Tender Mercies

Initially the whole experience left me feeling like I have faced one thing after another with this pregnancy. A little change in perspectives was good. We have been so blessed that every 'issue' has been small. This weekend was no different.

• It was a tender mercy that we were in Roosevelt when we had to go to the ER late Saturday night. Taelyn was already asleep and we were able to leave her with Grandma Sherrie.
• The ultrasound technician who was checking on my kidney also checked on the baby. She was so nice. When she asked if there were any problems with the pregnancy I told her about needing to go back in in July to check on the placenta. She checked it for me and printed out a report for me to take to my midwife clinic. She laughed and said there was no reason to pay for another ultrasound if we were already there.
• It was a tender mercy that we were still in Roosevelt when we decided I needed to go back to the ER. We were able to leave Taelyn with my parents and make the mad dash trip to Salt Lake.
• As silly as it sounds, it was a tender mercy that I look pregnant. When I walked into the ER at our hospital, they met me half way to the check-in desk with a wheelchair. Apparently pregnant women who look like they are in intense pain don't have to spend any time in the waiting room.
• Because I called the midwife before we left Roosevelt, she was able to check on what would get me help fastest: going to Labor & Delivery or going to the ER. When I got there they had been expecting me and had a nurse from Labor & Delivery there to check on the baby.
• It was a tender mercy that I couldn't hold anything down on Sunday morning/afternoon because it kept me from eating. When we got to Salt Lake, they were able to take me in for surgery because I hadn't eaten for 24 hours. [Unfortunately it also made it so that I was dehydrated. Apparently my vein collapsed during the surgery and they had a hard time finding another location. I can count at least 10 needle insertion points on my arms, which are now bruised, swollen and very tender.]
• It was a tender mercy that we were in surgery late Sunday night because I had a whole recovery area to myself. They allowed Jon to come in because we were the only ones there. He was able to hear the baby's heart beat the second time they checked it after the surgery.
• It was a tender mercy that I felt well enough after the surgery that they let me go home after two hours.
• Every time I feel Baby Brayden move is a tender mercy. I have been so worried about him with all of the meds I've taken for pain. Even though they told me that everything they gave me wouldn't harm the baby, I was worried about him being overly affected by the morphine, percocet, lortab and the other crazy drugs they gave me through the IV.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful people that came in on-call Sunday night. They all talked to me while I was in the hall before going into surgery. Even Courtney introduced himself and let me know that he was there to make sure all the equipment worked properly so if I saw him running around, there was nothing to worry about. They answered all my questions and reassured me that they were going to do everything they could to protect the baby.

Most of all, I'm grateful for Jon. He stayed in bed with me after getting back from the ER the first night even though I didn't sleep and spent most of the night trying to find a position that didn't hurt, crying, or making some other crazy pain related noise. He would ask me what he could do even though he'd heard me tell him a million times that he couldn't do anything. He joked back when I told him to not even think about touching me because it hurt. He was so patient even though he was only running on a few hours of sleep. He put up with my still telling him how to drive when I was half asleep and half drugged up--and really didn't know what was going on. When we finally got back to our home after everything was over, he insisted on taking care of me before doing anything for himself. My favorite was when he struggled to fall asleep because Taelyn's bed was empty. Once he had me taken care of, his thoughts and concerns turned to her. He is such a good husband and father.

I'm grateful for the change in perspective that has helped me to see the good in this ordeal. I'm grateful everything went as it did and we were able to get everything taken care of. Now I'm hoping I can keep this perspective even if something else does come up!