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Our love and deepest sympathy goes to...
From Sarah
smonahan7@comcast.net I was just doing some research about the genetic abnormalities and found your site. I was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome last August. I started feeling what I thought was morning sickness soon after I found out I was pregnant. My doctor prescribed B-12 and Benydryl. It worked for the most part but on occasion I would get a very sudden extremely painful feeling in my upper stomach. Soon after I would vomit and then feel better. I have been pregnant before without complications or morning sickness so I didn't realize this pain was not normal. I simply suffered through. I then went to my regular appointment where my doctor routinely tested me for preeclamsia. I felt fine but my blood pressure was 180 over 110. My protein levels were elevated. I had swelling around my ankles. They sent me to the hospital. I was then transferred by ambulance to another hospital in Denver, Presbyterian St. Lukes. They have a high-risk maternity department. Within 5 days my condition had progressed to the point where I was screaming in pain (from my liver). My liver enzymes were doubling by the hour. They sedated me and the next morning performed a C-section. Our baby, Rachel Eileen, lived for about 30 minutes. It was the most horrible thing I have ever had to go through. Fortunately we already had a child, Trent Alexander, who was two at the time. We were forced to cope and move on for his sake. Now I am thinking about getting pregnant again. I just found out that I have two genes where one of the pair is abnormal which affect blood clotting. I am still waiting to see what this means for me. We'll see. I think your site is wonderful and appreciate what you are doing to try to help people. It's a horrible thing to have to go through and to know that you are not alone is the sometimes the only place you can find comfort, or at least someone who truly understands.
From Patti
CrazyCounselor@comcast.net
Hello, I found your website while searching for more information about HELLP Syndrome. My family has recently been touched by this Syndrome. On Monday October 25th, I was admitted to a local hospital for observation due to abnormal blood levels. This was after I was having severe pain that felt like really bad heartburn. My OB ordered an ultrasound of my gallbladder thinking it was gallstones and blood tests. The blood tests showed that my liver enzymes were very elevated and platelet count was very low. After further tests it was determined that I also had elevating blood pressure, which lead to the diagnosis of severe preeclamsia and HELLP Syndrome. At that point, we were transferred to another hospital for even MORE tests and at that point it was determined that the only option was to deliver the baby early (at 26 weeks) and hope for the best. So at 10:56pm on October 25th, Timothy Scott was born at 1lb 6oz and 11 inches long. We were very hopeful since the doctors stated that he had strong vital signs and things were looking good. But in the early morning on October 27th, Timothy started having mild seizures and developed a pulmonary (lung) bleed which sadly led to his death, despite the best efforts of a tireless and dedicated staff of doctors, nurses and other medical specialists. On November 4th, we put our beautiful baby boy to rest in a baby cemetery. I think that was the most difficult thing I will ever do in my life. Needless to say, we have been devastated by this event. I have been trying to make sense of all of this and trying to figure out what I could have done differently if anything. That is why I was searching for more information about HELLP Syndrome. If you would please tell me where to find more information, I would greatly appreciate it! I found your website to be a great comfort. Thank you
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