Goodbye Bedrest!!

Tooncey was my constant bedrest companion. She was THRILLED!!! I'll be sure to spend extra time snuggling her.

Here are a couple of photos of my dorm room. I had most everything I needed within arms reach or just a few steps away. Work area, microwave, fridge, multi-functional table, etc....

In the photo above, Anabelle insisted she was sick and had to stay in the hospital with me. :)

I can't believe I'm done with this scary episode. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it. I still don't understand why the hospital doctors (5-6 of them) all agreed that there would be no chance of resolution, that I would absolutely have to remain on bedrest for several months. Who knows...I guess I won't spend a lot of time thinking about it. Instead, I'll enjoy life from a different view - not just from my bedroom.

You are not going to believe this...THE PREVIA RESOLVED!!! What was once a complete previa (indicated on the ultrasound three weeks ago) is now a marginal/partial previa. That means that my placenta isn't even touching my cervix - it's moved up to .5 cm away from my cervix. So...my placenta moved over 2.5 cm in three weeks and still has a few weeks to continue moving "up". I still have the polyp but my new WONDERFUL doctor ensured me that it was the previa that bled and not the polyp and that I have nothing to worry about regarding the polyp. She told me that if my placenta continues to move up another 2 or 3 cm (which she is confident that it will), I will be able to have a typical delivery - no c-section...and here's the kicker - I will go full term and will only have to go in when I go into labor!! No scheduled early delivery! Fully developed baby on the way!! AND....I've been lifted off bedrest!!!!!!! She told me I could immediately resume my normal activities and after a week, I can contact my HR person and head back to work (March 1)!!! Unreal!! A complete 180 from what I was told. Now, I have to say that I did have a complete previa, which caused the hemmorhage, and would've been on bedrest anyway. So, I can't say that treatment up to this point has been wrong. It was just that the Abbott docs dictated what would definitely happen and gave me no hope of resolution. which is why I immediately transferred my care to others. Upon meeting my Dr. Yamamorah, she told me that she'd already spoke with Dr. Rose and they were planning to work together throughout the rest of my pregnancy. She also noted that she was Chief Resident at the time Anabelle was born and that she was involved in our delivery!! Bryon actually remembers her being in the room!! I, on the other hand, was a little preoccupied and didn't register any faces. :) So...it's actually someone who's dealt with me before. I'm just amazed. Dr. Yamamorah advised me to take it slow over the next week to regain the strength I've lost over the past weeks. I'll definitely do that - I'm not going to risk it. She said that I could have a bleed again but since the previa is resolved, it's highly unlikely but could still happen as my placenta continues to move up. I do have some restrictions, similar to any pregnant woman. I have lifting restrictions and have to take breaks as necessary. No straining of any kind allowed. I'll still be on alert but I'm so excited to be able to be up and around and downstairs and outside and to the hair salon and pedicure salon...I could go on and on.

THANK YOU to everyone who has offered prayers ,kind words, and encouragement; supplied the Madson house with items to make my bedrest easier; provided the Madson's with delicious food or gift cards; watched Anabelle; picked Anabelle up from daycare; etc., etc. I know I'm forgetting something...but honestly, I'm just looking around the room and deciding what I'll do next...because I can!!!

I will continue to post messages on here after major appointments to let you all know how we're progressing and after the long-awaited day when our new, fully-developed, little squirmy baby has joined our household.

God is good...very good.

Answers and a plan?

Finally! Tomorrow I have an ultrasound at 8:45 with a follow-up consultation. I've transferred my care to the U of M Maternal Fetal Medicine staff. I actually am scheduled to see one of three doctors my beloved Mayo doctor recommended. Dr. Yamamorah was a resident at Mayo and worked with Dr. Rose. I'm thrilled because I feel she will consult him with any questions she has and will keep him apprised of the situation - as will I. I would love to hear the words, "Your previa is resolved."

I'm driving myself. Bryon will meet me at the clinic (5 minutes away from his office) and will walk me in and park the car. He'll stay for the appt. and then get the car, help me walk out, and I can get home by myself....maybe taking the scenic route. :) I wonder how tired I'll be after my big adventure out into the real world? Not much effort involved in getting up to go to the bathroom....

