My drama filled belated birth story (sorry it's long)

I just noticed this board so thought I'd tell my birth story.

3 weeks before DD was born, I started having trouble breathing.  Called the ob who said to go to L&D and get checked.  They basically said "bummer, you have a big baby and nothing we can do, suck it up"

Three days later, went for my weekly appointment and my blood pressure was high.  Doc decided to start induction, so I was admitted and they did the cervadil for two days, but I hadn't dilated even 1 cm.  After two days of that, they decided to start petocin (sp?).  That got me to 1 cm dilated and doc decided to break my water to speed things up.  Contractions started heavily almost immediately.  Soon it was agonizing, I couldn't ever imagine a worse pain.  I was checked and no progress, still at only 1 cm.  This went on for three hours, the contractions were 45 seconds apart, I kept feeling the need to push but I couldn't because my cervix was still closed, but the baby was pressing down really hard.  All the while, they are pumping me full of fluids.

Finally after almost four hours, my mom chewed out the doctor and demanded that he do an emergency C-Section because the pain was so horrible.  Just while being wheeled from the delivery room to the operating room, they had to stop three times while I had contractions, because the movement was making it worse.  Finally got to the operating room and got the glorious epidural! 

C-Section was unremarkable.  It went routine.  I went to recovery, DD went to the nursery and I really don't know where DH went!  I guess to get our stuff.  I was so drowsy and out of it!

Finally got to the room and they brought my precious baby girl to me and breastfeeding attempts began.  DD was jaundice, so between that and the section, we were in the hospital for about four days after DD was born (and I already had been there for two days previously).  On the second day after she was born, I started feeling a tickle in my throat and it's hard to describe - almost like carbonation feeling in my lungs when I'd breathe.  Nurses were summoned and they did some chest x-rays and decided I had Walking Pneumonia.  Got meds and finally went home a few days later.

The very night that we got released to go home, I was having trouble getting comfy to fall asleep.  Every time I'd lean back, I couldn't breathe.  At all.  I started coughing again, only this time I started coughing up blood.  Luckily my mom was staying with us and DH got her to stay with the baby while we went to the emergency room.  The nurses at the desk took one look at me and rushed me in before all the people waiting.  I was having congestive heart failure.  I had a lot of fluid settled around my heart and lungs and my blood pressure was extremely high.

The doctors inserted IV's and started getting rid of all of the excess fluid in my body (remember how they kept pumping me with fluids??  bad bad docs!).  At some point I was told that I was going through heart failure, which you cannot imagine how terrifying it is to hear that when you have a newborn at home.  I am getting teary just thinking about it.  I didn't let myself cry though, I felt I needed to be strong for Elise. 

Finally got moved to ICU, which was hard because the visiting hours were so strict and I was there for days and couldn't see my baby.  I can only imagine what my husband and parents went through during this time.  I still wouldn't cry though because I was scared to lose faith.  After a few days in ICU, they moved me to the cardio ward and the pedi and the cardiologist approved for DD to come visit me.  That was the best gift ever --oh yeah, it was my birthday. 

I was in the hospital for one week with that drama and then a few days after I got home, Hurricane Gustav hit our area.  After it hit, the water supply in our town went down and we had no way of washing bottles.  Obviously breastfeeding hopes had gone out the window with my problems.  We had to evacuate, with a two week old.  It all worked out though.

Now my princess girl is 3 months old and at my last cardiologist appointment, my heart is almost 100 % back to normal.  Not a day goes by that I don't feel terrified at the thought of not seeing her grow up, and not getting to see my husband and family.  My own mortality is something I think of often.  But it also makes me want to live life to it's fullest and enjoy every single moment with my newly formed family.

Sorry this was so long...but that's my birth story.  Moral of the story - if something feels wrong, persist even if the doctor gives you an explanation!  This could have all been avoided if I had persisted that day in L&D when they sent me home.  Because that's when it all started.