Day 129, Year 7: Unexpected Trip to the Hospital
Date: Friday, March 16, 2012
Weather: Intermittent Light Rain All Day
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Everything is okay, but we did have an unexpected trip to the hospital late
today. Heather found out yesterday that she has developed a condition
called cholestasis of pregnancy and the doctor called this afternoon
requesting that she come to the hospital to have more extensive blood work
done. Jed went with her and when Sam, Jonah, and I went to pick up
Granddad, we got a call from Jed requesting that we bring the boys to the
hospital for a maternity ward get-acquainted visit. The newest little
Goldstone is not going to be an April baby after all. He is going to come
sooner rather than later. Because of the cholestasis, he will be born,
either naturally or induced, in the next ten days. So all of a sudden, it
was time for Sam and Jonah to “meet” the hospital where their new little
brother will be born. Cholestasis of pregnancy or obstetric cholestasis is
a condition where the liver is not able to perform its normal functions. It
is not usually a long-term problem for the mother, but it can cause very
serious complications for the baby. Therefore, once it is diagnosed, the
risk of waiting to have the baby naturally is just too great. After being
so very sick last weekend, Heather started itching severely on the bottoms
of her feet and on the palms of her hands. The itching was so intense that
she couldn’t sleep, so she called her doctor. They did initial blood tests
yesterday and made the diagnosis. Thankfully by last night she found a
combination of lotions and sprays that relieved the most severe itching and
she was finally able to get a little rest. She will spend the weekend
trying to rest and get mentally ready for the early birth. We will do what
we can to help out with Sam and Jonah so she can rest. After returning from
the hospital, we stayed for Friday homemade pizza night at the Goldstones
and it was decided that we will go ahead with the garden tilling on Sunday.
That shouldn’t take long really, so hopefully the remainder of Sunday can be
a day of rest for all of us.
My plan is to go pick up Sam and Jonah early in the morning and bring them
here to the boat for breakfast and to help with the removal of the caulk
from the teak deck. Both boys have shown an interest in helping and
hopefully having them here will give Heather and Jed both a few hours of
extra rest. And besides, Granddad could really use their help.