I'd appreciate any prayers and good thoughts you can spare.

I will update my blog upon my return from my appointments.

Good people surround me

All has gone smoothly this past week. We continue to adjust day by day. TThe newness of it all has begun to wear off. Sure...I can see changes in all of us. Anabelle struggles with the random meltdown - which we rarely experienced before all this happened. Bryon falls asleep so hard at night that he snores loudly - which only happens when he's exhausted. I'm having difficulty with aches and soreness from laying all day and I'm not sleeping all that well at night. What can I expect though, I'm not burning off any energy during the day. But, as a whole, I'll speak for our entire family, we can't complain. I've had no further issues and baby movements are excellent.

I'm still working with the U of M to get my follow up appointment scheduled. I'll get my first whiff of fresh air since my ride home from the hospital two weeks ago. One question I plan on asking is that if a blood transfusion is anticipated, can I bank my own blood? I did some research and found that they let women bank their blood if their hemoglobin is 11 and on the rare occasion they let a level 10 bank. My level is 10. I mean, let's face it, I take a potent cocktail of meds each morning and night. While in the hospital, the nurses weren't allowed to touch one of my meds because it was labeled "hazardous". So, what would "clean" blood do to me during a transfusion? I need my toxic blood. And...yuck, I really don't want someone else's blood. Unless...Bryon and I are the same blood type. Think I could get him to pony up? He's not real keen about needles. I still remember when I was getting my epidural during the last delivery, he was supposed to sit in front of me and hold my hands as I leaned over on a tray. Instead, he turned green/gray and laid his head on the tray. I was giggling so hard that I was scolded because they were trying to carefully place a needle in my spine. His queasiness only led to a nurse following him with a rolling chair for the remainder of the delivery. She was behind him every moment. Ah....good times. :)

Bryon's mom - Jane, came up on Thursday night and stayed Friday. She worked sooooo hard to do the things around the house. She also spent hours just sitting with Anabelle doing every craft you can think of - fingerpainting, cutting, gluing, coloring, etc. Anabelle told me though that Grandma Jane "needs practice" to color as good as she can. :) I think the two of them had a really great time together and I truly appreciated all of her efforts. It's just really nice to have family around.

Of course I knew I'd forget somebody when thanking neighbors (a.k.a. my EP family) in my last email. I neglected to thank Linda for hauling over an extra bed and all the fixings for it. Again this week, several meals were delivered by my kind neighbors. Holly dropped off some chicken noodle soup too for lunch. My brother Brandon and his long-time friend Jeff stopped by. I had spoken with Jeff in years and he was full of good stories - very fun. Yesterday, Anabelle scored after the mail was delivered! She had a fun valentine package from Grandma Clocks (my mom - she started calling her Grandma Clocks because my mom has chiming clocks in her house which Anabelle just loved), she got a card from (follow me on this one) Bryon's high-school friend's mom, Iris Goodnature - she got her very own Pizza Hut gift card. :) She also had two boxes delivered from Amazon.com. We didn't know who sent them until she opened them. She received fun shrinkydinks and her own walkie-talkies! Very fun! They were from my coworker Shibani. How extremely kind and thoughtful of her! A very fun surprise. My aunt Kim was also extremely kind and generous to send us kind words and a gift card for our favorite takeout restaurant - Pei Wei's. It's Asian cuisine. Yum.

Plain and simple....people are so generous and thoughtful. When I get up and out of here (with a new, healthy, wiggly baby in my arms), I'm going to find a way to show my immense gratitude - besides words.

Sighs of Relief

We've reached the 25-week point! That's one more week behind us and one more week closer to our goal. Last week absolutely flew by, it being my first week at home. I'm having a bit of difficulty with remembering what happened during which week. It's all sort of jumbled. I think I need one of those big calendars on the wall so I can put a big red X through each day finished. Baby and I are doing well. That's one sigh of relief.

My room is looking good! Mom really helped figure out and set up some good additions in here. I now have most of what I need right within arms reach or reachable upon getting up for a bathroom break. This helps all of us feel that we can start to maintain, rather than catch up. Another sigh of relief.

