Re: epidurals
Cris Coffey (CCOFFEY@rugs.bry.indiana.edu)
Fri, 29 Mar 1996 15:24:55 EST5
This just an off-the-wall story about my former neighbor and her
C-section, not related to preemies. Some of you may want to delete
this....
Cynthia,
Your story brings to mind what my former neighbor went through. Can
you imagine the C-section, like you said, with NO pain blockers?
YOUCH! My neighbor found out that I had had trouble with Brandon and
shared her story (our children are a year apart). She, too, had
preterm labor with Chelsea and was on strict bedrest and terbutaline.
She's a nurse. When it was time to deliver Chelsea, she wouldn't
dilate. The doctors kept waiting and waiting and waiting, even
though the baby was showing signs of distress. Paula had not had
anything for pain. When severe distress hit, they decided to do an
emergency C-section. They got her as far as the elevator door and
lost Chelsea's heartbeat and decided they couldn't even wait to get
her to the OR. Right there in the hallway, outside the elevator, a
nurse laid across Paula's chest to hold her down while the doctor
made the incision and removed the baby. Paul went through Hell with
this! She was conscious through the whole thing and she told me that
she got one glimpse of Chelsea--black and blue in color--and thought
she was dead, then passed out. When she came to, she swore the
nurses were playing cruel tricks on her talking about going to the
nursery. Paula kept saying, "but my baby's dead." I can just
imagine how happy she felt when she realized that Chelsea was alive
and doing well!
What a nightmare! I get the creeps just thinking about being held
down while someone cuts me open to remove a baby. It's no wonder
Paula won't be having any more!
Cris
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 13:38:16 -0600
To: preemie-l@vicnet.net.au
From: Cynthia Faullin <cfaullin@uiuc.edu>
Subject: epidurals
Hi everyone! I had a great epidural with Trevor. I was in a lot of pain
because of my liver so it was hard to curl up. I think the anesthesiologist
gave me a bit of a local so that insertion wouldn't be so uncomfortable.
She was really really nice. Unfortunately she hit a vein and had to do the
insertion over again. She apologized profusely. My L&D nurse was with me
and I squeezed her hand like crazy to counteract the incredible pressure
feeling of the tube being inserted. Gives me the heebie jeebies to think
about it. Yikes! Anyway, it was a heavy duty epidural because I was having
a c-section. The only unpleasant side effect was an incredible pain between
my shoulder blades once I was up and walking around again. I'm not even
sure that I can blame this on the epidural but at the time it was the only
cause I could think of. One of our nurses in Neo. had an epidural for a
c-section and it didn't take. She kept telling them that she wasn't numb
and they didn't believe her. They had actually begun the incision when she
lifted her legs from the table to prove that she could feel what was going
on. Can you believe it?!!!! Another nurse told me of a c-section she was
present at where the mother refused any kind of pain medication. No
nothing. How could you possibly stand that? For those of you who have
never seen a c-section scar, it's not tiny, not even the bikini line ones
like mine. Plus they just don't slice you open and haul the baby out. They
have to clamp the incision open and squeeze you like a tube of toothpaste to
get the baby and everything else out not to mention the stitches or staples
at the end. Good grief. Cynthia.
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Cris Coffey, Information Specialist
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