Monday, July 5, 2010

Day by Day

I am considered an outgoing person. What I do for a living is very public. As a facilitator and motivational speaker I am always before an audience, some small, some large, fielding questions, educating and even entertaining. My hobby also happens to be very public as I'm a singer. And like many 'performers' out there, when it comes to my personal life, I am much less outgoing. In parties, family gatherings and other public social settings, I tend to become much quieter, even reserved at times, preferring one-on-one conversations. I am also very discriminate about who I open up with, having been raised as one who supports others, not vice versa.

This aside, for anyone who's given birth before, you will know that it is something you prepare for mentally and physically, just as you do for any performance. Although you don't usually know the exact date, you know that around a certain time, you must prepare for an extremely taxing physical journey and a likely blissful emotional one.

I was prepared for neither 3 days ago. I went to the hospital because a doctor agreed to see me because I was having cramps and had passed another clot. Never in my wildest dreams could I have been prepared for a drawn out painful labor only to come home empty handed. Nor was I prepared for a drawn out recovery period. And when you're not prepared, it is much more difficult to talk or answer questions. I have been in shock, trying to absorb what has just happened.

It is not that I don't need my friends and family. I do, very much. I have just needed some time to make some sense of something terribly unfair. Why me, why now, why experience both the loss and the painful labor at this stage, why did I have to be in the 5%, am I defective, what did I do wrong, should I have held him, am I a good mother are but a few of the questions spinning dizzily round my head, keeping me awake at night, making me nauseous during the day. I try to keep busy to keep my mind off of things but it only weakens me till I can't stand anymore. I was not ready for this and therefore don't know what to say to anyone... what is there to say?

I have connected with others like me on a grief and loss forum. To correspond with other mothers who are grieving has been somewhat helpful, at least to feel less isolated. So far there is only one other mother who has had the same experience as me, her labor was 18hrs and she lost her 16 week old. Others have lost babies past 20 weeks or to term. One mother just lost her 4 mth old to SIDS. They have it worse. But what we do have in common is that we have all lost a child and in this there is a connection, an understanding...

I am extremely grateful to all of you who have written me, even if I have not yet responded, I have read you and loved you for it. Writing seems easier than fielding phone calls or visits right now. Just to know that you care means the world to me. I made my first call last night, to my sister, and will likely make more as the week progresses. I watch Greg and Ashiah sleep and feel ever thankful for the family I have, even if there is now a piece missing.

I just want to say that I mean to cause no hurt by avoiding anyone. Am just reacting to that for which I was unprepared... no script, no rehearsals, I'm taking it day by day.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

April 3 - July 2, 2010

I can only bring myself to relay this once. I can't talk about it or see anyone for some time...

Yesterday, after a 16 hr difficult labor, we lost our 15 week old son. We had named him Zephyr Glen. Zephyr means a gentle west wind. Glen in honor of Greg's Uncle Glen who passed away.

The uncommon preterm labor was brought on by subchorionic hematomas which detached the placenta from the uterus, causing me to hemorrhage. We were told that to go through a full labor in the second trimester only occurs in 5% of pregnancies.

The first 3 hrs of labor were in a room in the emerg. Morphine, Gravol and Nubane shots were not helping the horrible pain as I begged for help as the contractions had been every 2 mins for 2 hrs and were more painful than anything I endured during my first 30 hrs of labor with Ashiah prior to meds. The pain was apparently caused from the placenta ripping from the uterus. They transferred us to the birthing floor and told us we were in labor and immediately gave me an epidural which froze my left side and leg completely. My heel has yet to get back to normal so am still limping.

After about 9 hrs I was at 5 cms. Although the contractions seemed to have stopped progressing the doctors felt we should induce birth since they felt the baby had not made it because I had lost so much blood. I refused and said I needed confirmation that my baby wasn't alive. They did an ultrasound which I did not look at but Greg did and I needed only to see his face...

