over night hospital visit.

Hello Everyone,

This time it's not for me, I bet your thinking due my last post that it would have to be Hailee in well guess again!

Yep that's right it was for....the husband!. He has been fine ALL day up until 9pm when he first complained of back pain, he went to bed and within 15 minutes came back out to the lounge. He was fully dressed and was clutching his left side. He asked me to ring my mum to come and get Hailee as he needed to go to hospital because he thought he may have appendicitis (your appendices is on the right so I knew it wouldn't be that) he was white as a ghost and started throwing up.

I rang my mum. She told me she was coming and that my Uncle would drive Steve to the hospital. I packed Hailee a bag and waited for them. She came in and said he should have got an ambulance but he didn't want one plus I wanted to go with him and I knew they wouldn't help me in. My Uncle pulled up outside the house, Steve got in and he speed away. I was SO pissed!! I hated seeing him in so much pain and I knew if I stayed home I wouldn't have got any sleep. So mum decided to drive me up to hospital. She couldn't really find a good park so she she parked in the ambo section. I nearly died haha, I'm surprised she didn't get a fine.

I "ran" inside. No one is in the waiting room which is a good sign. Meaning he didn't have to sit there long and was already in a cubical and most likely seen by a doctor... thank god!. I waited outside for a few minutes then a nurse finally let me in. I pretty much ran to Steve's side. My Uncle who was still with him said, "looks like a kidney stone". I saw he was hooked up to morphine, the pain was so bad, I just could see it in his eyes... I wish I could have taken it away.

The nurse asked me a few questions and I mentioned my urologist's name and said that they needed someone to call him and only him (thank good ness he was on rotation) The nurse gave him something else to help with the pain because the morphine just wasn't cutting it (sad face). Pretty much as that hit his veins he was out like a light! coming to it every so often.

My Uncle is still with us (it's now 1am) I told him to go home as I knew he had to work early the next morning. I said if we were sent home we would be ok to find our own way. 10 minutes later the pain started again, doctor came in and said he would be having a CT in the morning. So we weren't going anywhere!!. my Uncle left (with hesitation).

Steve was just moved to a bigger room for the night, which luckily had a bigger/softer more comfy bed (it's now 2.05am). He can now get the rest he needs! As for me I am tired so I shall close my eyes for a little while.

I opened my eyes and looked at my phone, it was 3.30am. Steve hadn't complained about the pain until he woke just after me.

Strange to say but time seems to go so quick when you're in hospital. I think/say that every time I'm a patient but honestly even being a loved one of said patient time goes quick! Hmm I wonder why that is?.

It's now 6.30am both of us have had a rough night. Yes I spent the night in ER with him, sleeping every hour for aprox 20-30 minutes in my wheelchair (it was pretty comfy). The night nurse came in to check on us and said to me that she had ordered me breakfast... that's so nice of her! Poor Steve can't have any though. He says he isn't hungry at the moment but is thirsty, so I had been giving him ice all night. We are hoping to be on top of the list for the CT scan this morning, well it didn't pan out that way!.


Fast forward a few days.....

It's now Friday and he has only been home for a just over 24 hours. The doctor was hoping that Steve could "pass" the stone on his own but decided that due to him not getting any better he would be operated on the next morning! BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL WEEK!!! I got a phone call from the urologist at 5.30pm Wednesday night to say he had just come out of surgery.

Both Hailee and I are SO glad to have him home, he is still not 100% but defiantly on the mend.

Night all <3

Memoirs #2

Hello Everyone.

MY TEENAGE YEARS: (13-16)
(need to edit with things that happen between ages 13-15)


In Jan 2003, just before my 16th birthday. I went into the hospital here in Tassie to have surgery on my bowel. But unfortunately the operation had to be reversed due to me almost dying from Peritonitis... [http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peritonitis]

That was one of the worst experiences of my life! I remember as a teenager a doctor told me I would never be able to live indipendantly or even have children. At that time I didn't even really care because I'd never had a boyfriend. As I grew up and my friends started dating I used to lay in bed and imagine if my life was different (not born with SB) would I be dating?, would I be able to move out of home? get married? travel the world? settle down and have a family of my own?.

