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.)

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Making Changes

Hello my friends.  I have much to catch up on! Life the past few months has been a roller coaster.  A beautifully horrifying roller coaster. I am beginning to feel better emotionally. I have been seeing my counselor for almost 6 months now. Each time I leave his office I feel like a new and improved woman. He has been helping me work through issues from my past, as well as new struggles that arise.  He has a way of helping me realize that the cockeyed view of perfection that I was raised with, is not what perfection is at all.  God would never be so cruel.  He is so much kinder and gentler that we gave him credit for, growing up.  We were doing the best we could, but just didn't grasp the true beauty of the plan, or the atonement.  The gospel I know now, is so much more inviting and beautiful.  I'm not as afraid to sin anymore.  I am not righteous out of fear anymore.  I'm learning to do things because I want to, not because God is marking down my every move, my every flaw. I used to picture him literally following me around and waiting for me to screw up. Now I see him as someone who is right next to me cheering me on. Hugging me and loving me through it all.  
I have been able to let go of toxic relationships in my life and cling to the healthy ones.  I have learned to stand up for myself and my family. I've also learned that keeping my mouth shut even when things aren't right, is ok too. I'm still a work in progress, but I am leaning and growing so much everyday.  

I had an experience this week that has helped me so much!  There have been some comments on FB about someone that I care about deeply.  These comments are from people who have chosen to point blame instead of look in the mirror.  This persons career and credibility have been hurt.  It hurts me so much to see it.  One of them was from someone who I considered a friend.  I took these comments to heart. I began to get very depressed. I let it consume me.  I tried so hard to let it go but felt I needed to hang on to it, to somehow make things right.  I chose to ignore the comments and not look at the further lies being told.  I was saddened by those that jumped on the bashing train instead of standing up for this person.  On Monday night, I asked Trever for a blessing,  I needed some extra help to get through this. I learned from that blessing that I would be able to be stronger and not take these things to heart as much, if I would just align myself with the Savior. As I focused on the positive, and the blessings from my trials that I would be blessed, I would be free and I would be strong.  The world and their bitterness would still be there, but I would be strong enough to withstand it, as I align myself with Christ. 

My friend shared with me the blessings he saw from it.  It showed him a blind spot and it also showed him that he is worth the work he does. He doesn't need to feel like he should do things for free for people that don't appreciate it.  (all of the ones complaining were people he bent over backwards for).  His example taught me so much. I am learning to let things go.  It is really hard, when you have a tendancy to take everything personally and feel the need to serve yourself on a silver platter for people. The changes are happening though. I am slowly getting stronger. The drama is still there, but I have been able to step back a little bit from it.  I decided that if these people didn't care, then I didn't owe them anything. I "unfriended" a chunk of people and blocked the ones that were toxic. Today, as I was beginning to get depressed again, I decided to remove myself from the community pages that were allowing this slander to happen. They were prime selling sites for my food business, but not worth the anxiety.  I found a few pages that promoted drama free selling and friendship.  It is so liberating!  

I saw this quote today and just love it!  I want to hang it on my wall to remind me of my new goal in life. 



I also did a lot of purging this summer.  I got rid of everything that was not being used.  Excess shoes and clothing, books, toys, random stuff.  I cleaned carpets and started taking control of my life again. It has been a long time.  It has made house cleaning so much easier.  I have been less stressed and happier,  This week, I have worked on getting up early and starting my day with scripture study,  It has been rough, I'm not going to lie.  Especially for this woman who loves her sleep. It has really helped me get through this rough week.  

I am becoming a happier mom. I am learning how to praise me kids instead of shame them.  We are becoming a stronger family.  We are all communicating more and loving more.  I am breaking through "traditions of my fathers." I am learning to love life.  To be an owner instead of a victim.  It is a process for sure.  Each step brings me to new truths, greater insight and a beautiful view! 

Here are a few songs that have gotten me through some rough times.  I love the lyrics. They are so inviting and uplifting.  






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1 comment:

  1. UnknownAugust 2, 2014 at 2:41 PM

    Great job Jennie. I think it is a gift to be able to put your thoughts and feelings into words so nicely. Love ya! :)

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