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Christmas Carols and Chorionic Bleeding Friends and family gathered for our annual Christmas Carols last night. And after a couple of weeks of practice, the children performed three songs with bells (see Hear The Bells post). We had a lovely family staying with us for a couple of days and their children joined in the bell ringing too. They did so well after only one day of pealing practice. It was the cutest thing to watch their little faces concentrate so hard on the chart for their bell colour, and they only missed their cue a couple of times; an amazing feat indeed. Lord willing, next year will be even bigger and better. I must have overdone it a bit during the day, because quite a few times I felt dizzy and extra sick. When I started to feel sharp abdominal pain, followed by bright red bleeding, I was worried. My last pregnancy, every time I went to the toilet I expected to see blood. This time it really hasn’t entered my mind at all. The pain was quite severe. In fact, it reminded me of the symptoms I suffered during a placental abruption; nausea, sharp, abdominal cramping, stomach upset, dizziness. I lay down on my bed straight away and couldn’t manage to say goodbye to our last few guests. Sorry. John was wonderful, getting me a hot pack and face washer. But I was concerned I may be experiencing complications from an ectopic pregnancy and so I wanted to go to hospital to be checked out. I always like to think the worst; things can only improve from there. We arrived at the emergency department (1.30am), they quickly took my blood pressure, pulse and temperature. We then transferred to the antenatal ward and were seen by a doctor soon after. He had a portable ultrasound machine. At first, when the screen showed the baby’s sac, there seemed to be no movement, which is what I expected. But on a closer look, I could see the familiar little white flicker on the screen, baby’s heartbeat. You can imagine my relief at that visible sign of life. The doctor explained the bleeding was caused by a subchorionic hematoma, which just means a blood clot below the chorion. What is a chorion you ask? It is one of the layers that surround the baby and later gives rise to the placenta. We decided to go home and wait out the bleeding. But the doctor had other ideas. When he heard my obstetric history, he thought it would be best to set me up with a drip while I rested there a few hours. He wanted to perform another ultrasound later on in the morning. We stayed. I hate having a cannula inserted, especially when the first attempt doesn’t work. And after butchering my first hand, the doctor proceeds to tell me he will attempt the torture again in my other hand. But his best line was when he told me he was scared. He was scared? I think I can safely say I was more scared. Really though, he was only joking with me. Jokes or no jokes, it still hurt. What a wimp I am. Who would think it after I have had so many children? Naturally, you would think I would be a lot braver. Just call me Amanda the Brave. Well, in my defence, I am brave when everything is normal and I can be in my own home surrounded by normal life. But take me into a hospital environment and my knees turn to jelly. We are home now and I am brave again. The bleeding has settled down and the cramping is minimal. For the next few weeks, I am going to rest. I would really appreciate your prayers.
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