In 2025, my husband and I were joyfully awaiting the arrival of our first baby - a son! I truly enjoyed every chapter of my pregnancy and loved being pregnant. I thought I was in the homestetch and was so excited for my July 20 due date.
On Friday, June 27, I woke in the middle of the night with intense stomach pain. I waited for my routine weekly OB-GYN appointment the following Tuesday and when I saw my provider I described the worsening pain in my upper right abdominal quadrant. Because I didn't have concerningly high blood pressure in that appointment my physician sent me home stating I had eaten something bad and likely had a stomach bug.
Over the next few days, I continued to experience excrutiating stomach pain and developed blurred vision and intense, severe nosebleeds. By Friday afternoon, my symptoms were worse and messages to my primary care physician and my OB were not resulting in any insight so my husband and I decided to have me checked at the ER since we were heading into a weekend.
I was immediately moved into the OB Unit and after a few hours of testing and observation, a sullen nurse came to my room and apologized to me profusely, stating she had missed my symptoms and that I didn't have a stomach bug or a UTI like she thought earlier, but I actually had HELLP syndrome (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes and Low Platelets) -- a life-threatening pregnancy complication considered to be a variant of preeclampsia, usually occurring in the later stages of pregnancy or soon after childbirth.
I agreed to an epidural and labored throughout the night with the hope of delivering vaginally. By the next morning, my platelets had dropped to an unsafe level and I was told I needed an emergency c-section. By 1 p.m., our beautiful boy was safely delivered and though I was traumatized and still in intense pain, I was thankfully okay.
In reflecting on this experience, I was overwhelmed with intense grief for the delivery I had envisioned. There was also the confusion of trying to piece together the events of the past 48 hours, but coming up mostly blank due to the intense, lifesaving medications that I received. Most moms with a HELLP diagnosis endure actual labor pains, an epidural, a c-section, a catheter, a foley balloon, plus abdominal injections and magnesium drips to prevent seizures and stroke paired with multiple IVs at once.
If you've read this long, you'll know a HELLP diagnosis or any hypertensive disorder diagnosis in pregnancy or after is nothing short of terrifying. Early diagnosis of HELLP is critical because serious illness and even death can occur in about 25% of cases.
If I can help at least one mom learn the warning signs and know how to effectively and loudly advocate for herself when she knows something is wrong within her body, then I will have done my part.
Thank you so much for reading my story and for your contribution to this lifesaving cause.
With Love,
Gianna
