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November 21st, 2008
Category:
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Part 4 of a 4 part series. See part 1, part 2 and part 3.


In the operating room, I was laid on my back and the world started to spin again. I didn't know what was wrong. I had a shooting pain in my shoulder blade and could barely breathe. I was dizzy and nauseous. I felt something was horribly wrong. Was my blood sugar low? No. Was my blood pressure low? No. I was flailing my arms and legs, I could not lay still. The doctors had to sedate me.

The actual birth of my son was a bit of a haze. I know I held my husband's hand so hard he thought I might break it. The anesthesiologist sat behind me stroking my face and telling me I was going to be OK. I remember the sensation of them pulling my abdomen apart and the doctors and my husband joking about how wedged in the baby was. My husband, who has delivered cows before, asked jokingly if he should go get the chains. I vaguely remember hearing the baby cry. But if they didn't take a picture of me with him, I wouldn't have remembered that part.

What happened next, I will never forget. My husband and the nurses took the baby to the nursery while the doctors worked to put me back together again. Then I heard the doctor say something you never want to hear in the operating room: "Oh my God, what's that?"

I was half awake and wasn't sure if that's really what I heard. The doctors bantered back and forth and I wondered what it could be. Did I have some congenital malformation? Was a piece of the placenta stuck in there? The doctor said, "Did I do that?" and the other doctor assured her she hadn't.

Apparently, when they broke my water and my little boy came crashing down, he ripped me internally in what the doctor referred to as like a reverse episiotomy. It took her almost an hour to stitch it back up.

Daniel Rydell Abma was born at 7:56 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2007. Around midnight, the drugs started to wear off and I finally got to hold him. He's absolutely perfect. All of the hard work, the doctors appointments, the insulin shots, the dozen daily blood sugar checks were worth it.

Oh and that "big" baby the doctors told me to expect was just 5 lb. 14 oz.!



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Good thing he wasn't 9 lbs or that reverse episiotomy might have been really horrific. I'm so glad he's here. My type 2 baby boy was 5 lbs 3 oz, the good thing is you can use all those 0-3 month sized clothes for a good, long while!


0-3? He's finally fitting in his newborn clothes!!


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Rebecca Abma
What happens when a health writer develops a chronic illness? As Rebecca K. Abma can tell you, it turns into an obsession. Since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in December 2003, 90 percent of her non-work computer time is spent researching the disease and chatting with fellow diabetics. (Read More)

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Andy Bell
Andy Bell has lived with diabetes since the age of 14. He controls his type 1 diabetes by taking multiple daily injections. Andy is 28 years old now and despite his diabetes, still maintains a very active lifestyle. Andy works for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in the National Outreach Department. (Read More)

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