Think I can share my birth story now most of us are done!
My ELCS was booked for 2nd March and we were told to come in at 7am, I was first to go. We got there for 7am and were shown to the recovery ward with another couple, where myself and the other lady changed into nightgowns, the men into scrubs.
The surgeon came round to see us. He was asking about my crohns history, my fistulas etc. I told him one of my fistulas was bowel to bladder and he looked a bit alarmed. Said no one had told him that, and it would effect the section as the fistula would be directly in his cutting line. He rushed off to find my bowel surgeon, luckily enough I was in the same hospital.
While the surgeon was waiting on my notes coming up from my bowel surgeon, they took the other lady in first. For some reason, this made it really hit home what was about to happen and I completely panicked. I was visited 3x from the anaesthetist before the section, begging him to give me something to calm me down but he kept telling me I was fine. I really wasn't.
Anyway turns out I don't have a bowel to bladder fistula, or so they said anyway. This is something I need to bring up with my bowel surgeon when I next see him.
The midwife told me it was my turn, let's go. As I walked round with her to theatre, we had to stop 4 or 5 times as I was panicking so much. I couldn't breathe, I was crying and shaking so much.
I cried sitting up on the bed in theatre, leaning over the pillow. I cried when the cannula was inserted, when the local anaesthetic was inserted, when the spinal was inserted. It wasn't even sore, I was just so so scared ??
By the time OH came into the room, I was on my back in crucifixion position, silently crying and staring into space. They sprayed the water on me. I was told I would feel movement but no sharp pain, and I wouldn't know what they were doing.
They lied.
I didn't feel sharp pain. But I knew every single thing they were doing. Could tell when they were cutting open layers, bursting my waters etc. I freaked out at this point, crying loudly again, shaking and shouting at them to stop I couldn't do it anymore. OH and the anaesthetist did their best to calm me down and reassure me, but it didn't really work.
After a bit, I heard my baby girls cry. They wheeled her over the bed in the crib next to my head and i couldn't stop staring at her. She was wide awake and had these massive blue eyes. Neither OH or I could hold her right away as we were both in too much shock. The anaesthetist kindly picked her up and held her face close to mine so I could kiss her.
I started feeling ill round about here, and can't really remember much. oH tells me that's when the panic in the room was obvious. Turns out my placenta (anterior) had come away in bits and the membranes had ruptured. I very quickly lost over 1.8 litres of blood. OH says someone in the room explained everything to me, and said I needed a transfusion but I can't remember any of it.
When all had calmed down, OH was taken out of the room and I was stitched up, my baby girl put in my arms and wheeled back to recovery. After a while they checked my obs and haemoglobyn levels had risen so we escaped the transfusion.
I was a mess for days. Can only remember day 3 of hospital, the day I got home. I had a wobbly day 2 but the girls on the fb page talked some sense into me and I woman'd up and got on with it.
I'm only just recovering from the blood loss now after massive doses of iron.
But when I look at my baby girl now, still with those same massive blue eyes she was born with, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
Well done anyone who got through that massive novel! Didn't realise I had so much to get out, but it is very therapeutic :)