Friday, November 4, 2011

Day 3–Gratitude Challenge–Griffin’s birth story

100_7898Today I am thankful for my son, Griffin.  God has blessed David and I  with a very caring, sensitive, talented boy.

I’ve never shared my kids birth stories on my blog so I thought this would be a great time to do so. 

David and I really didn’t “try to have a baby.  But, we really didn’t not “try” either.  So, in the summer of 1998, we realized we were gonna be parents.  I kinda thought I was pregnant so when we were out one evening we bought a pregnancy test at Walmart.  I’m not a patient person.  Neither is David.  So, the next store we went to I went in the bathroom and took the test.  Too funny, huh?  It was Pet Smart.  LOL   So, I told my husband we were having a baby in the dog toy aisle of Pet Smart.   We were so excited. 

And scared.

I’m sure all of feelings of anxiety were the same as all new parents have.  Would we good parents?  Would the baby be healthy?    I went to the doctor about 3 weeks later and found out the due date was February 5, 1999.  

Around Thanksgiving, I started getting sick.  The doctor said I had a virus.  I went to the ER and they said I had an ear infection.  So, I was put on antibiotics.  I kept feeling worse.  I couldn’t eat much of anything.  I remember sitting at the table making myself eat rice because I knew that I needed to eat for the baby.  I pretty much was throwing up everything I ate.  The only thing I could keep down was liquids. 

This went on for about 3 weeks.  I would go to my OB and he would say I was good.  Blood pressure and everything looked good.  I knew something was wrong so I started going to my family doctor also.  When I would go to his office my blood pressure would be really high.   He thought my problem was my liver or spleen.  My hands and feet were bright red.   So, on December 17th I had blood work done at the doctor’s office.  By this point, I was throwing up blood and couldn’t even keep liquids down.  I knew I was really sick.  I was glad that they finally were going to find out what was wrong with me.  I waited to hear the results.

And waited.

And waited.

On Sunday, the 20th of December, my Mom called my OB and told him that my blood pressure was 140/120 and that I couldn’t eat or drink.  He said I could go to the ER and have it checked out but he was sure I was fine.  (He was an idiot, needless to say.)

I got to the hospital and when they took my blood pressure they thought that the machine was broke.  They got another one and realized it really was correct.  It was 160/140.   I really don’t remember much of any of this.  They looked up my blood work that I had done earlier that week and couldn’t find the results.  So, I had more blood work done.  I heard the nurse say that Dr. Hay (my OB) said to take labs to appease me and then send me home.  Like I said, he was an idiot.   My labs were so high that they admitted me immediately.  By the time Dr. Hay got there the house doctor on call had already told us that we would be having a baby very soon.   He knew immediately upon seeing me and looking at my labs that I had HELLP syndrome.   Funny, a 2nd year resident knew more than my OB.   In fact, my sister, who had just finished nursing school had asked Dr. Hay if I could possibly have this and he said no way.  It’s pretty rare but I did indeed have this.   Thankfully there were no lasting complications from this.  When I have blood work, my liver enzymes are crazy but that shouldn’t affect me later. 

They started Pitocin and said we would have a baby within 5 or 6 hours.  Immediately upon starting this the baby’s heart rate dropped and they decided to do an emergency c-section.   Really the only thing I remember about this was them taking all of my earrings out (I had 6) and giving me a shot to develop the babies lungs.  He was being born almost 6 weeks early. 

I know David was really scared.  I just remember thinking I wasn’t going to live.  I felt so bad.  They gave me Mag Sulfate to keep me from having seizures.  It was the worse thing I have ever had.  I saw rats come out of the light fixtures, kitties on the counter and two of everything else.    I was so hot I felt like I was on fire. 

We knew the babies name was going to be Griffin Michael.  Griffin after my Mom (it is her maiden name) and Michael after David (his middle name).  It was funny, cuz he looked nothing like a Griffin.  He was so pale and had white fuzz all over him.   He had really pale white hair and not much of it.  He was so tiny.  He weighed 4 lbs and 10 oz and was 17 1/2 inches long. 

David had to go buy a preemie outfit for him to get his pictures taken in.  It was huge on him.    I feel really bad cuz I can’t find the picture.  I just saw them the other day and now I don’t see it.  I’ll add it as soon as I find them.

I stayed in the hospital for 5 days and Griffin stayed for 11.  He was overall pretty healthy.  He just had trouble eating because he was early.  He had apnea and would quit breathing when he was sucking.  We were so thankful because he didn’t need oxygen or anything.  David saw this cuz he fed him and even gave him a bath before I knew what was going on.  He only had the apnea for the first two days but they kept him 11 days to make sure he was okay. 102_8283

I was so scared that something was going to happen.  I remember sleeping in the recliner (well not really sleeping) with him on my lap because I Was so afraid he would quit breathing. 

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He is such a blessing in our lives and I thank God for him every day.    He is now almost 13 years old.  I can’t believe 102_8287it.   He has grown into such an amazing young man.  He loves God and isn’t afraid to tell anyone who asks.  He has a huge heart.   He is always standing up for the kids who don’t have friends or are picked on.  I have seen him on more than one occasion walk away from kids who are talking about other’s . 

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He loves music.  He is an excellent guitar player (just ask us, we’ll tell ya)  Here is a video of him playing last July at our old church.  He did such a great job.   Sorry for the quality.  I’m not a great video taker. 

 

David and me are so proud of him.  We pray that he will continue to follow God’s plan for his life.   He was baptized last August and has his certificate hanging on his wall.  

He used to say he was going to be either a rock star or a garbage truck driver.  LOL   Funny thing is, we don’t care what he is.  We just want him to love Jesus with all of his heart so we can one day spend eternity in Heaven as a family.

After the experience I had with Griffin, we swore we would never have another baby.  

We changed our minds. . . . .  . .  Come back tomorrow to find out about our next miracle. 

Make sure you go check out what everyone else is thankful for over at Garden of Learning.

9 comments:

Heidi said...

What a sweet story! Thanks for sharing it.

Rodna Allman said...

This is such a sweet story. I am so glad everything turned out OK. What is HELLP?

I am up for getting healthy together. :)

Assistant said...

That about brought me to tears. Amazing story! God is so good! Your son is so handsome :)

The Happy Homeschool Mom said...

What a wonderful story! They thought my SIL had HELLP with her 1st pregnancy, but thankfully she didn't.

Debbie said...

Wow! What a dramatic and scary birth story. I'm glad everyone ended up healthy. I laughed to read about taking the pregnancy test in Pet Smart. Funny!

Debbie said...

Thank you for sharing your (Griffin's) story. It reminds me that the Lord cares and is working in the midst of everything.

Naomi said...

Thank you for sharing this story! It is a shame that like everything else, not all doctors are created equal. Our family has experienced this, too, from the patient side and the medical employee side, too.

It is so wonderful how God can use what many might consider a "lowly resident" to help you!

Thank you for stopping by to comment and follow on my blog. I am following you, as well. :-)

Unknown said...

Awww.. That is so precious!

Thanks for following me. I loved reading your birth story, and I love the gratitude challenge because reading everyone else's posts are so encouraging.

I followed you as well.

Amy B

My Little Corner said...

Thanks for following me. What an amazing birth story!

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