It all started with peeing on a stick. Not the kind you’re thinking, although I guess technically it did start with that. On Friday, May 26th, at a routine obstetrical appointment, I peed in a cup and the stick that they dipped into it showed that there was protein in my urine. My blood pressure was mildly elevated so my doctor requested that I collect a 24 hour urine sample so they can get a better picture of the concentration of protein that is actually there over that period of time. When he requested I complete this, I mentioned to him that over the past week or two I had been experiencing a lot of palpitations/flutters so he also ordered a holter monitor. I went to work the following day and I began to feel unwell in the afternoon. Another nurse checked my blood pressure a couple times and again, it was elevated but not incredibly high. I still felt fluttery and unwell. They opted to complete an assessment and have the obstetrician see me. I had collected the 24 hr urine and the results showed 0.3g protein. This was technically borderline high for pregnancy so he wanted me to repeat it in approximately one week. He did not feel it was preeclampsia as it often occurs in your first pregnancy and since this was my second pregnancy with the same partner, it seemed highly unlikely. He wanted me to see internal medicine on Monday as my pulse was consistently lower than 60. He was planning to start me on a low dose of atenolol in hopes that it would relieve my symptoms but wanted to wait until after I saw internal medicine. I asked him if having a low pulse could have any impact on the baby and he assured me that with a normal to high blood pressure, there should be no concerns with the baby. They also completed an ECG which showed bradycardia but no abnormal rhythm. On Monday morning, May 29th, I went to get my holter monitor applied. After this, I went up to the obstetrical unit to wait for internal medicine to see me. When the physician arrived, she reviewed my history. She had a listen to my heart with her stethoscope and immediately sent me down to the emergency department to be placed on the monitor as she could hear frequent skipped beats and the rate was low. She didn’t want to wait for the results of the holter to come back to evaluate what was happening. I spent about 4 hours down in the emergency department. They did another ECG which showed trigeminy. My heart rate remained low. She sent me for an echocardiogram which was normal. She did some blood work and everything came back normal. She felt like it was safe to send me home and let me complete the holter and wait for the report to come back. I continued to feel unwell that week. Thursday afternoon my obstetrician called me and told me the report came back and showed 7% PVC burden and that I could start the atenolol 12.5mg once per day until the internist could follow up. I took that dose in the evening. I felt no relief or worsening of symptoms- everything stayed the same. Friday morning, June 2nd, I woke up feeling very unwell. I took a couple home blood pressure readings which were showing 140s/80s. Keeping in mind that in pregnancy, my normal blood pressure was about 110/70. I had intense chest heaviness, shortness of breath, fluttering and a general unwell feeling. I presented to emergency department that morning and was immediately brought into the critical care suite for monitoring. They noted a urine sample to show 2+ protein. The cardiac work up was normal. The physician tried an IV medication to see if he could increase my heart rate with no results. He also tried an IV medication to reverse the blood pressure pill I took to see if that would help and it did not. I was sent home with no answers and no assurance that my baby was okay. On Sunday morning, June 4th, I had to return to the emergency department with worsening chest pain and shortness of breath. I was sent back to the critical care suite and labs were drawn and the heart monitor was applied. Once the doctor came to see me, I was told that he believes there is a “psychosomatic component” and that I’m “thinking about it too much.” He also said that he could not offer any further guidance and sent me home. I left crying because I felt frustrated, hurt, and ignored by the system. I also found out later that my urine dip for protein was 3+ during this visit. My unborn baby still had yet to be properly evaluated and no one was listening to my concerns. I went home and collected my second 24 hr urine and brought it into the lab Monday morning. On Tuesday morning, June 6th, I woke with severe abdominal pain and a home blood pressure reading of 192/96. I woke my husband and told him we needed to go to the hospital right away. My father came to stay with our son. On arrival, I went directly to the obstetrical unit. I was greeted with familiar yet concerned faces as I had alerted them that I was coming- they are my coworkers after all. When I arrived, I let them know I had collected the 24 hr urine. When the nurse came back in, she had immediately called the doctor with the results of 1.8. He came to see me and immediately pushed an iv medication to bring my blood pressure down. Once the medication was administered, my heart rate rose from 40bpm to 110bpm and I felt a huge weight off my chest. I felt like I could breathe for the first time in weeks. I was started on magnesium sulfate and airlifted to a hospital in another province. When I arrived, they stabilized my blood pressure on the labour & delivery unit and eventually sent me to a different unit to hopefully spend days/weeks to come as I was only 26 weeks and 4 days. That evening, I started having contractions that the baby was not tolerating but with medications they were able to stop the labour. The next day I woke up feeling rested. Several hours later, my legs began involuntarily reflexing and I was developing a headache. The nurses called the doctor right away and he came to see me. He took one look at me and said “back to labour and delivery we go.” I was restarted on magnesium sulfate and once stabilized, they induced me. I was on an oxytocin drip for 24+ hours but unfortunately, the baby was unable to tolerate labour and they took me for an emergency c-section. My sweet baby girl was born at exactly 27 weeks and was 750g (1lb 10oz.) 

Preeclampsia changed my life. I am now in a category of women who are 4x as likely to develop high blood pressure. I am now in a category of women who are twice as likely to have cardiovascular disease or stroke. I am now in a category of women where 2 out of 3 women will die from cardiovascular disease. I am now in a category of women who are more likely to experience PTSD/PPMD than those without these complications. 

This fundraiser is organized by the preeclampsia foundation in the United States. They fund research that will hopefully help all maternal health globally. It is called the 140 over 90 run as it represents the diagnostic preeclamptic blood pressure but also 140 miles over 90 days, starting February 1st. I will be participating for my own health and so that I can help contribute to important research towards maternal health & preeclampsia that will hopefully prevent a woman from joining this club we never asked to be a part of.