They induced me with Oxcytocin and after another 4 hrs I gave birth. I could not bring myself to look at my baby.. After spending some time together sobbing, Greg went to say goodbye to our son and held him in a small blanket. We have arranged to have him buried through a funeral home in a family plot.

The staff, especially 3 of the nurses and one of the surgeons' were incredibly supportive and kind and did the best they could to help us through it all. We have been told that the physical recovery will be about 6 wks.

Ashiah has been looked after by my supportive sister who was at home with us when we left for hospital.

Although our son was only 15 weeks, we had grown very attached to him due to the numerous ultrasounds we had with the complications. Greg had bought him toys on his trips and I had written Greg a father's day letter from his unborn child. I miss my baby terribly inside me today and feel very lost. Hearing other stories of loss is not helpful nor are any words really...

As I lay in bed yesterday when it was all done, I could hear the cries of newborns ring throughout the ward. To labor for so long and not be able to hold your child is something I never imagined could happen to us, let alone a normal miscarriage. It's not something you can prepare for, one day there is life, the next there isn't. We cry till the tears won't come anymore and we cry some more. I can hardly sleep, I only see my baby in my dreams.

As I waited in the wheelchair for Greg to pull up the car, I watched a happy couple load their new baby into their car. The new mother turned and smiled at me and I smiled back because I know how happy she is because we have Ashiah. I can't imagine how horrible we would feel right now without our beautiful daughter.

I hope I've answered any questions you might have. Thank you for giving me the time I need.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Day 3

It's Canada Day. Greg is gone to pick up my sister, husband and nephew to help us today. Nabil (my sister's husband) will help Greg with stuff around the house and my sister will keep me company and the kids will play. Am glad for the company today. Otherwise it's easier to sit here and stress about every movement, cramp and wonder if and when the bleeding will stop completely.

I can hear the Wakefield train coming in. We live in the woods by a river. It's going to be a fun day out there with the festivities, the train must be packed and I imagine the tourists will swarm Wakefield village today. Did I mention I'm happy for the company today?

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Day 2

Day 2 of bed-rest. It's only 12:22pm and I'm decidedly bored. It's not that there's nothing to do, as I've received many supportive messages to respond to and a few calls and this coupled with some work stuff I've been keeping busy from my bed. Can't imagine what mothers used to do before the Internet. Read a lot of books I guess and stared out the window. It's pretty out there today but apparently quite chilly.

Although my ass is mush and my back is sore from lying here, I know it's worth it so I'll keep my usual go-go-go ass in bed. There's a sub facilitator teaching my stress management course today. Somewhat ironic really... There are certainly some, like my mother and best-friend who are pretty happy with my non-negotiable confinement as they usually feel I have too much on the go. I suppose I do but I'm just not one to waste time, I like to be productive and feel I deserve to relax when the work is done. My nature I guess...

My sister sent me a nice little care package complete with muffins and movies so I'll likely pop in a flick to keep me entertained this aft.

Cramps are intermittent now and bleeding has lessened substantially. Still fairly nervous when I go potty, worried I'm going to pee out my baby. I guess that's to be expected...

Have a craving for Molo's grilled cheese panini with garlic mayo no onions. Mmmm. Damn.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Calm after the Storm

As I look out the window from bed, the trees are basking in the glow of a soon to be setting sun. There's a nice breeze I can feel from the front door window and the shadows of the leaves flicker on the stone fireplace. All seems calm and good and yet last night's events are still haunting my thoughts... it's now a waiting game.

We are now about 14 and a half weeks pregnant with our second child, due Christmas day. We have known of the pregnancy since week 2 of conception. It is our second surprise child and although it couldn't have come at what parents often feel is 'the worse time', we have already forged a strong bond with this new life growing inside of me. One of the reasons for this is that unlike the first pregnancy, this one has been quite eventful with several visits to hospital and what has now been 5 ultrasounds where we have watched baby grow and change into a fully formed, athletic baby which I have already felt move for a couple of weeks now due to it's never ending movements. Regardless of how comfortable life seems as is, it's amazing how these little people can worm their way into your heart.

