When I started this blog, I thought I could finish telling
my story in a span of few months but I have to admit I grossly underestimated
the time required for my mommy duties, my daughter will be turning one soon,
and that’s the revised deadline for completing my blog. I only have one more
part to go which I think can be done but you never know, here goes the
penultimate part though.
They say change is the only constant, as I entered 38th
week of my pregnancy I was expecting everything to be on track, I had undergone
quite an intensive treatment and was resting as ordered by my doctor. I was
reading anything I could on pregnancy and child birth and had started putting
together my hospital bag, made a list of things needed for a new born etc.
On one of my regular check-ups my doctor in Bangalore
suggested that I take steroids for my baby’s lung development, she made it
sound very casual and routine, and I went ahead with the injections. Should I
have raised eyebrows? I wonder.
Later in the same week, my doc asked me to undergo another
scan just to make sure that everything is really fine, she insisted that we get
it done at the hospital she attends so she could also witness the scan along with
us. Was it really required? I wonder.
So, on the designated day, I went out of my comfort-zone to
get a scan done by a Radiologist new to me and you know the there are certain
people whom you instinctively mistrust, well he was one of them, as soon as I
entered the room I could sense something wrong but brushing aside my concerns,
I put on a brave face and hoped for a sign that yes it was all good. Should I
have trusted my instincts? I wonder.
Anyway, the scan was performed and my doc also peeped in,
unlike my regular radiologist who would talk me through the scan, Mr. Glum Face
didn't even make an eye contact, it was decided that the so called “Fluid”
problem had recurred and as I result there was IUGR i.e. Intra Uterine Growth
Retardation, basically telling me that while I felt everything was fine, it was
in reality the exact opposite, my baby was growing abnormally and we had to act
fast, a C- Section was a must to take my baby out of inhospitable conditions. The
scan was performed on Friday July 12th and my C-Section was
scheduled for Monday July 15th. That was the moment my world came
crashing down, the one time in my pregnancy where I lost hope and wished I
could somehow ensure that my baby continued to grow the way they should. Should
I have insisted on participating in the scan? I wonder.
In the meanwhile my husband drove down from Chennai and lets
just say troops were gathered, arsenals were loaded and battle cries could be heard
all over my household.
Seeing my reaction to the news (I was crying uncontrollably)
and going by my previous scans we decided to take another opinion, this was to
be done on Saturday July 13th. We consulted a renowned Radiologist
in Bangalore, someone who hadn't done any of my previous scans to ensure
impartiality. This was by far the best decision we took and the best scan I
underwent. He took us through each and
every organ of the baby and measured it against the norms; all was indeed well,
proved decisively and explicitly, a sigh of relief echoed through all our
hearts and all our worries about IUGR were laid to rest.
Armed with the repeat scan results, we made our doc
appointment on July 15th , one look at the scan and I was declared
all ok. It was then that my doctor disclosed that she would be travelling
abroad and wouldn't be available to deliver the baby. Was all this drama orchestrated
to complete my delivery before her travel? Was injecting me with steroids a
week before the beginning of the drama? I wonder.
Lessons I learnt the
hard way :
Always, always, always trust your instincts no matter what
Silver lining:
My family, it felt like everyone was pregnant and everyone
felt my pain. They really stood beside me and held my hand.
