Another hospital adventure

Thanks for all who were praying for us yesterday. Natalie started having more heavy postpartum bleeding around 8 am yesterday. She continued to bleed throughout the morning, so she called the triage nurse at her doctor’s office and was advised to go to the hospital. By the time we got a babysitter, fed Abigail, drove down the hill, and arrived at ER, it was a little after 1 pm. By the time we got there, her bleeding had already slowed considerably.

It was a very busy day in the ER. The waiting room was packed, and the ER halls were lined with beds everywhere. One staff joked that beds were going to be all the way out to the front lobby! And at one point, we overheard that there were five trauma patients being treated, including a baby.

Natalie, Abigail, and I waited a few hours in the waiting room, then were moved into the ER hallway to wait a few more hours on a hospital bed. An early blood test showed her hemoglobin count was still OK. Around 6 pm, Natalie was taken back for an ultrasound. The radiologist said the results looked very similar to the pictures taken two weeks ago when we were at ER, though the mass in her uterus appeared even a little more engorged. Nurses seemed confident at first that she would need a D&C. The waiting game continued, and around 11 pm, the doctor finally came to visit and said there was nothing they would be doing that night.

The nurses and doctor seemed to lean toward the need for another D&C due to her enlarged uterus and this persistent mass of tissue, but the doctor also said it can sometimes resolve on its own over a period of weeks or months. Since her blood count was OK and bleeding had slowed down, there really wasn’t much they could do in ER. However, if she has another bleeding episode like yesterday, we are instructed to go back down to ER and start the whole process over again. Otherwise, we just need to call the doctor on Monday, set up an appointment, get examined, and possibly schedule a D&C. Not the resolution we had been hoping for. By the time we got our discharge papers and left the hospital, it was after 1 am. We walked out feeling like we had more questions than answers. The only thing we knew for sure is God is still sovereign!

Please pray for Natalie’s continued protection, and for Abigail’s immune system to be strong after being in ER for a whole day. In spite of all the setbacks and question marks, we still find many reasons to be thankful to the Lord: that Natalie’s bleeding subsided and blood count is OK; that Natalie was in very little pain other than some cramps that morning; that we were placed at the furthest hallway away from much of the ER commotion and germs; that Abigail did very well overall; that we had an excellent ultrasound technician with an attention to detail and a willingness to explain what was on the screen; that the mass in Natalie’s uterus has not grown significantly; that we had a little time to read and pray together throughout the day; that Lila came on short notice to watch Dylan and Heidi all day long; and that we had all of you praying!