I have been in and out of hospital since Friday because of bleeding. Blood and urine tests have all been normal and ultrasounds revealed a thriving baby with a perfect heartbeat. The only thing found was what appeared to be a small clot at the top of my cervix. I was told not to participate in any contact sports, not to run and to refrain from sex for a few weeks. This seemed like a fair prognosis and so Sunday we returned home and I painted the outside window trim of the house which seemed like a fairly non-exerting task. But shortly thereafter I began to bleed again so I went to bed and remained there till Monday morning. I was facilitating a workshop on Monday and arranged to do so seated all day. All seemed well, the bleeding subsided and things were looking up...

Last night around 10:30, Greg and I were discussing renovation priorities considering my new more fragile state. As I sat on the counter talking, I suddenly felt a rush of blood and headed to the bathroom. As I sat down I felt a strange sensation as though something was washing through me and felt something very large come out of me. I screamed as I looked down to a flood of blood. Greg came running and yelled out 'oh no, oh no, what is it, what is it' with a look of terror on his face. I felt sure it was the baby and sat there for a time in shock and crying "oh no my baby, oh no my baby". In my shock, I reached in and pulled out the mass that had fallen from me. It was very large and appeared to be the placenta as it resembled a liver. Greg was very distraught and exclaimed that he needed to get me to hospital right away. My hands covered in blood and tears streaming down my face I told him we had to bring the placenta with us. I didn't know why but I couldn't leave it there. Poor Greg fetched a large container and I set it inside. I was now shaking and couldn't move. Greg somehow managed to get me mobile and we headed to the door. Greg retrieved our sleeping soon to be 3 year old from bed and we slowly made our way to the car. We drove 20 mins to my sister's house where she was waiting outside to collect our daughter after Greg called to tell her we were losing the baby. I was having terrible cramping and I was worried I was going to lose it there in the car.

We got to the hospital about 15 mins later and Greg wheeled me to Emerg. As they processed us I could barely answer questions as the reality had struck me. Greg and I waited patiently along with others in 2 packed waiting rooms to be called and we both began to sob in each other's arms. It was nothing short of awful.

A kind young nurse from triage recognized us as she started her shift and came up to us with a very concerned look on her face and softly said 'you're back...' I told her I'd lost the placenta and her eyes filled with tears... she has 2 children but miscarried once between the two. She said "I'll find you a room right now" and rushed down the hall. We sat for what seemed like a long time but was likely more like 15 mins and were taken to a quiet room where I was given a gown and told to lay down and rest. The kind nurse told me that I needed to prepare to see a fully formed small baby emerge and that they could either take care of it or we could choose to bring it with us. Greg told me he wanted to bring our baby home and bury it on the property. Greg held my hand and we waited in silence broken intermittently by our sobs of mourning.

It had now been 3 hours since I had lost the mass. The doctor came in to examine me. After listening to my heart beat and abdomen she did an internal. Her first words were that my cervix was closed. This was unexpected and also disconcerting news and I was struggling very hard with the thought of my dead baby inside me and now felt like it wouldn't come out... The Dr. then asked to see the mass. She looked at it and said 'hmm, there is a lot of blood... it looks like the placenta but it could also be a large, but rare clot. May I have it analyzed?" I faintly replied 'sure' and she said she wanted to do an ultrasound to see what was going on inside. I started to cry as I didn't want to see a dead baby inside me and Greg said I could turn my head and that he would look for the both of us.

