Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Lung Update

Today, I went to see the pulmonary specialist. I learned that blood clots are the #1 complication in pregnancy & the #2 cause of maternal death, though it is most common with first pregnancies & woman who've had previous blood clots. WOW! He also said 10% first time cases result in death. All of this knowledge leads me to praise God for preserving my life!

The dr said he would have done an ultrasound of my legs when I was first admitted to help find the cause of the blood clots but it is too late now because the Lovenox would prevent any new blood clots from forming & my body would have already dissolved any remaining clots. It will take up to 2 weeks for the blood clots in my lungs to dissolve. I will remain on the med for my entire pregnancy, going off 1-2 days before my induction & then returning to my med for 30-90 days afterward. The med is safe for pregnancy & nursing. Once I'm off the Lovenox, they will run some blood tests to monitor me & check for underlining symptoms.

The good news from today is that I am free to return to my normal activities. YAHOO!!! You have no idea how happy that makes me! :) I do need to rest when I'm tired, which still happens more frequently. So, I'll keep accepting help this week. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love from God's people! You all are amazing!

The hardest news of the day was that I will need to be on Lovenox for all of my additional pregnancies. This means no more home births. EVER. This brought tears to my eyes. I'm going to have to do a lot of praying about this. It's hard to put into words how hard it is to say goodbye to home midwifery. But I told Eric that maybe the Lord is preparing me in a new way for midwifery, which has always been a dream of mine to do. I trust that my God ordains all things for the good of His people!

I'll go back to see the dr in 2 months.
Again, thank you for your continual help & prayers!
- Heather

2 comments:

dawn said...

So happy to hear the good reports! Continuing to pray for you and the little one.[hugs]

Jeanelle said...

Wow! That was an earfull. So glad God has seen fit to preserve your life and the life of your little one. I know hospital births will be hard for you, but God will give you the grace you need when that time comes.