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.)

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Dancing

I love to dance! I once dated a guy who also loved to dance. I thought it was really cute until one day, he told me he had a surprise for me. He then sat me down on the couch and showed me over three hours of  him dancing. Seriously? I don't know... I didn't realize how into dancing he was. And frankly, how into himelf he was. Turn off!

Ha ha, that was a random side note. I am so thankful I ended up with the man of my dreams who also loves to dance, but is into me. Anyway, I danced for the first time since surgery today. It was heavenly! And the best part is... I'm not in major pain after it. We turned on some music while the girls and I straightened up the house. By the way, another side note... Noticed hour I said straightened, not spring cleaned... Yeah, my house has looked good for two days straight. Just minimal pick up, do the dishes stuff. Huge hurdle for me!

We were listening to the high school musical song about prom, the waltz one.. So I picked up Becka and danced away. She loved it. I loved it. Oh how good it felt to dance again.

Along with doing better at staying on top of my house ( thanks to my mom for helping me reach a point that I could do that) and being able to dance, I also am exercising just a little more. Nothing huge, because the doctor wanted me to wait 6 mo, to make sure my wound was healed really well to hopefully avoid a hernia. I started working out my legs a little bit while I was watching a movie with Trever last night. It felt so good to move a little more. I have been trying to walk a little more. I still can't make it through grocery shopping without having to hold my stomach a bit because of the pain. For some reason, my left side, near the drain site hurts more than anywhere. I monder if the muscles got extra jumbled in surgery or something.

It feels so good to move. I have been keeping up on Jenifers blog. She wrote about the things she wants to do and be after surgery. He list was almost identicle to mine. It's so weird watching her go through almost the exact same process. Down to her anniversary dinner in the hospital. It looked a lot like our valentines day dinner in the hospital. The only difference is that I am in the middle of checking off the things on that list and she is at the creating the list stage. It's really weird for me to go back to that phase in the process. Although it has helped a ton for me to be able to have closure in those areas.

She is doing well, considering the circumstances. She is such a strong and faithful woman. It seems like as surgery day comes closer, her emotions are stronger. Which is completely normal. That anticipation, the fear of the unknown, the excitement of holding that new little baby, etc are very powerful emotions. (Speaking from experience, not for her). She has less than 2 weeks until surgery. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. Trever said " you are going to be a basket case that day aren't you?" I said, yeah and every day until then as well. She could very likely have an emergency delivery. That's the craziness of Accreta. Each morning and night I check Facebook and their blog to make sure she is still pregnant. I know I probably sound like a stalker... But when you have gone through this yourself... You want to know every step of the way to make sure all is well. Please please keep her in your prayers!

Caleb is doing well. We have an appointment with the GI doctor on tues, to make sure all is well with him. His doctors and nurses wanted to make sure to get follow ups with everyone just to stay on top of his growth and development. I'm glad we did, because his formula is really constipating for him, so we need to make some changes. I have been trying to build up my milk but we are passing thrush back and forth as well, so that has been super tough and painful. Hopefully he is still growing and gaining weight. Ill let you know.

Life is so good. I feel like each day as I push myself just a little bit to try something new, that I am conquering the world. I turned 32 this week. It was the best birthday ever. There was a time where I wondered if I would live to see my 32nd birthday. I was and am so thankful that I am alive and doing well. That I was able to spend that day with my dear husband and sweet children. I am so very blessed!
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3 comments:

  1. jeniferMay 25, 2013 at 5:09 PM

    Thanks Jennie. At first my countdown chain was depressing because it was so long-- now it's scary because it's getting so short. I'm kind of wishing for an emergency delivery because the anticipation is killing me. (Is that horrible to admit?).

    You are a gift to me as I go through this process. Keep dancing!!! I'm going to decide what lovely meal I'd like to order for dinner and try not to look at my huge 12 more days reminder... Life?! How did a nice girl like me end up in a situation like this? :)

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  2. jeniferMay 25, 2013 at 5:11 PM

    Ps- I stalked you too- waiting to hear those first few days after your surgery was painful. My husband kept asking "Who is this girl you keep talking about?" :).

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  3. Jennie PlastowMay 25, 2013 at 5:30 PM


    I totally know what you mean! I was so excited when I had that 2nd bleed because the date moved up a whole week. I don't know why nice girls like us have to go through such terrible things like this. We just want to be moms with lots of kids!! I tell you though... You are right, it will change you. You will be a different person, a different wife and mother. These army's of righteousness that we are trying to raise, will be stronger for it too. Life is sweeter now. And when trouble comes, you'll be able to say... I went through all of those months of torture, so this is nothing.

    Almost there girl! You can do it!!

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