A Gift From God & My Angel Zane By Ness Well if you have read my lost angel story “Zane - Angel Boy”, you will know of my background with infertility due to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. August 1998 we again started Clomid trying to conceive. This time something wasn’t working, I was ovulating but my HCG levels were not good. So in January I again had another laparoscopy and had some cysts punctured. We continued on with Clomid and in February I was again taking 200mg, if I did not conceive that month, I was off to the fertility specialists. Well March arrived and I was not pregnant so had an appointment with the fertility clinic. Here we discussed my history and it was decided that I would start injections of Gonal-F immediately. So my dh & I learnt how to mix the drug and give me injections in the stomach every day. Every 2nd day I went back to the clinic to have blood tests and tv scans to check the progress of follicles - as there is a fear of hyperstimulation of the ovaries. Around day 18 it was decided that there is a mature follicle so I could now take the HCG injection so the follicle would release the egg. We did the rest the way nature intended, and then waited to see. Well April arrived and it hadn’t worked. So we started the merry-go-round all over again. This time the drug was increased in strength and again we did injections, blood tests and scans. By day 20 my hormone levels were good and it was decided I take the HCG injection to release the egg and again do the natural thing. A couple of days later I again took another HCG injection to help the lining of the uterus should an egg want to implant. So we waited to see, if it didn’t work this time, we would do the same again next month but also do an artificial insemination. By day 35 I still did not have a period, so off I went to have a pregnancy test. We couldn’t believe it, after 2 cycles of injections, it was confirmed that I was pregnant on the 26th May, 1999. Wow, we were so ecstatic. Now the wait - at week 7 we had our first u/s and sure enough there is just one little bundle developing nicely. Week 8, Zane’s anniversary and also my first appointment with my gyn/ob, again another u/s, still only one little bundle with a strong beating heart. We discussed doing a shirodkar cerclage at 13/14 weeks and he wanted to see me every 2 weeks. Week 10, back to my gyn/ob, another u/s and we can see a tiny little body, head, arm & leg buds starting. We decided on a date to have the shirodkar placed when I will be 12 weeks 3 days. I started taking some antibiotics a few days before the procedure to ward off any chance of infection. The day before I was due to have my cerclage placed, I had a bloody, mucousy show and rushed to my ob to be checked. It’s ok, my cervix was still closed, but I go into hospital that night just in case. The next day, my cerclage was placed and my cervix was already a little soft. During the next few months, I saw my ob every 2 weeks for a check up, my cervix was holding fine, my blood pressure tended to be up but this was due to anxiety as once he checked my cervix my blood pressure came back down again. At 20 weeks we went for our level II u/s and discovered that we were having a little girl and that everything is perfect, we even measured my cervix and it is still nice and long. Week 21 and we started our birthing classes, just in case this little girl decided to come early. A couple of weeks later and I failed my 1 hour GTT miserably, so had to do the 3 hour GTT that I only just passed. The remainder of my pregnancy progressed nicely, I was still working full time as a secretary, but rested lots at home. I finished work on the 13th December, planning to have 6 weeks off before my due date. On the 20th December just short of my 34th week, I had an appt with my gyn/ob and told him that I really thought there was some changes going on with my cervix as I was sure I could feel her head bobbing around. He decided he would check me today and not check me again until 38 weeks, when we would take the cerclage out anyway. First he felt my stomach to see what position she was in and was surprised that he could not clearly feel her head even though she was down. But once he checked my cervix, we realized where her head was, she was sitting right down and my cervix had started to shorten and soften. I was put on some Ventolin syrup to hopefully stop any contractions that I might have. Well on Wednesday night 22-12 I started having some contractions and went to L&D, they monitored me for a while and my gyn/ob checked me. My cervix wasn’t doing anything, so we increased the Ventolin and went home to rest completely. Spent Thursday in bed, Friday ob rings me to see how I am and organized more Ventolin to get me over Christmas till my next appt. He also made sure that I was staying put on Christmas Day and that I knew how to contact him should I need. Christmas day and my dh & I spent the day at home quietly, we had a nice little lunch together and just relaxed. We went to bed around 11.00pm and at 12.10am I woke up and thought I have to go to the toilet quickly, just as I got there my water broke. I woke my dh up and told him I think they’ve broke, so I wait a couple of minutes and yep I’m still leaking and now having a contraction. So dh gets dressed and gets the car out, I paged my gyn/ob and rang the hospital. While I’m on the phone to the hospital my gyn/ob was ringing me back on my mobile and told me to get the hospital to ring him when I got there. I still had my shirodkar cerclage in and we needed to get it out. We left home around 12.30am and arrived at hospital L&D about 1.00am, they hooked me up to the monitors and yes, I was contracting. My gyn/ob arrived and took my cerclage out during a contraction, I didn’t feel a thing and no pain relief. Immediately I had dilated 2-3cm. He then said he’ll see me again in a few hours and seeing as we hadn’t had time to discuss pain relief would I like to start off with some gas and then get an epidural if I need too, I agree. The midwife asked him if I was allowed to get up and about should I want and he said ok, just keep monitoring till 2.00am. My body was working so hard and fast that I vomited. By 1.50am I couldn’t stand it anymore and just wanted to get up and into the shower for some heat relief. My dh is trying to fill out my menu and kept asking me what I wanted to eat between contractions (big LOL it was hilarious). Well gravity was working and I really needed to push, so we called my midwife back (who thought she would go have a quick cup of tea). So I got dried off and back on the bed, my midwife told me to really push with my next contraction, as she wanted to see if the baby was crowning. She then got me a mirror so I could see and sure enough there was this little head of dark hair. So they called my gyn/ob back who had only just got back home and in to bed. As my gyn/ob is getting into his gown I was contracting big time and he was half in his gown with my foot on his hip and my other leg on my dh’s and they’re all telling me to keep pushing. With the next contraction my little girls’ head popped out, then with the next contraction the rest of her. We couldn’t believe it, Emily Grace McGuren was born on Boxing Day, 26th December, 1999 at 2.47am, weighing 2710gm (6lb) and 50cm long. I had no pain relief and only a minor tear after a very fast labour from water breaking at 12.10am to her arrival at 2.47am. Emily was put on my chest and dh cut the cord and he was crying, he was so happy. Her agpar was 6, then 8 at 5 minutes. Emily was only 34 weeks and 3 days and was taken to NICU as we hadn’t had any steroid shots she required 30% oxygen for approximately the next 10 hours, then she came out into room air with no problems. Emily had to be tube feed for a while, then we had some breast feeds till she was completely being breast fed. She got jaundice and spent 3 ½ days under bili lights with me doing all her cares. We spent a total of 8 ½ days in hospital (I wouldn’t come home without her). It is so hard to believe she is here - she is truly our little angel. You can email me at ness_paul@yahoo.com |
