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.)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

A Tragic Moment

My friends, my heart is deeply saddened right now. I was just told of a woman in Utah who recently lost her life giving birth to her 6th child. She had placenta previa and placenta accreta. Oh that poor family! Her poor husband is now having to pick up the pieces along with having a premature baby to care for. There are not words to express my deepest sympathies for her family and loved ones who are mourning her loss. They are in my thoughts and prayers. Here is a link to the article.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=25091500&nid=148

They have set up an account at Wells Fargo to help pay for medical expenses. It's under "team Katrina" the account number is on the page linked above.

This story really hits home to me. This is why I chose the name of the blog surviving Accreta. I was bound and determined to survive when so many women don't. Even in today's world with so many advances on medicine... We are losing women to this terrible condition. Trever and I both know that I would not have lived if it weren't for the faith and prayers of ward members and family. And specifically for those fasting and praying for me the day of surgery. I am so thankful for a bishop who was inspired to call on ward members for a ward fast for me and my life, as well as for Caleb.

Please help me to get the word out about Accreta. Even with the best of doctors, some women just don't make it, but so many more will have a fighting chance if they know what to look for. This is truly a tragedy. My heart goes out to this sweet family!
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3 comments:

  1. LPiecMay 9, 2013 at 3:07 PM

    About a month ago I had my 20 week Ultrasound. We found out our 3rd child is a boy!The tech was talkative through out and then asked if I had any bleeding issues. No. Then she was pretty silent until we left. I didn't think the question was out of the ordinary. So I go in to see the doctor and was told that I had placenta previa and it looked like the Placenta was growing into my scar tissue. (I've had 2 C-sections) We will take another look in 2 months at another ultrasound. After researching at that time what "placenta growing into my scar tissue" meant I'm freaking! I just found this blog and now I'm afraid that my doctor, who is kind of young, may be ignorant of the situation if that IS what they saw. She sent me home with NO information on what I'm looking at or if I should be doing anything different. (I've been doing zumba 3 days a week and from the looks of it women go on bed rest right away!) I've driven myself crazy reading up on accrete and probably freaking out my family also! I had my daughter at week 32 and the though of having to go through that again scares me also! (She, luckily, had no real problems) What advice could you give me?

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  2. BriannaMarch 13, 2014 at 1:09 AM

    Katrina was admitted to my hospital a day or so before my surgery. I had wanted to meet her, but abrupted before I could. I remember the day she had her surgery and passed- I was in the nicu with my son. The entire hospital, doctors and nurses alike were in tears. It has been the single hardest thing for me to deal with. Why her and not me? How can I understand the Lord's plan and purpose? I cried when I saw her beautiful baby boy in the nicu, and when I saw her beautiful family come visit him, and when they all came in Team Katrina shirts to bring him home. I am sobbing here writing this, remembering. I am thankful for blogs like this and women like you who are trying to bring this terrible condition to the media and get information out to women everywhere. I too have been meeting with media top share my story, as well as with the Red Cross. If it helps one person, it will all be worth it. Hugs, I'm loving your posts about bringing baby home. What a wonderful time that is!

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