is going to be a delay in the start of my surgery.  The power has gone out, and the hospital is running on the back up generator.   The back up generator does not support the cooling system.  Therefore, the temperature in the operating room is not being regulated, and surgery cannot be performed.  She also lets me know that there's one other woman ahead of me in the line, even when they get everything up and running again.  Basically the only way anyone was going to have a surgery was in the case of life or death.  The nurse leaves, and to keep myself from having a breakdown, or sending Mikey to get me something to eat anyway, I go back to sleep.  It's getting hot in my room by this point.  My doctor comes to visit during this nap.  She lets me know that she's waiting with me, and asks if we have any questions. 

I am woken up a couple hours later, after the shift change, to meet my new nurse, Brittany.  She was so nice, and I loved having her work with me.  She informs me that the system is back up and running again, but it will still be some time before they begin surgery again.  Apparently, the operating room must be kept within a certain temperature range.  There is also a certain humidity it must be as well.  With the power outage, of course the temperature was not maintained.  The other thing was that the humidity in the room, caused the walls to "sweat."  With the power back on, the staff had to re-establish the appropriate temperature and humidity ranges, and also disinfect the operating room before any surgery could occur. No one knows how long this entire process will take.  Apparently, this has never happened before.  Oh joy!  Corrin decides to come on this day.

Finally, everything is set in the operating room.  While the woman ahead of me in line is having her surgery, I am being prepped.  I have my anesthesia, and my blood pressure drops.  This did not happen with Micah.  I am giving some medicine to bring it back up to within normal limits.  Finally, we're all set, and headed off to surgery.

In the operating room, my doctor is waiting for me.  {I'm sure she was ready for everything to be over and done with so that she could go home to her baby as well.}  The surgery begins.  She cuts in to me, and slowly makes her way through the scar tissue from two previous surgeries.  Then I hear... "Mrs. Latasha, this is going to be a difficult surgery." I ask, "Why?"  That is when I am informed that the layers that typically make up the abdominal wall are not there.  My doctor cut through the skin, scar tissue, and fascia.  There was no muscular tissue.  She then had to gently detach my bladder from where it had attached itself to my uterus and move it to the position it should be in.  All of the this, before she ever saw my uterus.  Finally, she was able to enter the uterus to retrieve Corrin.  She was big enough to concern the doctor and her assistant.  They thought that she wouldn't be able to fit through the incision that they had made.  Luckily that wasn't the case.  And at 9:28 pm, Corrin was born!

Then things got really scary.  I heard her crying, but it wasn't as vigorously as I remember Micah crying.  The pediatric staff is working with her with Mikey looking on.  They are also trying to explain to me what's going on.  Little Miss does not have appropriate oxygen saturation.  She is more interested in sleeping than breathing.  My nurse anesthetist is telling me that I should see her within five minutes.  Meanwhile, more than five minutes have passed.  During this time, my doctor is also explaining what she is doing to help prevent my organs from fusing together while they are healing after this surgery. Finally, the pediatric staff brings Corrin around the curtain where I can see her, and explains in more detail what is happening, and that she is being taken to NICU for further observation.  Corrin and Mikey leave to head to NICU.  I am left in the operating room for my surgery to be completed. 

After, the surgery, I am taken to my recovery room, where my doctor comes in and further explains what occurred during the surgery.  The NICU doctor comes in and explains what is going on with Corrin.  My mother, aunt, and sister-in-law take turns meeting Corrin in the NICU after she is stabilized.  She spends the entire hospital stay in NICU, but thankfully she is released when I am released.

No comments: