Renee's Story
  jrslider@coserv.net
My husband and I were married in June 1997. We had gone to school together since the first grade-never dated, but were always good friends. He and I are both crazy about kids, and knew from the beginning that it was something we would do. Valentine's Day 1999 he gave me a gift bag full of baby items (pajamas, pacifier, baby name book, pregnancy calender, etc). That was his way of telling me that he was ready and it was the sweetest moment ever! We made the decision to officially start trying to have a baby on October 31, 1999.

Four and a half months later, I decided to take a pregnancy test one morning before going to work. I was running late and didn't really have time to wait for the outcome (strange, I know) so I threw it in the cabinet under the bathroom sink so Justin wouldn't see it and gripe at me for "rushing things". That night, when I came home I went straight for the bathroom cabinet.

I was very excited to see an ever-so-faint second line on the pregnancy test. Justin was gone hunting for the evening so I quickly called my friend (who had just found out she was pregnant) and ask her what she thought. We decided I should take another test. By the time Justin came home that night I had taken three tests - all of which were somewhat different from each other. Our decision was that I should take another. To shorten this part of the story-all in all I took SEVEN pregnancy tests, including the one at the doctor's office at my first pre-natal visit.

That visit was on a Thursday afternoon, and I told the mid-wife that I had had some mild cramping and she assured me that it was the uterine muscles already expanding. That Saturday night, we were at my mom and dad's house and I started cramping pretty bad. We came home and I went to lay on the bed for a while and felt better after about an hour. On Sunday, my stomach was sore just like your calf muscles are sore after you've had a bad leg cramp during the night. Monday I was fine, still completely ecstatic over being pregnant. Tuesday morning about 11:00 A.M. (while at work) was when everything changed. From this moment on everything is a blur, but at the same time I remember every detail.

I went into an empty office at work and tried to relax in a chair after taking some Tylenol. This wasn't helping so I decided to go lay down in my car for a while. After about 30 minutes, I just wanted to go home and get my pantyhose off. I don't know how, but I managed to drive myself home which was approximately 15 miles. I immediately grabbed my What to Expect When You're Expecting and flipped to the page I had already read on the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy. In my heart I knew this was what was happening. My mom happened to call for me at work and they told her I had gone home not feeling well. I was so glad to hear her voice when she called. I was too upset to call my doctor's office so she made the call for me. They have an automated system so she left a message for the nurse. You have to understand why we didn't go to any further extremes than we did right away. I have never been one to withstand pain very well. Since then my mom has told me that she wasn't sure how bad I was really hurting, and I too didn't know whether I was just being a big baby or not. The pain eased after a little bit, so I made my way to the kitchen and thought if I ate a bagel it would help.

About 3:00 that afternoon, the pain was back and I made another phone call to the doctor's office. They finally called me back about 3:20 P.M. and told me to  come right in after I told them my symptoms (although my mom and I both had briefed them on my symptoms over the voice message). My husband was home from work by this time and I was so relieved. Like I said, in my heart I knew that this was all about to end so, being as prissy as I am, I took a shower and shaved my legs before going to the doctor's office. After the car ride to the doctor, a vaginal exam by three different people, and a vaginal ultrasound I was in a great deal of pain. My right tube had already ruptured and my abdomen was filling with blood. I still clearly remember them pointing out the "black" on the screen during the ultrasound. By this time it was 5:00 P.M. and the doctor that would be doing my surgery had also just done the ultrasound. This was the first time I had met him, but I already loved his mannerism and was very impressed. He said that I would need to go straight over to the hospital and check in through the emergency room, and he would be right behind us. My husband and I have never been so scared.

They got me into a room and a nurse came in to start the IV. Knowing my history with needles I told her to be very careful because last time I had a shot I got sick and almost passed out (remember I am a big baby when it comes to stuff like this). She was very sweet, but had trouble finding my veins. She said not only were they small, but I was starting to dehydrate. By this time I had an entire waiting room full of people there-parents, brother, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends. News travels fast in small towns. Finally, after what  seemed to be an eternity without pain medicine, they were finally ready for me in the OR. Several people came to get me including my (new) doctor and the anesthesiologist. Boy, was I glad to see him. I just wanted him to knock me out and get rid of the pain. Looking back on it now, I wish I would have thought more about what I was losing at the time-my first baby.

After coming out from under all the anesthesia that night (about midnight), I began asking questions. I immediately asked my husband "What did they take out?" I didn't like the look on his face, but quickly fell back to sleep. After about three more times of asking him this question and still getting the same look I turned to my mother for an answer. I got the same look and also the same answer. They, of course, "removed the pregnancy" and I also had a  salpingectomy. I no longer had my right tube, but still have the right ovary. My doctor told me that he would go in through the naval and I would get to go home that night. Because of complications during surgery, I now have about a four and a half inch scar horizontal across my lower abdomen. The lab reported that I had lost too much blood and they made the large incision to stop the bleeding more quickly. Funny enough, the lab reported the wrong blood test results, but it worked to my advantage. After the incision was made they found that scar tissue was on the outside of a lot of things and was connecting some things together. They "cleaned this up" and said they saw no signs of endometriosis.  I still wonder what that could have been. If any of you have any experience with something like this please share this with me. 

The next night after everyone left and it was just me and husband in the room was when I lost it. He had talked me into getting up and walking around a bit and it was then that I realized what I had been through and what all had happened. After two nights in the hospital, I got to come home. As crazy as it was, we had already set up the crib, the changing table and were starting to get our ideas together about the nursery. My husband came home, before I was released from the hospital and put everything away for me. I was so thankful.