A Not-So-Emergent Emergency

This past Saturday came and went as usual- I spent my morning doing my usual grocery shopping and then  on to girlie things with my sweet Stephanie- mani/pedi and brunch.  Such a good day.  A great day, actually, but I was wiped out when I finally got home. 

My afternoon was spent lounging around in my comfies and watching DVR'd Rachael Ray and Giada.  Finally 9pm rolled around, an appropriate time to get in bed- the sun is down at that point at least.  My contemplation for bed had been since 7:30pm- and finally it was time to lay down for the night.

Jordan was at the fire station (that's how it always happens- anything, anything goes wrong, he is at work.)  and as we were saying our goodnight's he caught a run and had to hang up quickly.

I went around, turned off all the lights, poured my nightly bowl of dry cereal and headed to the bedroom to get in bed.. but not before I made a quick stop at the potty. 

Blood.  Wait.  This isn't right.  Not normal.  How could this be happening.  I feel FINE.  My face was beet red at this point and fratically I was trying to figure out what to do. I called Jordan with no answer.

I called again.  And again.  5 phone calls later, plus a text message or two- no response.  He was actually saving the life of a three year old that had fallen into a pool at her birthday party, so I understand why he didn't answer- but at the time all I could do was cry. Bawl, actually.   I just wanted my level-headed husband to talk me through this and tell me everything would be alright. 

I had just gotten off of the phone with my mom, and so my next thought was to call her. 

Me: "What do I do, Mom??  I'm so scared.  I can't loose these babies." 
Mom: "Call your doctor.  Now." 

Bathroom again, more blood. 

After I paged the doc, I called my mom back and she walked me through my day- asking a series of questions and keeping me incredibly calm.  I had actually stopped crying by the time the on-call doctor returned my page. 

Doctor: "Go to the ER."

The tears returned.  Ok.  Right about the time I thought I would be venturing to the ER by myself, I got ahold of Jordan and he immediately called in for sick-leave so he could take me to the ER. Thank you, Jesus.  I couldn't possibly keep my head on straight to go alone.

I met Jordan at the fire station, dropped off my car, and hopped into the truck with him to head to Plano ER.  We prayed the entire way to the hospital for the safety of me and the safety of our girls.  Getting out of the car upon arrival to the ER I was calm and collected.  The tears had ceased and we walked in together confident with God's control in this situation.

The triage nurse checked me in and asked her run of the mill questions. 

Nurse: Are you bleeding right now? 
Me: No.  Only when I go to the bathroom.
Nurse: Cramping? 
Me: No.
Nurse: So, is it blood in your urine?

Bingo- totally clicked for me.  That makes complete sense.  4 tubes of blood, an IV hook-up, blood pressure cuff and finger glove, and 1 hospital gown later I was left to wait.  Surprisingly I was still calm, and so tired- I couldn't help by close my eyes. It was after 11pm at this point. 

Doctor came in to inform me of my elevated WBC (white blood cell) count and yes, in fact, blood in my urine.  I ended up being diagnosed with a minor bladder infection, causing the blood in my urine. Preggo-friendly antibiotics would do the trick to clear it up.  After a check of my cervix- nothing showed to be wrong with the babies.  Last thing to do was to check the fetal heart tones.  Good- Even if you are telling me that they are fine, I still needed to hear them.

The nurse hooked up the monitor and attempted to listen.  Baby girls were wiggle worms (as usual)- kept moving. As she was just getting the count for baby girl on the right she moved.

I felt that!  She moved and I felt it!!  I started crying- of course.  (I'm just about to cry right now as I'm thinking back to it.) Hearing both girls satisfied my nerves and I was able to sleep for the last hour we were there.  Finally, around 2:30am I signed the discharge papers and left for home. 

Long, emotional night for us.  I'm still recovering from that late night, actually. 

Since that night I have had no more signs of blood at all- all is well in this body!  But, I have taken to heart the fact that I need to slow down.  Saturday was a really busy day for me- carrying all the groceries in by myself, running around all day with my sweet girlfriend-with little time to rest and recoup.  This pregnancy is slowing me down, and I need to listen to my body. I had no idea anything was wrong, but if I would have taken the time to listen to my body I probably would have observed the classic signs and symptoms (I'll spare you here..) of an infection. 

It is funny- I spend my entire day attempting to convince my clients that they need to take better care of themselves, and here I am spending 5+ hours in the emergency room on a Saturday night. 

I should probably take my own advice.