They brought in the machine and I turned my head with a nauseous feeling coming over me. As the doctor moved the machine over my belly she said 'I think you had better take a look'. I refused but she repeated that she thought I should. I turned my head slowly and saw our familiar dancing baby and it's active heartbeat. Greg and I stared at each other for a moment and he had a smile on his face. I immediately broke down in tears again and asked 'what is going on?' Sure enough, I had passed a very large clot that was located behind the placenta. This is known as 'subchorionic hematoma' and occurs in 1% of pregnancies. Often the clot remains inside and grows or gets absorbed by the body. At times it dislodges the placenta and takes it with it as it leaves the body. Other times, it evacuates itself dislodging the placenta but the placenta remains mostly in place and other times it does not disturb anything. We are hoping for the latter.

The doctor has placed me on 5 days bed rest. The cramping was due to having passed the large mass and has indeed subsided somewhat today. We returned home and I got into a warm tub to help ease the cramping. Greg and I stayed up another hour together to review what was to be my 2 hour lecture at a museum this morning, but Greg went in my place, with very little sleep after having gone through that whole ordeal. I am beyond proud of him and feel incredible grateful that he was here with me and that we weathered the storm together.

I feel scared to go to the bathroom now and assume that this will subside as the days move forward and everything hopefully gets back to normal.

Greg is now snoozing peacefully beside me after a long work day for him and I have spent the day in bed, keeping busy with work, sleep and e-mail. Ashiah is still at my sister's for the night and my Dad will be bringing her home in the morning. I decided this was as good a time as any to resume my blog, if only to have some forum of expressing all that has happened... it sometimes just feels easier to type things than to say them, especially when they are so filled with emotion.

I feel grateful, still fearful but remain hopeful as I look out and watch the last glow of the setting sun.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

The Train


I am exhausted right now but simply had to write something to mark the day.

I had what was one the most wonderful and memorable moments yet with Ashiah today (apart from her first horseback riding experience a couple weeks ago) as she really discovered the Wakefield steam train today. We heard it coming from a distance and I drove her to the tracks so she could see it when it went by. Of course the Conductor waved at us and she was mesmerized.

For the rest of the day she spoke of nothing else but the train...incessantly! So much so that she insisted on seeing it again so I drove to the end of Chelsea to see if we could catch up with it but we just missed it again.

Fast forward to this evening as we happened to bring Greg his supper at the cabin where he was working hard on the bathroom floor. And in the distance we heard the dinner train. Ashiah and I went barreling down the stairs and she sat in my lap in the car as we drove round the bends to the track and waited for it.

All was still as the sun was setting and we could hear the frogs and crickets and birds and Ashiah was very still. All she kept saying was, "shhh, listen!" And we'd hear the train toot across the river - it was actually a way away yet and I found myself reverted back to a little girl as well; just as excited as my daughter that the train was coming any moment now. I had forgotten that wonderful feeling of anticipation of something and it's wonderful.

Ashiah was in my arms, her little arms clutched around my neck and her lips pursed in a silent "oh" sound as she saw the light appear in the distance. She then became nervous and thought we should go back to the car, "sit in car Mama" yet she was mesmerized and delighted when it caught up with us. She clutched me tightly and watched, fixated with delight.

I have not yet seen her so excited about anything and of the train we spoke all the way home. She kept interrupting me and saying "listen - listen?" "Twain all gone", "maybe in morning" 90,000 times.

It was just a very special moment and I'll never forget it for the rest of my life.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Pee and Pooh

Today was a Pooh day. And I don't mean Winnie.

There were 2 pooh incidents - one not so good, the other simply wonderful. Ah yes, become a parent and you can suddenly have the words 'pooh' and 'wonderful' in the same sentence.

My girlfriend was detained today from picking us up, when her son had a pooh outside and then smeared it all over himself. This would be the 'not so good' incident. Alright, the bloody awful incident.

But earlier this evening, Ashiah asked for the potty and went pee. She then asked again and went pooh. It is the second time this happens in a month and it is quite exhilarating. Never would I have ever thought that I would ever share my daughter's bowel movements with the world at large, but voila, I am at once thrilled and sad that my daughter is beginning to take this new leap.

Counting, ABC's, Potty, what's next? Keys to the car? It's really quite disconcerting how fast this is all going. Sigh.