Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The big bleed - Part 1

Wed 18 Jan 2012

I was working from home and from the bed as I had a really bad maigraine that day. I remember diligently catching up on my emails, looking over a set of materials I needed to prepare for a training session and setting up various meetings with my colleagues from other office sites. I recall taking a nap during lunch time and feeling much better. I was even chatting with my DH on msn telling him how I was getting so much done and preparing for my conference call that was scheduled for 6:00pm that evening.

All of a sudden, I felt light headed and felt my heart beat just that little faster. I was sitting cross legged on the bed with my laptop and pinged DH on MSN saying I just felt a strange sensation. I decided to get up at 5:30 to go to the bathroom before setting up for the conference call. It was then that something went really wrong as I felt a huge woosh of pressure after I stood up.

I made my way to the bathroom and almost passed out in shock when I looked at my underwear. It was filled with fresh red blood and more kept dripping. It was like a blood filled water bomb had just exploded all over my underwear. Seeing red during any point in a pregnancy is never a good sign and somehow I snapped out of my shock and started calling for my nanny for help.

My only thought at that time was to keep my daughter away from the disturbing sight. I called and called and unfortunately the inquisitive dear came running. I shut the door and asked her to call for the nanny to come. My nanny is a trained staff nurse and quickly told me to call the hospital. I rang my midwife and she told me to get into the hospital quick. She will arrange for an OB to wait for me as she had a parentcraft class with 40 persons waiting for her.

For some reason, I stopped that 2 minutes to send an email to my boss to let her know that I wouldn't be making the 6pm conference call due to a trip to the hospital. What was I thinking? I don't know either.

I rang my neighbour and requested that Ayi (we share the same Ayi) head down to grab a cab for me. It was peak hour and peak hour traffic in Shanghai equates to massive traffic jams with little hope for any cabs. I then grabbed my bag and a towel to sit on and as calmly as I could took the lift to the first floor. It was winter dark and cold. I was in my jammies and could feel blood gushing with every step I took.

Ayi was nowhere in sight and I saw a cab that was loading a travel bag and a Chinese lady who was getting in. I quickly prayed and approached as fast as I could, begging for her to let me have the cab. I told her I was miscarrying and needed to get to the hospital quick. She insisted that she needed to get to the airport and I pleaded again. She finally relented and I begged the cabbie to drive as fast as he could.

The hospital is normally a 10 minute ride away, but with peak traffic, we came to a standstill at various points in our journey there. During this time, I rang my husband who was outstationed but couldn't reach him. I then rang my mom who was travelling in Taiwan and we prayed together. It was only then that it hit me that I could be losing the baby and that God was the only One who is really in control at this point. A feeling of calm and peace came over me and I remember hearing a quiet voice telling me that no matter what happens, I will be alright in the end. I got DH who was really calm and told me to do what I needed to do and keep him informed.

I then rang my IVF Doc in Singapore and she too picked up on the first ring. She assured me that I needed to stay calm to allow the uterus to relax as much as it can and not to walk too fast. She sounded amazed that I was alone on the way to the hospital and assured me as best as she could over the phone.

We finally made it to the hospital after 25 minutes or so and I walked to the OB-GYN clinic to find my midwife, the nurses and the sonographer all waiting for me, even though they were supposed to have knocked off an hour before. My midwife managed to get her team to stay to wait for me to arrive - what a blessing! We did a quick scan to ascertain that baby was alright and she decided to admit me for observation after we consulted with my OB who was also on duty that night.

I was quickly directed to the ward where I found that DH had sent our driver to check me out. I can tell you on hindsight that it is hilarious to see this huge big guy looking out of place at the L&D floor as we walked past him. I was settled into a bed and changed into scrubs and told to wait it out till 8 to 9pm when both my OB doctor and midwife will come by to discuss the situation with me. I was cramping all this while and it was reassuring to hear from the Dr that it is really natural for that to happen.

(To be continued)

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