Zoe's Story, 33 Weeks
Miracle Mum, Alex shares Zoe’s story.
“On New Year’s Eve I had an appointment with the high-risk clinic as my gestational diabetes was progressively getting worse. The nurse took my blood pressure before I went in to see the doctor and it was extremely high. She asked me to take a seat and when she checked it again after five minutes, it was still dangerously high.
When I saw the doctor he asked me to go home, pack a hospital bag (as I would most likely have to stay in hospital) and to return in the afternoon to have my blood pressure checked again. I returned at 2pm and my blood pressure was still extremely high so I was informed that I would need to stay in hospital to be monitored.
Later that night I woke up with extremely swollen legs and feet, it the first time in my pregnancy that I had experienced swelling. The nurse called the doctor and I was given blood pressure medication and pressure socks.
The next morning a team of doctors informed me that they were in consultation with Townsville Hospital because if I delivered Zoe at 32 weeks they would not be able to support her and she would need to be flown to Townsville.
As the next six days passed, my medication dosage increased significantly to approximately 30 tablets a day and on January 6th, I was told I was going to need an emergency c-section.
My husband rushed to the hospital and waited with me to go into the operating room. There were complications with the epidural and after multiple attempts they were able to administer it, however, I could still feel everything on my left-hand side. After another attempt with the epidural they were able to begin the emergency c-section.
I remember a team of about 13 staff in the operating room. Zoe was delivered in one and a half minutes and the paediatrician took her straight away to check her over and I was only able to see her for a very short amount of time. My husband and Zoe were then taken to the Special Care nursery while I remained in recover.
As my blood pressure increased, they prepared me for a magnesium infusion. After six hours recovering in ICU, they wheeled me down in my bed to the Maternity Ward to see Zoe.
By the time I had arrived she was in an incubator and on a drip receiving mediation. After two days she was transferred to a normal nursery bed and I continued to express milk that she received through syringes.
Zoe spent five weeks in the Special Care Nursery as she was unable to swallow properly and continued to receive milk through syringes.On her last night in hospital, I was able to spend the night with Zoe before she came home. We were discharged the next day and went home as a family.
Zoe is now 19 months old and after multiple appointments with the developmental clinic they were happy with her progress. She is a happy and thriving little girl, and she made our family complete”.
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