This time it was me, not the three-year-old who had to go to the ER. Don't worry, baby girl and I are healthy and safe and there were no emergency deliveries!
Here's the story... Excuse the grammar and run-ons, I am typing quick so I can get back to my day of bed-rest!
PART 1 - The Scary Incident: I had a nervous nauseous stomach all morning and couldn't figure out why. I wasn't actually nervous about anything, just felt queazy! First period went off without a hitch! The lab went well, the kids did great, and life was good. Between classes, I started seeing a bright spot in my left eye... It seamed like when you stare directly into a light or the sun or even a camera flash and you see that weird light in your eye for a few seconds. This was not your ordinary spot! This spot wouldn't go away. I wasn't worried yet though. I closed the blinds in my classroom thinking that the sun was too bright. Kids left, new ones came in... Still a bright spot in my left eye... Next there were a bunch of spots and a blurred peripheral, so trippy - aaahhhh! I adjusted my contact lens and it was fine... I looked down to read an email and realized that I couldn't see it very well because the words were moving and shifting around, and that my left hand also seamed strangely uncoordinated... this is when panic set in! Blurry left eye and sort of tingly uncoordinated left hand... I immediately sat down in my big comfy desk chair, told the kids to get started on their warm-ups and writing down their homework, and called my classroom aide over to me (A woman that helps a group of kids with special needs who are in that class). Remember that I am 36 weeks pregnant at this point, can barely see out of my left eye, and can't coordinate my right hand properly! I am in a panic! I explain to the aide what is happening and she asks me some questions, we decide to call my principal over... My boss is awesome! She is a mother of three and was very sweet and calm through this whole ordeal. She immediately radioed the office to call paramedics (against my pleading to not call them and that I would be fine - I am so dumb sometimes)... I was so worried about the baby.... Since it was only on one side of my body, I was thinking of blood pressure and preeclampsia and heart attacks and having an emergency C-Section to get the baby out, which is a bit too early for my liking... What if I die of heart attack and my children have no mother... AAAHHHH!!!I was sooooo scared! My vision in my left eye was still practically gone and my left hand was still weird... They cleared my scared classroom full of kids out to the library and the paramedics came in... There were 4-5 of them... there was poking and prodding and questions and oxygen tubes in my nose and blood pressure apparatuses and heart monitors... It was crazy and caused more panic! I was slow to react to their questions and it was just craziness! My hubby showed up lightning fast from his school which is only about 5 minutes away and looked so worried and helpless. The medics found that my blood sugar, pressure, heart rate, etc. were all normal and that it wasn't anything heart related. None-the-less, they had to take me to a hospital to be checked out and make sure the baby is doing well and find out what is wrong with me. The entire time all of this was happening around me, baby girl #2 was kicking excitedly in my belly, which helped ease my mind a little bit... After about a 30 minutes from the start of the whole thing, my vision had returned and my hand was back to normal as well... I was still very shaken up and terrified!
PART 2 - The Ambulance Ride: They wheeled me into the ambulance in the middle of campus near my classroom - so embarrassing right?!?! Jon followed in his car behind the ambulance the whole 20 minute drive to our Kaiser hospital. I could see him in the window, which was comforting! He was terrified! The medic in the back with me was really nice and just chatted with me the whole time - I think they have to do that to make sure that the patient is responsive. I was just scared, but his small talk helped ease my tension a little. I still was so panicked that I couldn't recall basic information about myself! It was so weird! An ambulance ride is the bumpiest ride in the whole world! Especially for a pregnant woman who is laying uncomfortably on a stretcher and really has to pee! Somehow the medic was able to perform putting an IV with a saline block during Mr. Toads Wild Ride, without hurting me! What a magician he is! He was awesome!
Part 3: The Hospital: Once at the hospital, they checked all my vitals again. They used a "Doppler" and found the baby's heart beat and she was great and moving around in there so much that the nurse had trouble getting an actual reading! Go go baby girl!!! That eased my mind so much to know that she was happy and not in distress in my tummy! All of my other vitals were fine and clear. We were so confused as to what could be wrong with me. It wasn't a random panic attack! I didn't actually panic until after I couldn't see out of one of my precious eyes!!! Jon paced nervously around the tiny room until the doctor finally came in. He immediately said "Sounds like you had an Ocular Migraine"... a What???? I have never had a migraine in my life and furthermore I didn't have a headache!?!? What a quack I initially thought - until I listened to what he had to say... He described the symptoms I had experienced perfectly... He talked about seeing bright flashes and spots and not being able to focus or read out of only one eye.... he mentioned how it affected my hand... he even asked if I currently had a headache and ya know, I did, a very small head ache above my right eye... he said the head ache is usually found on the opposite side of the head of the visual disturbance because your left brain controls your right and visa-versa. Often times an "ocular migraine" occurs with no headache at all, or in my case, a tiny little headache that went away very quickly. Baby girl #2 was checked again via ultrasound and she was still just fine! We were sent home by lunch time to rest and regroup!
Part 4: OCULAR MIGRAINES: Apparently women (or some men) can experience any type of migraine due to stress, sleep loss, or hormonal changes. Ocular Migraines are just one specific type. Migraines are hereditary ladies (sorry)! After talking to my mom, she shared that she had had these while pregnant and even a couple before pregnancy and later in life - she never knew what they were though. She thinks my aunt experienced them while pregnant too but was going to check. I guess pregnant women sometimes (fairly rare unless they already have a history) experience these due to hormonal changes at the beginning or end of pregnancy. I am hoping that this was an isolated incident and the doctor even said I may never have one again. He said they usually start during puberty in women or even in their early twenties. Anyway, I am here and safe and so is baby girl!!! If one of my eyes freaks out on me again (like it took its own little hit of acid), I will not panic! I will sit and rest until it passes. These things usually last for about a half of an hour.
So that is my fun little story! I am okay! I taking an extra day to rest just to be cautious! Back to work for me tomorrow!
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