Monday, January 12, 2009

Still expecting.

A few weeks ago I announced that Jenna was pregnant. We were extremely happy and started preparing; however, New Years Eve was devastating as Jenna and I believed she miscarried. I kept this pretty quiet and only made a single tweet about it, mostly because I didn't know how to handle it.

New years eve was spent at home playing games since Jenna did not feel up to attending any parties. Will decided to ditch his parties and join us. Approximately thirty minutes after midnight Jenna rushed to our bedroom without saying anything. I assumed that she just went to the restroom and after several minutes I decided to check on her. I walked into the bedroom to discover Jenna sitting on the floor crying, I knew what had happened without asking. Jenna had started bleeding heavily and was certain she miscarried. She said that she didn't even feel pregnant anymore. All I could do was hold her, I knew nothing that I said would comfort her.

After a few minutes I contacted Kennestone Hospital to see if we she come to the Emergency Room. I spoke with their oncall staff who, after informing me they could not provide medical advice over the phone, stated that if the bleeding was not severe and there was no fever then it would probably be safe to wait and contact her OB/GYN. I did a lot of reading online from my phone and after speaking with Jenna decided this would be acceptable. Jenna asked me to call her OB/GYN to make the appointment because she was still having a hard time handling what had happened. I called to make the appointment; however, Jenna's doctor was on vacation until January 12th. The receptionist spoke with one of the partner physicians and told me that it would be safe to wait until her doctor returned. I made the appointment for 9:30AM so we could met with her as soon as possible. I continued to monitor Jenna based on the conditions that the OB/GYN, Kennestone, and the internet suggested with the expectation of rushing her to the hospital if needed.

Jenna asked me to go with her this morning because she was unsure if she would be able to handle it alone, especially if a D&C was required. We arrived at the office and waited patiently, the doctor was running approximately 2 hours late due to a surgery. Once the doctor arrived she examined Jenna and believed that she had indeed miscarried. The doctor was hopeful that Jenna was able to handle the miscarriage naturally and did not require a D&C. They decided to perform an ultrasound to confirm that everything was progressing normally.

Jenna's sonogram
The sonographer started the process and uttered the words "there's a baby." Jenna and I both feared that this meant she needed a D&C. In a state of disbelief I asked if there was a heart beat. Jenna burst into tears as the sonographer told us there was a strong heart beat and proceeded to let us hear it. We were both in a state of absolute shock. We had been coping with the loss over the past couple of weeks and finally started to overcome it.

We returned to the examination room and were joined by the doctor who was as surprised as we were. She informed us that there was a slight separation from the uterus which probably caused the bleeding. This means that Jenna is now at a slightly higher risk for miscarring. This should not be a problem as long as Jenna reduces back her work schedule. The doctor was also concerned that her hormone levels may have dipped which would result in her feeling different and "no longer pregnant." They took several vials of blood and will have the results by Thursday.

Looking back on it I wish I had just rushed Jenna to the Emergency Room like my instinct told me I should. We are both elated and only hope that today is the end of our recent emotional rollercoaster. Thank you for everyone who has stood by us, sent condolances, and shared personal stories. It meant more to us than you can imagine and we truly appreciate it.

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