Limitations of Matter

"I thank God for my handicaps, for through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God."

~Helen Keller

Pregnancy does funny things to a body.  For some people they feel like they are superhuman...for others, they don't know how they can survive the 40 weeks.  My first trimester was a dream.  Some may want to smack me, but I only had 1 "bad" day...only 1 day that I was throwing up.  Others I was just extremely sleepy beyond belief.  Fortunately for me, the kids' play area in my office was an amazing spot to nap between seeing patients.  Unfortunately...all good things must come to an end.

In July of 2010 I was taken to the hospital with pancreatitis.  My gall bladder had to be removed, my body was shutting down, my blood sugars went through the roof, and my blood pressure was climbing fast.  By the time I left the hospital (2 weeks later), I had a diagnosis of pancreatitis, Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, Gastroparesis, Erosive Esophagitis, and Erosive Gastritis....WHEW...I know, a mouthful.  Needless to say, I had the biggest wake-up call regarding my health and choices I could ever have been "blessed" with.

Looking back I realize that my experience actually made me a better Doctor for my patients.  I had to go through everything I was trying to keep them from in order to strengthen my conviction for healthy choices and walk the healing path WITH them. I walked my talk, completely cleaned up my diet and kicked up the exercise.  Within 7 months I was off all medications including insulin and my health was thriving.

My goal was to keep up this lifestyle and get my body in the best condition possible to carry a baby.  My husband and I (fiance at the time) had always said that once we were married we weren't necessarily going to TRY to get pregnant, we just weren't going to prevent it.  Our wedding was July 9, 2011.  NEVER did I ever expect to get pregnant on our wedding night.  My health was better, but still not as stellar as I wanted for my pregnancy.  My body was still in the healing process from the previous summer, but I knew that as long as I kept up with my healthier lifestyle, I would be giving my pregnancy the best chance for success.

Visits with my midwife were going well, and Dr. Francois felt comfortable with what was going on.....until I started into my second trimester.  Dr. DiCampli (my midwife) and I noticed that my blood pressure was climbing and not coming down.  It wasn't at dangerous levels, but we both knew that what was coming up in my pregnancy wasn't exactly going to lower it much.  I'm not a person who stays pretty still.  In 2011, I sold my practice, started a new practice, bought a house, got married to a man with 3 kids (including 2 teenage girls and a 10 year old boy) he has SOLE custody of, and got pregnant.  Yeah...not much on my plate to affect my BP at all, right??  I knew my outside stressors were not going to change, so the co-management of my care shifted a little stronger to Dr. Francois.  From that point on, I decided that a home birth with my history would be riskier than I was comfortable with (Dr. DiCampli and I had a good heart-to-heart about it).  Dr. Francois took over my case with the understanding that we were going to try to make this delivery as close to a home birth "away from home" as possible.  The hospital I was to deliver at has birthing balls, tubs to labor in, I will be free to walk around during labor, can get into comfortable positions, etc.

Up until delivery, everything was still to be managed by diet, exercise, natural methods, etc.  I was still getting adjusted (part of my lifestyle anyway, but most important during pregnancy) and had regular check-ups with Dr. Francois.  The baby's heartbeat was strong, I was still feeling great, but my body was still "working things out".  With the change in blood pressure, it was recommended that I start tracking my blood sugars again.  At around 22 weeks, I noticed a climbing trend...my fasting sugars were higher than they had been and they just weren't coming back down.  Diet hadn't changed...I was still eating good, but as I mentioned earlier, pregnancy does funny things to the body.  After not being on ANY medications for 11 months, we decided to "assist" my pancreas with a very low dose of Metformin at night.  Again...I was comfortable with that and grateful for the birth team I had assembled.  After all...pregnancy also is not a permanent state and my body should regulate again after the baby is born.  My priority is a healthy, safe pregnancy for this baby and being proactive in reducing any chances for further complications.  So far, even with the best choices being made to be healthy, my body had it's own struggles.  It was working the best it could...but still needed a little help.  Again, there is a time and place for all branches of healthcare.  I'm grateful for that understanding.  Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last time I would have to remember that.