Early, early Friday morning, I woke up and headed for the airport. My flight was smooth, quick, and I was greeted by a very excited, soon-to-be Grandma and Grandpa on the other end. I spent a wonderful day with my mom, we chose a few very cute outfits for Camden, and I finally found a few work-appropriate maternity outfits. Friday night, I was feeling some tightness in my uterus area, but just thought that Camden was sitting in a strange position. We had a great dinner with my Aunt Donna and Uncle Rick in Gettysburg, and then went home for a good night's sleep.
Saturday morning, my parents and I headed to visit Malerie and Jason and to meet baby Bennett for the first time! It was such a wonderful visit, and Bennett (no surprise here) is an angel baby. It was also so good to see Malerie's parents, and my parents very much enjoyed visiting with them while M & J gave me some pointers about parenting. ;)
When leaving Malerie's house, I got what I thought was a cramp in my left kidney. I thought, I must just really have to pee and the baby is sitting funny! However, after my dad pulled over and I was able to go, the cramping did not subside. I had so been looking forward to seeing my Aunt Beth, Uncle Paul, and two sweet cousins, so I tried my best to ignore the pain, thinking it would subside. We had a delicious lunch and afterwards, my cousin Lilly took us on a tour of her beautiful school! By the time we left there, I knew something was wrong, but thought maybe it was a bad UTI.
Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at my Poppy's house for a visit, my pain had jumped from a tolerable 2-3 on a pain scale, to a searing 9. I knew I needed to call my OB and ask what to do. I wasn't sure at this point if it truly was my kidney, or possibly contractions. I had also texted my Aunt Donna, a labor and delivery nurse, who happened to be working that afternoon. She called me back before I could get ahold of my out-of-state doctor and assured me that it did sound kidney related, but that it also very much sounded like it required medical attention.
We arrived at York Hospital about thirty minutes later, and informed the ER that Dr. Sommerville was waiting for us in L&D. The ER staff was very nice, called upstairs and confirmed, and sent us on our way. That's when the scariest series of events began. Walking toward the elevators, I suddenly doubled over in some of the worst pain I have ever experienced. I went into a full blown contraction, and the kidney stone felt like it was ripping open my insides, all at the same time. I snuck a quick glance at my mom and dad, and saw tears in both of their eyes. That's when I realized, my husband might never get to meet Camden.
A very sweet ER doctor rushed out, hearing my cries, and gave us a wheelchair, ushering us up to L&D with a few reassuring words. When we got the NICU and L&D areas, my mom tried to distract me by telling me to look at the adorable baby pictures flooding the walls of the hallway. I couldn't. We were greeted by my Aunt Donna, my nurse, and a very sweet clerical staff at the desk who sent me immediately to the exam room, stating she would enter in all of her required data, only after I received the attention I needed. Upon entering the exam room, the nurse asked me some questions, but fairly quickly got the Doppler out to see if we could find Camden's heartbeat. I held my breath for longer than I ever thought possible. Finally, a swift kick to the Doppler from a tiny baby foot, and then a steady heartbeat. I have never been so relieved in my life. Later, I noticed that on my paperwork it stated fetal condition: reassuring fetal heartbeat. Those were the most beautiful words I have ever seen in print.
After meeting with the doctors and having a quick exam, it was decided that they would run tests on my urine, blood, and perform a kidney ultrasound. They also gave me medication for my nausea/vomiting, pain, and fluids to hydrate me. I was in a lot of pain, but thanks to the quick work of the nursing staff, I had meds in me very quickly.
After spending several hours in L&D, it was determined that Camden was at very low risk for harm now that my pain and vomiting were controlled, that I had an infection, and that I had kidney stones both actively moving out, and sitting in my kidneys, waiting to come out and play again anytime they choose. I had the option to stay overnight, or to go home if I promised to take my pain medication.
Thanks to the prayers of so many of our friends and family, I was able to fly home to Florida on Sunday night to return to my terrified husband. I don't think he's ever looked at me the way he did when he reached out to hug me at the airport.
My stones have not passed, I am trying my best to control the pain with Tylenol alone and just waiting for them to get out of me! Camden is kicking away, happy as can be. He even let a few people feel him from the outside for the first time this weekend! He only saves his biggest kicks for the people he knows his mommy loves the most. Tyler and I are so thankful for Camden's health and safety, and praying the rest of this pregnancy is less eventful. We need him to stay in there and keep growing big and strong!
I don't know why I wrote this. Writing things down has always been therapeutic for me. Maybe I needed to acknowledge "aloud" how close I felt I was to losing my first child. Maybe I needed to acknowledge how blessed we are as a family to have the support that we do. Maybe I needed to write this down so I could re-read it and realize that God has got me and Camden in His hands, and that I can rest assured in that.
Thank you again to the staff in the L&D department for their amazing care and attention to me and Camden, for answering any of mine (or my dad's) stupid questions. Thank you also to my Aunt Donna who is the most amazing nurse I have ever met, and to my parents for finding a way to balance their love and concern for their baby, and for my baby.
"Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying." Romans 12:12
