Jediah Joseph Kubizna
Jediah Joseph Kubizna
Sunday December 30th @ 7:30pm
8 pounds 20 1/2 inches
His due date was Thursday January 10th but I really didn't think we would make it to that date. I had been having contractions since around 34 weeks which were not just braxton hicks. At 37 weeks I ended up at St. Mary's labor and delivery triage due to pain from my right ovarian cyst. The pain subsided while I was in triage and an ultrasound showed that what was most likely an ovarian torsion had "untwisted" which resulted in the pain being resolved. While in triage I started having contractions around 4 minutes apart. We stayed at the hospital for a while waiting to see if anything was going to progress but after a few hours I was still only dilated to one. With no progress, I was sent home and told to come back if the contractions intensified. By morning the contractions had subsided but made me realized that our son could be born at any time. The next week brought a continuation of contractions but nothing substantial. I had my 38 week appointment on Thursday and the nurse practioner noticed the amount of swelling I had in the feet and lower legs. We discussed the increased amount of swelling over the past few weeks but she noted that my blood pressure was good and there was no protein in my urine specimen. Besides the terrible swelling which left me only able to wear my emu boots anywhere and the pain to touch them at the end of the day I really had no other complaints. I still had a good amount of energy and no pain or body aches. That was until Friday. I can remember on Friday having this pain in my upper back that felt different. I also had diarrhea and was thinking I may be coming down with the flu. I mentioned to Trey the upper back pain and explained to him that it wasn't a muscle pain but more of an indigestion pain. He jokingly asked me if I was having a heart attack (women tend to have back pain during a heart attack unlike the chest pain that men have). On Saturday my back was still achy and the diarrhea was still around. We went out to lunch, washed and vacuumed the van and even rearranged the seats in the van. I remember sitting at lunch and saying to Trey that I had a knot in my stomach. It was right in the middle of my abdomen just below my rib cage. I figured it was due to the diarrhea Sunday morning we had a nice family breakfast and started to get ready to go run some errands. I walked into the bedroom and had a sudden feeling of exhaustion and just wanted to go lay down. Trey took Eloise and ran some errands while Cecelia and I sat downstairs watching movies. Before Trey came home I called and asked him to get me some sherbet before he came home (When I don't feel good sherbet tends to be my comfort food.) The back pain and knot in my stomach was intensifying. I was certain I was coming down with the stomach flu since it was going around. Trey came home and I could barely eat my sherbet which is not like me. I ended up going to the bedroom to try and lie down. I had the feeling that I needed to throw up but just couldn't. Trey walked in to the bedroom to find me laying in pain on the bed. He even asked me if I was in labor. I told him that I just hurt really bad. I thought that if I could just throw up I would feel a ton better. Well I did finally get sick but there was no relief. Trey found me on my hands and knees on the floor getting violently sick. After this I was unable to move. Everything hurt but especially my back and stomach. At some point I got back into bed only to have Trey walk back in and see that the pain I was experiencing was only worsening. He started to think about the pain I was describing and started to think that maybe it was my gallbladder and not just the flu.(we found out later the pain was caused from my liver) We then decided that it was time to call the doctors office. If anything I knew I was dehydrated and thought that I might end up in labor due to the dehydration and pain. At 6 pm Trey came back into the room to tell me the doctor wanted us to head to the hospital and that his parents were on their way to watch the girls. I headed for the car to go and told Trey to bring the hospital bags just in case. We left our house at 6:30 pm. By 6:50 we were up on the 9th floor at St. Mary's Hospital in the Labor and Delivery Triage. The nurse gave me a gown and said to change into it and she would be right back. I got as far as sitting on the edge of the bed before I started to get sick again and was unable to move any further let alone put on the gown. The nurse came in and saw the condition I was in and immediately said we needed to get an IV in. As she tried to start the IV my veins gave her much trouble and another nurse came in to help. That is when everything went down hill. I had this feeling that I was going to pass out but couldn't quite get the words out. Next thing I knew I was falling back onto the bed, and began hyperventilating. The resident OB and the attending OB were called in and I was given an oxygen mask. Both my hands started tingling and I was having a hard time answering the doctors questions. Trey had to do most of the talking for me. I remember the attending asking who's heart rate she was seeing on the monitor, mine or the baby's. Someone replied that it was the baby's and that is when I first heard them say we need to do a c-section. I opened my eyes for the first time since laying down to see a room full of nurses, doctors and an anesthesiologist. I was fine with the idea of a c-section, that didn't scare me. It was at the point when the anesthesiologist asked if we had time for a spinal and I heard them say no we are going to have to do it under general anesthetic that I got really scared and cried. The idea that there was no time registered the urgency of the situation. They started to wheel me down the hallway as the anesthesiologist asked me questions about allergies and when I had last eaten. My last full meal had been around 10 am that morning. That answer was not a great one for him as he asked again if we could do a spinal instead of general. The response was we will have to see when we get in there. As I turned the corner to go into the OR room Trey was told to wait in the hallway and put on a pair of scrubs in the event they could do a spinal he would be allowed in. Otherwise he would have to wait in the hallway. As I was wheeled into the room I was transferred to the operating table. I can remember hearing a lot of talking and people moving about in a fast pace. I heard them asking for tools and starting to prep for the surgery. At this time it was determined I would be put under general. I was given an oxygen mask, I heard the anesthesiologist say he was putting medicine in and that there was going to be a lot of pressure on my throat. I felt the pressure on my throat and then I was out.
