ANOTHER HEMATOMA UPDATE

Warning: the following post is lengthy, but it's for family history purposes, so feel free to skim :)

So I feel kind of silly writing this after the previous update I gave everyone, but unfortunately, 5 days after seeing my doctor and having had 3 1/2 weeks of no bleeding, while staying at my in-laws in Seattle, I woke up early Saturday morning, Sept. 20, to find that I was bleeding again. I was a little surprised because I hadn't had any bleeding since my initial episode, but I wasn't that surprised because my doctor said that most women have several sessions of bleeding before it passes...and on top of that, he didn't do an ultrasound at my last appointment to actually confirm that the hematoma was gone. So I called the doc (who was out of town, so I got the on-call doc), who said to take it easy over the weekend - mainly meaning don't pick-up CJ - and to call him on Monday when I was back in town.

On Monday, Sept. 22, I was sent to the hospital for an ultrasound, and after seeing the results, an expert (Dr. Sigmond, who would be the third doc involved in all this) recommended I go on 3 WEEKS of bed rest due to the size of my hematoma. Basically, not only had the blood clot not absorbed into my body, but it had actually gotten bigger!

So my wonderful parents decided to fly my mom up to stay with us for a few days, and then I was planning on flying back to Utah with my mom and CJ to stay for the remainder of my bed rest. Unfortunately, I actually had more bleeding 5 days after my bleeding in Seattle, so my doctor did not want me getting on a plane yet for another 7-10 days. Despite the inconvenience, my mom selflessly decided to stay an additional week.

So here we are yesterday, a week and a half after my bed rest had begun, ready to buy plane tickets because I have had a week of no bleeding, and boom, early yesterday morning I bled again. After calling Dr. Maughan, he asked me to come in the next day and he would do another ultrasound to see where the hematoma was at. I haven't had any real cramping, so he said that was a great sign, but you can imagine how low my spirits were. On the one hand, we want the hematoma gone, so it either needs to reabsorb, or pass (which causes bleeding), so maybe the bleeding is good. But on the other hand, the bleeding could be an indication of more tearing, and ultimately, what the doctor's are looking for is a prolonged period of time with no bleeding. So I don't know what to think and I have no idea how long I'm gonna be on bed rest.

This has definitely been the hardest thing I have ever gone through. It's difficult to watch my loving husband worry about me so much and see how it affects his schooling. And it's difficult to watch someone else take care of my CJ. But mainly, it's been difficult because it's not just me at stake here; there's a little life in me, trying to thrive and grow, despite this. Every time I bleed, I wonder, "Is that more of the placenta tearing away, thus depriving our little baby of vital nutrients? Or is it maybe a good thing, the blood clot finally passing? How close is the placenta from tearing away completely? Is our baby going to make it through this? Can I handle having a miscarriage? Do I have enough faith to trust the Lord in this?" Besides my amazing husband, the only thing that has given me strength and gotten me through this ordeal is the wonderful blessing that I was given when this all happened. And I've been reminded through prayer and scriptures to have faith in that blessing, in which I was told that all would be well, the baby and I would be fine.

Then yesterday afternoon, after my disappointing morning, my dad called to tell me that he had put my name in the temple. And later that day, my mom called the Spokane temple and put my name there as well. I know so many people have been praying for us, and I could feel the Spirit even more knowing that my name was on those lists in the temples being prayed for in such a sacred way. And today, I feel like those prayers, and our earnest and heartfelt prayers as a little family have been answered!

Dr. Maughan wanted to quickly see me this morning to do another ultrasound to see how the hematoma was progressing. My blood pressure is great, I've actually lost some weight (which is always wonderful, especially when you feel yourself getting huge :), the baby's heart rate is fine, and the baby is measuring right on track, growing and developing normally - what a relief! And most importantly, Dr. Maughan could not find the hematoma on his ultrasound machine!! Can you believe it?! I don't know if we're out of the woods yet, but I do know that Heavenly Father has heard our pleas, and He has blessed us! Talk about a trial of faith!

Anyway, even though the hematoma seems to be gone, Dr. Maughan said I still need two weeks of bed rest with no bleeding, so I'm off to Utah (with the doctor's approval) for two weeks and when I return, we get to find out the gender of our little miracle baby. Thank you all, again, for all of your prayers, your love, and your support! We couldn't ask for better friends and family! And stay tuned for another update and to see what we're having...