My Mayo Dr. (Dr. Rose), called me last night. We spoke for about 25 minutes. I'd sent him a lengthy email detailing the results of my recent ultrasounds. They directly contradict the films he had in front of him from my January 5. We discussed, in detail, all of the questions I'd asked in my email. I got more information and comfort from him in 25 minutes than I did seeing seven doctors in eight days at Abbott. I'd also asked him if he personally knew and/or could recommend a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor up here. He works very closely with the U of M MFMs and gave me specific names. He then looked up their phone numbers and sent them to me. He also offered to do whatever was necessary to help me transfer my care to them. He offered to make phone calls and send them emails to their personal/home addresses. He also gave me some good pointers to expedite the process of getting all of my medical records to them so they can begin to piece together the puzzle. He also sent me four educational articles on the various symptoms which I am presenting. I also mentioned that Abbott planned on taking care of the endocervical polyp approximately 6-8 weeks after delivery. I told him that I would definitely have that taken care of at Mayo. He immediately offered to set that all up and take complete care of me upon me notifying of my delivery. Let me just say this....he is simply WONDERFUL!!!! And that, is a HUGE sigh of relief to finally have some answers and to know that he is there to help me throughout this pregnancy.

Lastly, I cannot say enough about my neighbors and their unbelievable kindness. These women (and men) make the most wonderful meals! They make it so easy for Bryon to come home after a busy day and dish up plates for us. No dishes to wash (remember - we were just about to install a dishwasher before this incident), and no big mess to clean up. That gives him time to give baths, tend to laundry, etc. before going to bed. Some of these fabulous women have even delivered me lunch too! Thank you Stacy, Julie, Diane, Laura, and Jane! Another big thank you goes to Melissa, Oksana, Stacy, and Julie who have jumped in to help with Anabelle and to also help grab a few groceries or various items needed (Valentine's). :) Many neighbors have stopped by or called or brought by treats too, thank you - we truly appreciate all of your kindness. That is also a sigh of relief.

Here's hoping time continues to fly by!

Getting situated

It is so nice having my mom here. I feel like Bryon feels less pressure to take care of 100% of the needs of this household, even if for a short time. My room was a bit chaotic because we'd just begun to construct a third bedroom when this all happened. We'd placed the items from the open loft in various places, including my room...which is now my sole living space. I'd piled loose pictures that needed to be put into photo albums, lamps, miscellaneous parts to toys, etc. These all came from our large computer desk that had storage drawers. We cut up that desk and purchased a new sleeker version with no storage space. So you can imagine my room was a bit cluttered. Mom listened intently as I directed her where to put all the "stuff" while Bryon was at work and Anabelle was napping. It feels and looks soooo much better now. I have a table and chairs in here now so that Bryon and Anabelle can comfortably join me for meals and people can actually visit without sitting on the edge of my bed or standing. I also have more work space for my computer and other stuff I need. We also put away several items that I know I won't be using for several months. It opened up space. Bryon, Anabelle, and my mom are out right now with a lengthy list to fill in the gaps. I need a dorm-style shelving unit in which I can put my work files, medical files, magazines, etc. I also need more sheets, pillows, pillow cases, egg crates for my mattress, a picnic kit (so Bryon doesn't have to set me up with the essentials each morning), and a bunch of other items. I'm just trying to become as independent as possible in here so that I can alleviate at least some of the stress.

My mom also cleaned my ceiling fan blades - now I don't have to stare daily at the plaster dust. :) It's so nice.

I was able to work quite a bit today while Anabelle and my mom went to Edinborough Park (Adventure Park - big climbing tree, jumping house, etc) and during her nap. I feel like I'm finally catching up! Yay! It feels refreshing to still be able to keep functioning in that capacity too. They had such a good time at the park. Anabelle NEEDED to get energy out. She simply won't leave my room much and those of you who know her understand that she literally runs 90% of her day.

Let me say again how thankful I am that my mom is here during this first weekend of adjustment.

Up in the air

Yesterday, when the OB nurse was here, she suggested that I prop some pillows under my butt for one hour mid-day so that it takes the pressure off of my cervix/placenta. I did it last night. It didn't feel good and I felt a little sick afterwards. I'll have to call my neighbor to see if she would suggest the same thing.

