Mama Pandesal in the Hospital
Hello All,
Guest blogger Papa Pandesal here. I’m going to tell you a story, a story of how Mama Pandesal ended up at the University of Washington Hospital.
It all started in a land, a land far far away. A land called West Seattle. It might as well be Olympia as far as our friends are concerned. At the end of summer 2011 we found out we were pregnant. Six months later we’re hanging out on Waikiki Beach with my folks on our little babymoon. What a great time and much needed vacation.
Three weeks later back in Seattle and hard at work, Tanya seemed to be getting a whole lot more pregnant. On Wednesday we both pulled a 10+ hour day, Tanya to meet her 3pm deadline for the following day. The next day on the way to work, Tanya felt a little “weird.” I dropped her off, and she went work thinking its just pressure from gas. Turns out it wasn’t the case. After calling the nurse line at Group Health, they decided she had better come in.
Turns out Tanya has something called preeclamsia, (info here, here, and here). Basically, preelampsia is a strange condition that is not preventable, may be genetic, comes on usually during the first pregnancy, usually late in the pregnancy, causes high blood pressure, poor liver and kidney function, and poses a serious health risk to both mother and baby. There are two types of preeclampsia, mild and severe. If you have mild preeclampsia, it eventually will become severe. Severe is very bad and I will spare the details. The only known cure for preeclampsia is birth.
One of the ways they test for preeclampsia is protein in the urine, which is a sign of poor kidney function. At 5 grams in 24 hours, that means severe preeclampsia. On Friday Tanya had 2.7. Today she had 6. The great thing is, she is in great hands.
We checked in to Group Health on Thursday and today (Monday) checked in to the UW Medical Center because they have an ICU that can care for babies born less than 32 weeks old. Tanya will be 30 weeks on Wednesday. When we checked in to GH, Tanya’s blood pressure was through the roof. Something as simple as going to the bathroom made her blood pressure rocket. Doctors asking how she was doing made her blood pressure rise as well.
Thanks to the great doctors, nurses, and midwives at GH, they saw the signs of risk and sent Tanya and I straight to UW. Since we’ve been here, we’ve had a myriad of doctors, nurses, and residents swarming all around her. Thanks to good medicine and great staff, Tanya’s blood pressure has dropped a ton, which is fantastic.
The ultrasound people came in today and measured Desmond, who looks great, but his size and weight is in the 16th percentile for babies of that age in the womb. However, all of his vitals look really good, he’s kicking like he’s 32 weeks old, his head is down, and when the time comes, God’s hands are on him. My unborn baby Desmond Marcelo Hayes, (which means ‘gracious defender’ and ‘little warrior’), is going to be born into this world against all odds, and not just survive but thrive. His life will be marked by God’s grace, and through his life God will be glorified.
So here we are, 10:15m on a Monday night at the UW Medical Center, Tanya is still pregnant, Desmond is doing great, I’m blogging, and we’re taking it hour by hour. God is good, and I know He has a perfect and wonderful plan for our lives.
Please continue to pray, prayer warriors, and believe with us in faith that when the time comes, Desmond will be born healthy and strong and that the delivery will go super smooth.
We love you guys. Thanks for being there for us. Thanks for standing with us in faith, for all of your prayer and support. thanks for the food too. More updates to come.
-Nick, Tanya, and Desmond