Posted on 07/28/2020 10:34:48 AM PDT by Mrs. Warrior
After our assignment to West Germany in the mid '80's., my husband was assigned to the First Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. We were living in Harker Heights, Texas. During that period of military build up President Reagan the waiting list for on-post quarters was rather long, so we were renting a mobile home.
I found out I was pregnant with our third child. My husband had to go to a NCO training school. When the trailer park manager learned that I was pregnant he told that we would have to find another place to live because the park had a restriction on how many children each family could have.
Looking back I think it was having to move myself that caused me to start having trouble with the pregnancy. I found a duplex in Copperas Cove. Our son was ready for potty training but his dad was away for an extended period so I put fruit loops in the commode and told him to aim and try to sink each one. Later, at breakfast I put some cereal in a bowl at the kitchen table and went back into the kitchen for something. When I came back, I found him standing on chair. He was peeing into the bowl, “sure is a lot easier to sink them when they are all together like this” he said. “It's alright, when daddy gets home he will show you how it,s done!”
I started to go to a church that was held in the home of some baptist missionaries. I started to teach a ladies bible study. Once, they invited us over for dinner I took a bite of some meat. My husband asked what it was. The pastor liked to tease. “It is armadillo” he said. I spewed it out and onto his shirt.
My husband bought a German Short Hair pointer puppy to go quail hunting with. We were training it on a maneuver area on the Fort, and one evening “Trooper” went into some bushes after a covey. He squealed and came out and started to limp and whine. His foreleg was bloody and already starting to swell. We took him to a veterinarian and he told us that it had gotten bitten by a large rattle snake. That was the end of exploring for me! The puppy survived and was a good pointer for my husband.
Later in the pregnancy I started to get swelling in my legs and I started to have false labor cramps. When I did go into labor at the Army hospital and gave birth to our daughter right away a lot of nurses started to help her. I tried to get someone to explain what was going on. I started to feel like my vision was fading. The doctor told every one that I was having trouble as well.
I always have trouble, but God gets me through it. I was losing consciousness. “Please take care of my baby “ I cried.
My husband filled me in as to the details later as the doctor apparently sedated me and wanted me to rest while they took care of our little Sarah.
My next recollection was a light moving over my body. I heard a voice telling me that it was time for me to wake up that my baby needed me. I awoke and saw a woman leaning over me. “Where is my baby?” I asked. “She is in the newborn intensive care unit” she stated.
I felt grief that my baby came into the world with no mother to hold her. I told the nurse I had to go to her . “You don't wake up from being unconscious and start walking around” she declared. “When it's my baby I do, please help me,” I pleaded. Against her wished, I got up, held onto the IV pole and made my way to the doorway. She unplugged the cord and blocked the doorway. I said “get out of my way, you are standing between me and my baby”. “No way around me” she stated. “Sure there is”. What she didn't know was that I have a very high pitched scream that makes people get a headache. I started to scream, people came running to see what the screaming was about, she moved out of the way. I let out another scream close to her ear as I passed by for good measure. What was that for she asked? “That one was for being a bully!” I made it to the hallway and I asked someone to get me a wheel chair and take me to my baby. With some help I went into the NICU. The nurses told me they were glad I was awake.
When I saw my baby with IVs in her forehead and wires on her tiny chest and belly and an oxygen mask all over, I cried. “What is wrong with her” I asked? A nurse told me that she was having seizures. While I was there she had a seizure and started to turn blue. “Do something” I yelled!
The nurse told me that there was nothing they could do about it.
I raised my eyes to heaven and I feel like I saw the essence of God. “Please save my baby!” I petitioned. God gave me a miracle and she started to breathe and show life signs again. I asked the nurse for a chair and to let me hold her. They unhooked some wires and brought her to me.
I held her to my breast. “Oh sweet baby” I crooned, “its okay now, Mommy is here”. I massaged her and I told her that she needed to stay awake so that I could meet her some day. They told me later that after I held her she started to have less seizures.
Our baby was diagnosed with apnea, where she would stop breathing for some reason and then begin again but sometimes she would cease breathing for a long period and would need stimulation to get her to restart. When we were able to bring her home from the hospital, they gave us an apnea monitor. The next 18 months of her life required us to pay close attention to her and her alarm. Sometimes the leads would break during the night, so I would hold her and make sure she was breathing. The next day I would go to the hospital and get more leads. Our two little girls had strawberry blonde hair, and blue eyes. When she would smile at me she would make me so happy.