We have a very large window in our bedroom. It covers most of the wall. I'm so thankful to have that much natural light while I'm in here. And when it's nice enough...April or maybe even late March, I'll be able to open the windows and enjoy the fresh air. It'll be a funny site for the neighbors to see me sniffing out my window like a dog! Any day of the week they can drive by and, if I'm upright, they can see my little head in the window. I've been a bit annoyed when I hear something outside and can't twist to look at it, so as I was putting on some make up this morning, holding a hand mirror, I was able to see all that was going on in the street if I held it up. I keep it next to me now and grab it when I need to check something out. It certainly helps. It's the little things that make a difference these days.

I'll have to remember not to stick too many pillows under me so that the poor neighbors do not have to drive by and see my butt up in the air..... :)

I'm a delinquent blogger already...

I'm sorry! I should've been updating this blog over the past few days but honestly, it seems as though there aren't enough hours in the day! So here's my overdue update.

Thankfully, I was discharged on Monday afternoon. The ride home was a bit uncomfortable because of all the bumps and sharp curves (we had to go through a lengthy construction zone). I was amazed at how tired I was just after a little 20 minute car trip!

I'm at home now, snuggled in my bed/living space. Over the past few days I've been trying to balance resting, organizing (i.e. telling others what to do to help me organize), being a snuggly mom, and getting my work stuff settled. I am very conscious of the needs of my body though. I can certainly tell when I've been sitting up too long and now have discovered how long I can be in the shower (got dizzy this morning). My back is doing alright - adjusting to this bed again, but my neck is killing me because I have no support while sitting up. I can't wait for my bedlounge chair to arrive so that I'll have full support when I need to be sitting up at an angle. It should arrive soon.

The OB home team came today. They hooked me up to the monitor and I'm still contraction free and baby is thriving. The nurse decided that she'd recommend that I have my own monitoring system delivered so that I can monitor myself twice daily. That seems to give me some sort of comfort to see for myself that everything is stable. Plus, I can alert them quickly if I see something is off. They'll now be visiting once a week - since I'll be able to monitor by myself. I also am so blessed that my neighbor is an antepardom/labor and delivery nurse that is a stay-at-home mom for the past year.

My neighbors are trying out yummy recipes on us - which seems to remove some of the stress for Bryon (and ultimately me). He's still on overdrive...makes me worry. And there's not a thing I can do to help him - other than do what I can with words. Hopefully over the next few weeks things will sort of calm down and he won't feel so behind, he'll just have to maintain - which is enough in itself.

Anabelle seems to be adjusting well. Instead of running back and forth through the living and dining areas, she now just runs down the hallway and through my bedroom - of course pretending she is Grumpy and I'm Doc....and Daddy is either Snow White or Cinderella. :) I love it. She spends a lot of time snuggling with me and the look on her face when she gets home from daycare on Tuesday and Wednesday is precious. She grins from ear to ear and says, "I'm home!!" She's soooooo happy to see me waiting for her. I think Bry finds much relief in me doing her hair for school in the mornings. He really worked at it on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and he could never understand how I could do it so easily and why his attempts didn't turn out like mine. I'm glad I can at least do that.

My mom is coming up tomorrow to help out for a few days. As much as I sincerely appreciate everyone's help, I personally feel like when I ask her to get something or help out with something, I'm not asking a favor. This alleviates the guilt that one in my condition would naturally have. I'm trying to put myself in their shoes - of course I'd do anything without thinking twice. It's just a thought process I'll continue to work through.

Upon research, I've found that those typically in my position go through a series of emotions. Apparently I get to look forward to denial, shock, depression, sadness, and finally enjoyment as the end draws near. I've apologized in advance to Bryon of who I may become. I told him to focus on the end point where I'll return to my "old" self. I will return. :)

Eating in bed is g-r-o-s-s! Even though I eat on a tray, I feel like I'm sitting in a bed of crumbs and I can't get up and shake them off! :) I wasn't always the most pristine eater to begin with (often there was a slop spot on my shirt), and now I can't sit completely upright...I just keep getting more beautiful each day. Ha!