My story on pre-eclampsia.

Before I started this assignment, I wanted to post on why this is important for me and how serious I take my studying on pre-eclampsia. I decided on this disease as my topic for many reasons, even beyond the science of it. When I was pregnant I developed pre-eclampsia and was diagnosed by my OB/GYN at 28 weeks gestation. I suddenly gained 15 pounds, my blood pressure was on the high side, and protein was found in a urine sample I gave that morning. My doctor was concerned but was not 100% on it so he decided to compose a 24 hour urine analysis and advised me to read up on it when I was home. I was horrified at what the disease was calling it a rapidly progressive disease as well as the leading cause of maternal and infant deaths. The worst part that I read on was the only way to "cure" pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby and nothing else. The rest of my pregnancy I couldn't enjoy it because I was too busy being a lab rat. Going to a doctor twice a week, taking steroid shots to help kick start my child's lung development once a week, getting blood work and urine samples done twice a week, and I was on strict bed rest orders as well as on a strict no salt diet.
    I was tired and broken down, all I could do is hope that all this effort and pain would be worth it. I would deliver early, but I thought at least that my son would be healthy and I at least got to experience the labor and delivery like a normal mother. Within a matter of weeks I was continuing gaining 15-20 pounds a week, I was swollen from head to toe, my blood pressure was through the roof, I had constant headaches, and my vision even changed dramatically. My doctor and I were planning to induce me at 37 weeks, but my blood pressure as well as my doctor was not having that after week 34. I had to be induced and my son was born 6 1/2 weeks early. My son was not breathing on his own and he had to be taken to NICU and hooked up to a breathing machine. I couldn't see him for the first 24 hours because I was being monitored just in case a seizure or Eclampsia happened to me. Seeing my little guy hooked up to wires and IV and a breathing machine made me feel horrible. The NICU doctor said his left lung collapsed during birth, he developed RSV and pneumonia. He had a huge indent in his chest right in the middle from the collapsed lung. My son was in NICU for a little over a month and he motivates me to make sure that I do my best to never get that disease again.
     76,000 maternal and 500,000 infant deaths happen every year because of pre-eclampsia. I hope that doing this blog will not only be just for a project for my class, but hopefully understand the disease a bit better myself. I also want to inform as many people as I can to evaluate their lifestyle before getting pregnant. What my son and I went through for 3 months because of pre-eclampsia was so hard on us and I never wish that kind of events on my worst enemy.