Me, my dad, and my sister grilling some hamburgers at the Hickel House.
The other big event was figuring out whether or not I could go home to Boston before or after I deliver. On Wed morning, I had a repeat ultrasound with Dr Richey, the perinatologist who consulted when I was hospitalized. She said everything looked good and thought that it would be okay for me to fly home; however, what she said to me verbally was not quite the same as what ended up in the final report. When I saw Dr McCleave, the regular ob/gyn on Thursday, she was less encouraging about my flying home, after reading Dr Richey's final report. She was concerned about what might happen if I started bleeding again halfway between here and Seattle, because I could be a good hour and a half to two hours away from medical care, since there isn't a whole lot between here and Seattle. And since we still don't know why I bled in the first place, going up to 30,000 feet and back down again, and experiencing depressurization and repressurization, I might be putting myself and the baby at risk. I told myself last week that I would only go home if all the doctors I've been consulting with agreed it was safe to go home, and since they didn't, I've decided to stay until I deliver. While it saddens me that I'll be here for another 7-8 weeks, a healthy baby is the most important thing at this point, so I'll just tough it out.
However, I have come up with a list of pros of staying in Alaska:
-A birth certificate from Anchorage is certainly more interesting than one from Boston
-Lots of vitamin D from all the sunlight!
-I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Marika before she went "outside" to a wedding, and now I'll get to see her again
-I also didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Dakota before she went to Marika's friend's house, and now I'll get to hang out with her again
-I have a bit more time to see different sites around here (and Dr McCleave cleared me to go as far as Girdwood!)
-Maybe I'll actually get to see a bear before I leave, still haven't seen one of those...
-I saved my mom, sister, and brother-in-law major airline fees because now they don't have to reschedule their flights since I'm staying here too!
The other information that came from my repeat ultrasound with Dr Richey is that it looks like I will in fact need to have a c-section. The placenta is still pretty low, so there is a risk for major bleeding if I don't have a c-section. Frankly, I'm totally fine with having a c-section, and in some ways makes it a bit easier to plan as to when Chris should return to Alaska. So that will probably be the last week of July, and I've been told that I should fly until 2 weeks after a c-section, so I'll be home mid August. I put up a new poll question and would be very interested in the opinion of women who have had c-sections in the past (but please don't answer it if you haven't personally experienced a c-section yourself!).
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I can't believe you don't want my opinion on whether you should fly a million hours after having a c-section. Whatever, Katie!
ReplyDeleteI had two C-Sections. The first was an emergency and the second was planned. I found the binder that they gave me the first time really helped me feel like I could do more. They didn't provide one the second time and I went out and found one - it was like an ace bandage girdle really. The first few days were really difficult, especially the first time. After the first day or two, I took myself off the pain meds. It makes it hard with pain but I hate how pain meds make me feel and I would rather have the pain. The scariest part for me as when they did the spinal, the first time it went too high and it knocked me out. I guess that wouldn't have been too bad but I wasn't expecting it and I couldn't talk or move my arms, I thought I was dying. Not too pleasant - so if it happens to you, I guess you know you will be ok, you are just going out. The second time it went fine, I was just scared because of the first time. Breast feeding can hurt after a c-section -- noone tells you that but it's true. They made me wear compression boots after surgery both times, I wasn't expecting that. I am trying to think of what else you need to know but in your line of work, you probably know more than me. If you have anything specific you want to ask about my experience you can call or email me. Regarding the flight, two weeks later you should feel almost normal, but tired and you will have the baby to deal with. My advice would be to take the journey at a slower pace but I understand your desire to go home.
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