Having only one car and two other small children to take care of sometimes I would feel exhausted. The Lord gave me the grace to have the energy to do what I needed to. I always thought of the verse that as your days are, so will your strength be.
Our daughter eventually overcame her apnea, flourished and grew up and was married. She has two little girls. My daughter is my best friend, and her little girls are very much loved. They bless us as grand parents so much and give us the opportunity to bless them too.
Through these children, the chance to join with them and play is a special time, since I never had the chance to play as a little girl.
God restores and gives such wonderful gifts of love!
God is good !!!
(And whoever put that first keyword in the keyword list.... is not good)
What is this? A vanity novel in installments?
Get over yourself, lady.
And I followed some links ;) and found this:
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3868610/posts?page=61#61
God is good !!!
Thanks for posting. You seem to be a person of good will. Ignore the jerks (of whom there seems to be no shortage.)
at least they aren’t cat videos. :)
Took the words right out of my mouth.
Just for that...
I have encepholmaltia after being assaulted the end state of this is coma and death I have been getting sleepy I started writing so my family will have my stories to re
member me by.
yeah i was thinking of you!!!
Send the story to your family via post or email.
There is little interest here in vanity posts.
I have several comments to try to explain what happened. In my opinion it was not Apnea. It was temporary damage to the autonomous portion of the brain. I had an acute exacerbation event in May ‘19 and immediately within the hour suffered my breathing stopping while trying to go to sleep for the first time. I developed a deep fear of going to sleep after that. I was conscious of my breathing stopping the whole time. My doctors had to argue with me about it, suggesting Apnea as always. I solved the problem by not eating before sleep, no soda pop, and no naps during the day. It still took a month or two to whip. Despite what we believe today about Covid, I think I got it in May of 2019 from a Chinese antibiotics treatment for an enlarged lymph node. It started with what I thought was walking pneumonia and I had the event two weeks later after a treatment of doxycycline. I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and later got COPD, which is common from what I’ve read. If you’ve ever thought what drowning must feel like, the event came very close.
There is a youtube video of a young woman who gave birth and developed the problem of her breathing stopping. What a wild ride she went on with doctors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8MRoIL7pQ
“What is this? A vanity novel in installments?
Get over yourself, lady.”
Maybe you should take your own advice. I read it with interest. I’m only half female, on my mother’s side, but I’m also retired military, and my wife had problems with pregnancies and such as well, following me through much of my military career and beyond.
WRM, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)
Walking seems to be the cure for everything, darling. It certainly helps my condition. Fishing seems to help too, lol. I’ve enjoyed your posts even though you have only been on here a short while. Ignore the flea bites. There are plenty of champions on Free Republic, you’ve become one of them.
You have a real talent as a writer. Your words “paint” the picture of events.
I like hearing about your life story. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
Pound sand! Sheesh!
*** Send the story to your family via post or email.
There is little interest here in vanity posts. ***
If you have no interest, and have elevated yourself to speaking for others on FR, you could skip these threads. You do not speak for me.
I envision some of my curmudgeonly FReepers as still carrying bitterness from being removed from the position of Milk Monitor at the School Cafeteria back in the 1950’s.
One of the more useful bits of information a FReeper provided that helped me was the physiology of the sleep cycle. “Sleep is divided into 4 segments each about 90-120 minutes in length. 1st segment fights infections, repairs injuries and rebuilds damage. 2nd segment manufactures hormones, enzymes, chemicals, antibodies and various blood cells (red & white) needed by the body. 3rd segment does cleanup, removal of dead cells, and processing of waste. The final segment moves waste, urine and mucus to where it can be eliminated when you wake up.”
My kids always tell me that I should write my memoirs - nice job on yours!
We have twins, premies. The first (Baby “A”) was natural and tiny, but all was good. The second was an emergency C-section with the cord around her neck. They rushed me out of the room and cut my wife open in a hurry. After the c-section I dodged the nurse standing at the door of the room where all the doctors were working on my girls. (4 for each girl IIRC).
I think I told her “I’m their dad and going in”. Or maybe I just thought it. I get about two steps in and heading to the C-section baby (”Baby B”). One of the docs looks up and gives me the thumbs up signal. I stopped and left.
They were so early we didn’t have names for them yet. So on their enclosed “incubators” they had “Baby A” and “Baby B” on them for quite awhile!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.