Ahh it's incredible what the mind can dream up huh.

(read on to Memoirs #3 to find out what happens next in my life....)

what is Spina Bifida

Spina Bifida is a developemental birth defect caused by an incomplete closure of embryonic neural tube. I have whats called Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele which is the worst of all 4 forms of SB, which leads to most people having a disability, like myself.

Spina Bifida can be surgically closed after birth, but this doesnt mean normal function can be restored to that part of the spinal cord. SB can be decreased by upto 75% when the mother takes a daily intake of folic acid upto 3 months before conseption. [When my mother was pregnant this was not known my family was told it was genetics that caused my SB].

The unfused portion of the spinal column allows the spinal cord to protrude through an opening and looks like a cricket ball on the back of the baby. That portion of the cord and nerves are damaged and or are not properly developed. Because of this there is usually a fluid filled sack surrounding the spina cord.

Signs and symptoms:

Children with SB often have what's called Hydrocephalus, this is excessive fluid on the brain (everyone has this fluid which our brain essentually floats in). According to the Spina Bifida Association in America over 73% of people with SB are allergic reaction to latex.

Pathophysiology:

Spina Bifida is caused by failure of the neural tube to close during the first week of pregnancy. In a normal baby the neural tube closes occurs around 28 days after fertalization. Spina Bifida does not follow a direct path of heredity. Studdies have shown that a woman who bares one child with SB have about a 3% chance risk of having another baby with it.

It is now recommeneded that all women who are wanting to get pregnant should take a folic acid supplement 0.4mg a day is the recommended dose. For women who have already had a child with SB should take 4-5mg a day.

Please see a doctor before taking these supplements though.

Prevention:

There is no single cause of SB nor is there a known way to prevent it completely. But as I said before folic acid somehow has been known to help lower the risk. Food sources with folic acid - whole grains, dried beans, leaf vegetables and some fruits.

Screening During Pregnancy:

Most neural tube defects can now be detected during pregnancy by testing the mother's blood and having a detailed fetal ultrasound. SB can be associated with disability as in Downs Syndrome because these pregnancies may result in a spontanious miscarraige. Genetic councilling and further genes testing can be done such as amniocentesis. Though now days ultrasound screaning for SB is parshly responsible for the decline in the defect, as many parents decide to terminate the pregnancy out of fear that the baby will have poor quility of life. But with Modern medical care and more being researched the quility of life for many SB kids has greatly improved.

Hailee's Birth Story!

Hello Everyone.

It was Saturday 1st November and my mum came around to see how I was feeling, I was 28 weeks and 6 days into my pregnancy. My whole pregnancy I was sick and diagnosed with Hyperemisis Gravadarum (HG) and that day was no different!. But as I was feeling a little better during so I decided I was going to finally pack my hospital bag. Though I was scheduled to have a c-section (for medical reasons) at 35 weeks.

I had no idea what was in store for me in the next 24 hours!!. The next morning Steve (my hubby) and I were about to head to a family BBQ. Unfortunately when I got up I found that we were going to have to spot at the hospital.

At the hospital Pregnancy clinic they checked me and said that the babies head was crowning and there was no was I could have a c-section now, I had to have her naturally. Because I was still early in my pregnancy they had to get a few nurses from NICU in there asap, the NICU professor even came in.

After 20 minutes of pushing, nothing was happening so they decided they would have to find another way to help her out. 3 hours after first coming into the hospital Hailee was born! Steve rang my mum and told her, it was lucky mum was still at the family BBQ so everyone found out at once.

I didn't get to meet my little girl until a few hours later. But she was the most gorgeous, precious Little thing in the whole world!. I feel in love straight away.

Hailee 15minutes old.


Hailee Nicole R.
2nd November
1.2 kg (2.2 pound)
Sunday 3.02pm