Trey is going to finish the story from here since I don't remember anything else until I was back in a room a couple hours later.
All I could do was sit and wait as I was told I wouldn't be able to enter the operating room. I know many men/husbands have gone through this very same situation, but there is no more feeling of being helpless than knowing your wife and unborn child are in a very serious situation and there is nothing you can do but pray to God that He be in the operating room to watch over Jodi, the baby and the staff attending to them. Upon doing this, I knew it was important to call Jodi's Mom and Dad to inform them what was going on (they were in Kalkaska, MI at the time). I know this was scary information to pass on to them. Sandy confirmed they were leaving from their vacation to head right to the hospital. I then called my brother Mike (mom & dad weren't answering their phone) who then relayed the information to my sister Stacey. Mom & dad K were finally notified and all made their way up to the hospital with the girls.
Jodi was wheeled into the O.R. at 7:22pm, multiple workers/nurses were peaking their head out to inform me things were going smoothly, Jodi was anesthetized at 7:25pm. About this time the on-call OB from Advantage Health scrubbed up in front of me, said everything was going to be fine, and walked into the O.R. More nurses peaked their heads out between 7:22 and 7:30 trying to comfort me by telling me things were going well. At 7:30, I could hear Jediah crying!!! A nurse stepped out and said Jediah looked great and was crying (which is a good sign.) A few more minutes went by before a nurse stepped out to tell me the details of the "closing process" of the c-section and that Jediah had tachypnea (breathing rapidly), and would likely head to the Neonatal ICU for observation. He was wheeled out around 8:15pm at which time I followed him down with an RN while Jodi was continuing to be worked on. After being assured he was doing great, I went back to the labor and delivery floor where I was directed to the recovery room where Jodi was coming out of the anesthesia The anesthesiologist explained to me that he needed to intubate Jodi before she was asleep, and incisions were going to be made fairly quickly so to ensure Jodi would not remember the pain of both procedures he gave Jodi versed to what he said would "scramble her brains so she wouldn't remember any of it." Other than that, the c-section went very well.
After I left the recovery room, I ran into a former RN student of mine who was in the O.R. for Jodi's emergency c-section. She explained in great detail what happened in the room including that her ovarian cyst was drained. She also asked me if I was interested in seeing Jodi's placenta (which for you medical people, it looked great!) It was very comforting to me to get a lot of details about the procedure and to ensure that what had happened to Jodi was a rare occasion that ended positively.
After talking with my family and closer to 11pm, Jodi was wheeled down to the room she would stay for about 6 hours. She was already groggy from the anesthesia but then was given magnesium, which made her even more groggy. Family left the hospital and Jodi and I were alone in the room where we had a few minutes to talk. After thanking God for being with us on this night, I went down to check on Jediah again. Jediah was brought into the room around 3:30am. This was the first time Jodi got to see and hold him. I didn't sleep but maybe 1-2 hours this night due to the "high" of the night and nurses checking on Jodi very frequently for adverse signs of the magnesium. For a mineral, this stuff is nasty!
Around 4-5am Jodi was wheeled to a standard room where we settled in for New Year's Eve!!! This was a busy day of family stopping up to see Jodi and Jediah. Jodi was pretty much a zombie all day and frequently fell asleep in the middle of conversation or with food on her fork/spoon. At 10:30pm New Year's Eve night, she was taken off the magnesium and it was like a light bulb went off. Jodi was more alert, she had a twinkle in her eye and she reported feeling better. We celebrated New Year's Eve in the hospital with Jediah and watched downtown fireworks from our window.
