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.)

Monday, July 8, 2013

Sunday

I have to apologize for scaring so many of you from my last posting. I wanted to focus on the blessing that were coming in our lives and how I am learning to praise Him when we are down and not just when we are doing well. I have always struggled with keeping my faith as strong in the hard times as it is in the good times. It has always been there... But I let those thoughts of doubt come in and shake my faith just enough for me to start complaining about, why me? 

I have been amazed this week as I have strived to look for the miracles in my life more, just how many there are. Thousands of them. I am beginning to be thankful for the trials we have been facing, and not just thankful when they are over. Or wishing them away. I am starting to pray to learn what we need to during them and asking for strength to endure them better. I just keep telling myself that we survived accreta, we can do anything! The 6 months of minimal activity, the 2months separated from my family and another two months separated from my baby.  The physical pain and discomfort. Being at the crossroads of life and death, and fighting for life. I often wondered if i would ever be the same again. Truth is, no i wont. I wondered if i would be scarred for life, the truth is, i will forever be changed for the better, because of my trials. Even in the midst of trial and disbelief, He is always there... Holding us, comforting us, blessing us and cheering us on. He loves us and will never give up on us. 

I am so thankful for the healing process. I have healed so much emotionally through watching others struggle through their accreta journey. I think I suffered some post traumatic stress from mine. Somehow, talking them through the phases, often unsolicited (sorry about that Jenifer) has helped me heal. It has been a miracle to see the miracles in her life and realize more of the miracles that happened in my life. Ill ask Trever, wow was I like that, or did people do that? I have learned so much of the "rest of the story" the past few weeks. Wow, we are so blessed! I hope the this chain of healing is passed on somehow for those that need it as well. Jenifer's journey was so much harder than mine. Please continue to pray for her as she struggles through this tough phase of healing. She has a long rough road ahead. She is such an inspiration to me. 

I have been really struggling with pain in my legs this week. I guess I have had issues with it all long and didn't realize it. I did notice a couple times that I would get huge charly horses in my legs after I got my catheter out and could move a little more. Now i am getting really bad leg aches. I ache in my arms too, but nothing like my legs and feet. Especially my calves. I think it is from being inactive for so long and I lost more muscle than I realized. I have been swimming frequently and i can tell that i am getting stronger! I can see a huge difference on my stomach muscles, with swimming. I love that it builds the muscle without all of the strain on my abdomen. I was able to do 10 sit ups tonight. I still do the cheating version of throwing my arms forward to pull myself up but it is working, so ill take it.

Caleb is doing well. He is such a happy baby. He is constantly smiling and laughing. He started scooting the other day. Probably just an accident because he didn't seem to have a target or purpose, but he is getting so strong. Oh how i love my little precious miracle baby. 

So many of you are going through such rough times. I feel so sad as I watch you deal with so much. Hang in there. Praise Him when you lose and praise Him when you win. There is purpose in trials. We may never understand how they effect us, but if we will let them, they will change our lives for the good. Happy Sunday my friends! I am so thankful for all of you!



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1 comment:

  1. Military LifeJuly 8, 2013 at 2:10 PM

    I believe every word when you said "He loves us and will never give up on us. I am finding that out myself every time I go through my trials of doubts and fears. We can not give up on Him. He wants us to keep going.

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