Katherine Hudson

Our joy and excitement to become parents quickly turned to a bit of unease with my first ER visit at 29 weeks due to gestational hypertension. We proceeded forward with close monitoring, 3 more ER visits, 2x daily BP monitoring, medications, weekly ultrasounds and 1 hospital admission at 35 weeks. At 36+0, our world turned upside down when we went to the ER for contractions and now preeclampsia with SF. The OB ER doctor was finishing up a c-section, they put me on the monitor and that is when an angel of a nurse, who was at the nurse’s station, saw a sinusoidal heart rhythm that she knew was an emergency and meant severe fetal distress. From that point on, the world spun at 1000mpm. We are grateful to Dr. Durgam, who had just made it to our room, the nurses that moved me all around in hopes of changing rhythm and everyone's quick decisions. Within minutes, I was rushed into the OR and being put under general, while praying they got my daughter out in time. Preeclampsia and IUGR robbed us of so many things but, the gratitude for the team that saved my daughters life is immeasurable.  Phoebe was born at 11:19pm on Thurday. She was blue, lungs full of fluid and barely 5lbs. We cannot thank the actions of the NICU team enough, who got her responding and stabilized quickly. We spent the next 4 days in the hospital managing my hemorrhaging & blood pressures and Phoebe's blood sugars and feeding.  Over the next year, she fought hard to gain weight, battled weekly PT sessions and begrudgingly, wore her hip brace for months to correct abnormal growth. We are so proud with how hard she has fought to get where she is and it is our turn to give back to families that are battling with their preemies, either in or out of the NICU.