monday loves...my story...makenzi's story...part one

everyone has a story

part one

newly married to my best friend and living in the last frontier.  i was young and attending our local college working on my education degree (i chose education because it was one of two 4 year degrees i could receive at this school).  don't get me wrong i enjoyed it and i was excited about my chosen career path, but it wasn't what i had dreamed i would do.

my husband, 5 1/2 years older than i, had already finished college and was a few years into his career.  we were stable and settled so when i became pregnant three months after we were married i knew we would be fine financially.  i would finish college and become a teacher in our small community and life would be easy and "normal".

my pregnancy started out very normal with a little morning sickness, bigger appetite, and more sleepiness.  as my pregnancy progressed so did my size.  in the end i had gained a hearty 65 pounds.  i continued school with my due date in the summer i could easily finish the semester have the baby and be back to school in the fall to finish up my last year.  so simple i thought, little did i know i would never return to school after our little girl was born.

continuing on with my pregnancy...things were still in the normal category until my obgyn appointment just before the 35 week mark.  i wasn't feeling well and i had gained a lot of weight quite rapidly at this point.  during my appointment the doctor noticed my weight gain and also my blood pressure was abnormally high.  they were concerned and we were headed into the weekend so i was to check my blood pressure the next day and if it was too high i was to go directly to the hospital.  so i found myself in the hospital the next day diagnosed with pre eclampsia or toxemia.  a serious but pretty common condition that affects both mom and baby and the only cure is delivering the baby.

my husband and i were in shock, i wasn't ready, i still had five weeks until my due date.  there was not much time to think, i would be induced in the morning and we would have our baby by the end of the day.  after 12 hours of pitocin and an epidural our daughter makenzi lauryn was born.  five weeks early she was a surprisingly healthy 6 pounds 2 ounces and breathing perfectly on her own.