My name is Jennie. I'm a wife and a mother. I have been married to the man of my dreams, Trever, for 9 wonderful years. We have 5 beautiful daughters who fill our lives with joy and excitement. We just had our 6th child. Our son Caleb.

I was diagnosed with a rare condition called Placenta Accreta along with Placenta Previa. Accreta is a condition where the placenta attaches to the scar tissue in the uterus. It will often continue to grow to deeper tissue (increta) and even through the uterus attaching to other organs(percreta). I ended up having an 11 hour surgery, including a hystorectomy, and bladder repair. I received 7 units of blood and blood parts. (This is a lot of blood loss for my surgeons, but minimal blood loss to those who are not as experienced in these deliveries. I spent 36 hours in the ICU after surgery. I have also had many other complications afterwards including another minor surgery 2 weeks later. These complications are somewhat normal for the type of surgery I had.

I had a team of specialists doing my surgery. Obgyns, Gyno-oncologists, trauma surgeons, urologists and anesthesiologists. This team has specialized in techniques helping with minimal blood loss. Those with accreta , loose large amounts of blood because the placenta cannot detach naturally at delivery.

My goal is to help save women's lives by giving this terrible condition a voice. So many are ignorant to its fatal attack. Doctors and women alike, need to be educated about Accreta. Many have never even heard of it. The numbers are on the rise because of so many women choosing to have c-sections when it isn't necessary. Not all women can avoid it, but many can. Please help me give Accreta a voice, by sharing the information in this blog. (There are numerous posts with information on Accreta as well as the Accreta team who took such great care of me.)

Friday, March 8, 2013

Blood Transfusion

Sunday is pretty much a blur. I still couldn't focus on anything. I was falling asleep every 5 minutes. Trever's aunt, uncle and brother came to visit. They got to see the baby. Caleb seemed to really take to Trever's brother Dustin. So cute.

Monday morning Dr Leuter came in and said that he wanted me to get another transfusion. My numbers were still really low. The nurses said that I was white as a ghost and my lips were gray that morning. They were all worried for me. It made so much sense now, being tired all the time, blurred vision, and dizziness.

I was scared to death about the transfusion. I was asleep for the last one. So I didn't know what was going to happen. Sweet Dr Leuter explained that it was just like an iv. They didn't have to put me out or anything. I was so glad it wasn't something huge. I know that I had some personality issues with him at first. Now I think the world of him. He is seriously one of my favorites now!

My sweet brother Jace came to visit. Poor guy always comes on the days when blood is around. I think he was there the same day as both of my bleeds. Then as soon as he walked in on Monday, they brought in my first unit of blood. The nurses were also wanting to check my drains and catheter. He now knows more about his sister than he ever wanted to. Lol.

By the time the first unit was flowing through my body, I was feeling like a whole new woman! I actually was able to stay awake and talk for a while. I was worried still about my body and how dysfunctional it seemed. More than normal surgery stuff.  I asked Trever to bring down the girls and asked if he and Jace could give me a blessing.  It was good to see them and I was thankful for the extra help and support from the Lord.

Tuesday, my dear friend Angela dropped in on her lunch break. Then my in-laws dropped by on their way into town. My sister in law Lindsay also stopped in. I was able to show off the baby. We walked in to the nursery and the nurse immediately said, so are you ready to hold him? I said, Can I?!!! This was the first time I was able to really hold and snuggle him. It was finally feeling like a reality and not a nightmare. I really did give birth to a beautiful baby boy and he was mine. I wasn't just cut open and in tons of pain for no reason.

Trever cam that night and, oh boy was I grateful he was able to stay with me. He went home Sunday night to be with the girls until his parents got there.

We were released Wednesday night. I had been doing tons better since the transfusion and working hard. I was able to walk much better and get out of bed by myself. We went to a hotel that night. I didn't realize how much I loved my hospital bed! The hotel bed was soft, but it was flat. I needed to be elevated a bit. After a couple of hours of trying to get comfortable, I finally moved to the chair. Trever built me a nest of pillows and I slept there.

Oh yeah, that night on our way to the hotel, we got word that Kaylee was having a super rough night. She was so homesick for mama, my mom was coming our way to see us and to pick up my sister from the airport. So she brought Kaylee out to have a sleepover with us. She was so excited to be near us she fell asleep super quick when she got here.

Thursday, my little Kenzie girl was made student of the month. Afterwards, Joyce brought Emma and Becca out to play. We got to see them for a few minutes. We took a long nap and then ran to walmart for a few things. Their electric carts were all being used, which meant that i had to walk. it was tough
but i made it.

We went to visit Caleb. Trever got to help get him cleaned up. He also got to change his diaper. The nurse handed him a wipe. Trever said, what do I do? I thought it was so cute! It just goes to prove, we have no clue what to do with boys.lol. I got to hold him while he ate. We also stopped by and visited a few nurses. The night I was discharged, it was so sad. For them and for me. They were my family for so long! It was exciting to be able to go. But hard to say goodbye. I was glad that we were able to see each other again. And see some of the ones that I hadn't seen in a few days
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