The rest of the story was pretty uneventful, as we began the process of Jodi getting out of bed and getting around her room/hallway and preparing to go home. After many conversations with Dr's and Nurses, we were told that Jodi had a condition called "HELLP Syndrome" (Hemolysis, Elevated liver Enzymes, Low platelet count). This is found in severe pre-eclampsia (something Jodi was never verified for) and can be fatal for both mother and child. The cure of the pain and symptoms is to deliver the child. Well that was done and very quickly I must say. We thank God for being with us that night and for ensuring the safety and health of everyone.
Trey is going to finish the story from here since I don't remember anything else until I was back in a room a couple hours later.
All I could do was sit and wait as I was told I wouldn't be able to enter the operating room. I know many men/husbands have gone through this very same situation, but there is no more feeling of being helpless than knowing your wife and unborn child are in a very serious situation and there is nothing you can do but pray to God that He be in the operating room to watch over Jodi, the baby and the staff attending to them. Upon doing this, I knew it was important to call Jodi's Mom and Dad to inform them what was going on (they were in Kalkaska, MI at the time). I know this was scary information to pass on to them. Sandy confirmed they were leaving from their vacation to head right to the hospital. I then called my brother Mike (mom & dad weren't answering their phone) who then relayed the information to my sister Stacey. Mom & dad K were finally notified and all made their way up to the hospital with the girls.
Jodi was wheeled into the O.R. at 7:22pm, multiple workers/nurses were peaking their head out to inform me things were going smoothly, Jodi was anesthetized at 7:25pm. About this time the on-call OB from Advantage Health scrubbed up in front of me, said everything was going to be fine, and walked into the O.R. More nurses peaked their heads out between 7:22 and 7:30 trying to comfort me by telling me things were going well. At 7:30, I could hear Jediah crying!!! A nurse stepped out and said Jediah looked great and was crying (which is a good sign.) A few more minutes went by before a nurse stepped out to tell me the details of the "closing process" of the c-section and that Jediah had tachypnea (breathing rapidly), and would likely head to the Neonatal ICU for observation. He was wheeled out around 8:15pm at which time I followed him down with an RN while Jodi was continuing to be worked on. After being assured he was doing great, I went back to the labor and delivery floor where I was directed to the recovery room where Jodi was coming out of the anesthesia The anesthesiologist explained to me that he needed to intubate Jodi before she was asleep, and incisions were going to be made fairly quickly so to ensure Jodi would not remember the pain of both procedures he gave Jodi versed to what he said would "scramble her brains so she wouldn't remember any of it." Other than that, the c-section went very well.
After I left the recovery room, I ran into a former RN student of mine who was in the O.R. for Jodi's emergency c-section. She explained in great detail what happened in the room including that her ovarian cyst was drained. She also asked me if I was interested in seeing Jodi's placenta (which for you medical people, it looked great!) It was very comforting to me to get a lot of details about the procedure and to ensure that what had happened to Jodi was a rare occasion that ended positively.
After talking with my family and closer to 11pm, Jodi was wheeled down to the room she would stay for about 6 hours. She was already groggy from the anesthesia but then was given magnesium, which made her even more groggy. Family left the hospital and Jodi and I were alone in the room where we had a few minutes to talk. After thanking God for being with us on this night, I went down to check on Jediah again. Jediah was brought into the room around 3:30am. This was the first time Jodi got to see and hold him. I didn't sleep but maybe 1-2 hours this night due to the "high" of the night and nurses checking on Jodi very frequently for adverse signs of the magnesium. For a mineral, this stuff is nasty!
Around 4-5am Jodi was wheeled to a standard room where we settled in for New Year's Eve!!! This was a busy day of family stopping up to see Jodi and Jediah. Jodi was pretty much a zombie all day and frequently fell asleep in the middle of conversation or with food on her fork/spoon. At 10:30pm New Year's Eve night, she was taken off the magnesium and it was like a light bulb went off. Jodi was more alert, she had a twinkle in her eye and she reported feeling better. We celebrated New Year's Eve in the hospital with Jediah and watched downtown fireworks from our window.
The rest of the story was pretty uneventful, as we began the process of Jodi getting out of bed and getting around her room/hallway and preparing to go home. After many conversations with Dr's and Nurses, we were told that Jodi had a condition called "HELLP Syndrome" (Hemolysis, Elevated liver Enzymes, Low platelet count). This is found in severe pre-eclampsia (something Jodi was never verified for) and can be fatal for both mother and child. The cure of the pain and symptoms is to deliver the child. Well that was done and very quickly I must say. We thank God for being with us that night and for ensuring the safety and health of everyone.
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