I promised I would find the time to write today and so here goes. Stella is here now and so I finally have a little break. Thankfully Jay had a good night last night and we all managed to sleep in this morning which was great. Despite his good night, though, he still sounds awful and each time he coughs I feel so sorry for him because he sounds so terrible.
My awful week actually started on Monday. I woke up and couldn’t stop vomiting. I had vomited three times on Sunday night and then first thing as I woke up. By the time Greg arrived home with lunch for me, I’d puked six times and still felt terrible. I tried to eat something, but could barely even nibble at it. Then I puked again. Greg wanted me to call the school, but I didn’t want to let them down. So, I went to the dressing room and tried to get ready. Greg found me puking and crying whilst trying to get dressed and said that in no uncertain terms was I going to work, that I was going straight to the hospital. He called the school for me. We were going to take a taxi, but I preferred riding my scooter because then I could pull over and puke if I needed to. I got to the hospital and I saw the OBGYN. He was really kind and sweet and did a complete CBC for me and hooked me up to a special IV that had added vitamins and electrolytes. He said that my liver and kidney function was normal, but that my electrolytes were very low and he wanted me to stay for two IV’s. Unfortunately, IV’s don’t really stop the nausea, but they do usually stop the vomiting so by the time I left I was still nauseas, but felt way better and didn’t puke again in the two days following that which was some sort of record. The doctor also checked the baby and everything was fine. It was swimming around, blissfully unaware of what it was doing to Mommy! And the whole thing only cost me NT450! Sammy gave me a call while I was still in there and she was so sweet and kind and told me not to worry about anything and just to rest and take it easy. I was so relieved because I felt like I’d given them such short notice and was worried she would be annoyed.
On Thursday I started puking again, but it was maybe only 3 or 4 times that day. Friday was the same and then Saturday rolled around and I puked three times in the morning and it got steadily worse at night. I took a nap and woke up at 9:30pm and knew I was going to be sick. I vomited and then vomited and vomited. I couldn’t keep anything down and couldn’t drink anything. Greg was awake because Jay was sick and coughing and crying and he wouldn’t sleep. Poor Greg, he had his hands full. I was out of action so he had to look after Jay and then the dogs did something they hardly ever do and peed in the kitchen! At around 3:30am I was still puking and it was just bile. Each time I would hope it was finished and I’d feel okay for about 5 minutes before I could feel it building up again. So it was back to the hospital. I knew there would only be a skeleton staff on duty (it being THE most important day of the Chinese calendar), but I hadn’t expected how bad it would be. I thought I would puke as I walked in and then I got all tearful thinking of Greg at home with my sick little baby. So, I was already half crying when I registered. I told them what the problem was and then I got to see the on-call doctor who was mean, mean, mean! I sat down and he said, “What?” and I figured he’d at least look at my chart, but he didn’t. I said, “I have hyperemesis.” He looked at me blankly and I had to explain that it was severe nausea and vomiting (should have figured right then he’d be a problem). He said, “Diarrhea?” and I said no, then “Abdominal pain?” and I said no again. Then he asked if I’d be willing to have an x-ray. I said no, that I was three month’s pregnant. Then he just about laughed in my face and said, “But then this is just because of your pregnancy. You don’t need to come to the ER. You need a good OBS.” I was livid and I was crying and I tried to explain that I DID have a good OBS and that it was just that the vomiting was too severe and I needed an IV. He even made some joke at my expense to the nurse in Chinese. Really, he had no idea what I was going through. People who don’t understand this condition often judge those that have it as just being overly sensitive or not able to handle their pregnancy when it’s a real thing and women have died from it before. He even came to my bedside at one point and again told me not to come to the ER, but to go to an OBGYN. I told him that I DID have an OBGYN, was already on medication for nausea and vomiting and had been INSTRUCTED by him to come to the ER if the vomiting got so severe that I couldn’t keep anything down. Eventually he left me in peace. The saline drip helped a bit but by the time it was done I still felt nauseas. By then the OBGYN was on duty and so I was taken upstairs. He was much kinder and understanding and said that an IV was definitely necessary in my situation. He also did an ultrasound and the baby was fine. He said to stop the vomiting, he’d give me a special injection in the ER. So, when I went back the nurse gave it to me in my shoulder. She warned that it would be painful and it really was. I think it was because it was right in the muscle and then the nurse still had to press it and move it around and it just burned. But after a while I did start to feel better.
At around 8am I was okay enough to go home and when I got home Jay and Greg were fast asleep, but it wasn’t long before Jay woke up and started coughing. Greg and I were really worried because the cough sounded awful and so Greg took him to the ER (at the other hospital where he was born as I figured they’d have his records). I couldn’t go with them because I was still not well, but Greg took him. Usually the pediatrician is open, but due to it being Chinese New Year everything was closed. Now he has lots of medicine to take, but he hates it and it’s quite a mission getting him to take it. I hope he gets better soon. I feel so sorry for my little boy. It’s also worse because he is teething. He got his first tooth on Tuesday and then his second on Wednesday. Both of them are at the bottom and look so cute.
At the moment Jay is having his bath. He still sounds awful, but at least he doesn’t have a fever anymore. He loves to hold things and shake them, whatever he holds. Sometimes he’ll shake something and his whole body will move up and down and often even if he is just shaking the object with one hand his other hand will shake along with it. It looks really cute. Stella thinks he is “fat” now, but I think she just means that he is filling out because he definitely isn’t a fat baby.
I went to see the doctor on Thursday and he was happy I’d been to the hospital (not happy I’d needed to, but happy I’d gotten the IV). I’m past the 3-month milestone so I just hope that means that soon I’ll start to feel better and that the vomiting will stop. Right now I feel pretty good and I managed to eat quite a bit at the restaurant so I’m happy about that. I also hope that there are no more bleeding scares in store for me. At the beginning there I got really tired of wondering if this baby was going to make it or if I was going to lose it. I think I’ve accepted that things are fine now, but still if you see blood you know it puts all the fear right back in you. I just have to take it easy and remember not to lift anything heavy (I mean other things besides Jay).
Okay, let me be off. Stella is about to leave and it’s time for us to take over. I’ve told her that she can come earlier tomorrow if she wants and then leave earlier. Annie is also coming around tomorrow evening. She was supposed to come over on Sunday, but after everything that happened that night we took a rain check. I’m making macaroni cheese and a salad and we’ll watch a movie. I’m looking forward to it and glad that even though we’re finding time to relax, that we still are doing enjoyable things during our vacation.
Lots of love
Em x
(snippets from February 2010)
