My Little Warriors

For those who haven't yet heard about the scariest week I've ever lived, this past week has been it. Monday night/ tuesday morning Krysten woke up in the middle of the night with unusual chest pains. She got up and checked her blood pressure which she has been monitoring because it was high at her last appointment. Her blood pressure was really high so she called the hospital because the Dr.'s office was obviously closed. They told us to come in and upon arrival they started doing a few tests.

They quickly labeled her high risk and sent us to labor and delivery. They told us she has a condition called preclamsia and began explaining what that is. Her body is having a reaction to being pregnant(the placenta is the culprit) and it causes high blood pressure and can be very dangerous to her and the baby. It can quickly damage and shut down organs with small blood vessels. For her that means kidneys and liver, for the baby that means placenta. The cause is being pregnant, so the solution is to no longer be pregnant aka deliver our little guy six weeks before he is due.

Delivering our little man six weeks early isn't ideal but there comes a point where he is safer on the outside than the inside. The mother will quickly recover once the placenta is delivered so its a matter of crossing the line when mother and baby are no longer safe. Luckily, in five days we have not yet crossed that line. Krysten has been in the hospital on strict bedrest hooked to an IV and monitors.

Tuesday and Wednesday were very intense, frightening days. My dad and I gave Krysten a blessing Tuesday and all of the family has been praying hard everyday. Throughout the week my two little warriors have managed to surprise doctors and nurses with how well they are doing. Krysten has felt fine the entire time(the chest pains stopped not long after we were admitted)and has been much stronger under pressure than I, and our little man hasn't even flinched. He has been rock solid. Not a single sign of trouble from him. His daddy however, has been fit to be tied. Never have I been so afraid as this week as I HELPLESSly watched and waited. At one point I asked if they could run down to the veteranarian and get me a horse sedative.

This morning we met with the Dr., as we do every morning, to hear the verdict on the latest tests. He is pleasantly surprised to see that Krysten and baby continue to be stable and are showing signs of improvement which he says is almost unheard of with this condition. Usually you give the baby as much time as you can afford before the condition progresses and you have to deliver. Her blood pressure is down and if other tests show improvement tomorrow we will get to continue strict bedrest at home. As far as how much more time our little man gets before his arrival, that is the answer we won't have until he is here. The greatest challenge of this entire experience has been taking it one day at a time without any idea of what tomorrow will bring. But my spirits are lifting as we are being blessed with miracles and as I watch my two little warriors show me what tough is.