This last week has brought a definite change of pace for the Beck household. Call it an intervention from God, bad luck, a blessing in disguise or an ironic sequence of mishaps. Whatever it was I'm not a fan, and not planning on getting in this situation again (that is, if I have any say over it).
Let me back up.
Two weekends ago (June 12-15), my Mom and Dad (the future Gma and Gpa Rabe) were in Des Moines for the weekend - to help with baby prep and to spend some quality time with Chris and me as we transition from a couple to a "real-live family." Of course, they also came to give Franklin and Parker (our little boys in puppy suits) a dose of love and attention. The boys tell quite the stories about never getting any attention, or treats, or back rubs.... but in reality, they're quite spoiled. That discussion will be for another time, though.
The four of us (M, D, C, R) headed to a Des Moines Barnstormers (indoor arena league football) game that Saturday night. That's when the dramas started. For purposes of getting through the many bumps, here's a recap of the events that ensued...
- Saturday between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m.: My wallet was stolen from my purse.
- Call restaurant, call Wells Fargo arena, call ice cream shop (all places we'd been earlier); no bones.
- Sulk over lost cash ($250+) and gift cards ($400+).
- Curse self for carrying all that stuff to an indoor football game (normally would've changed purses, but he day had gotten away from us with all the shopping).
- Cancel all credit cards, checking account, debit accounts; report library card, health insurance card lost/stolen. (Since mom had a similar experience two years ago, I was inspired to keep a listing of all my credit/debit/etc. account information and phone numbers for those accounts in our safe. This made the process much easier, but no less painful. That said... I recommend it to everyone.)
- File police report; all hope is reduced to "less than one-tenth of one percent" b/c that's what the officer tells me about the likely populous that will 'do the right thing.'
- Sunday: continue trying to figure out WHEN it could have happened; nil.
- AGAIN... call restaurant, call WF arena, call ice cream shop; nada.
- Monday: 9:00 a.m. Visit lost and found; Big Fat NOTHING.
- 9:30 a.m.: Proceed to bank to finish setting up new checking,, savings and debit accounts (b/c they couldn't finish on the phone on Saturday night)
- 11:30 a.m.: Proceed to Adel driver's license bureau (b/c Polk county is CLOSED ON MONDAYs. STUPID.)
- 12:55 p.m.: FINALLY get my license (after walking in, got number 49, they were serving number 39). When it turned noon, one of the two workers went on lunch break… i.e….pace slowed double; four people who were taking driving or written tests that had been there before me finished up, so got to become lodged back into the line… worker had to grade them BY HAND, allow them to review tests, take pictures and grant new licenses to those who passed - 2 of 4). The whole experience there was like a scene from a Ben Stiller movie... where EVERYthing that can go wrong does.
- 12:57 p.m. try to check in for flight online via mobile phone; no bones - error with site. Contact AA customer service mobile help and they say it'll be fine and that I'll get confirmation shortly.
- 1:25 p.m.: No confirmation; call AA general customer service; they won't check me in.
- 1:35 p.m.: Get home, co-worker drops off materials from office, throw in my baggage; SPEED to airport.
- 1:48 p.m.: Arrive at airport; attendant will not let me check in… says it's too late… says there's nothing she can do about it.
- I CRY. This was the "straw." Yes... I realize it was silly to cry... but this was the breaking point.
- 1:49 p.m.: Get booked standby on 3:45 flight that has 15 extra seats remaining.
- 2 p.m.: Do lunch with M&D; decide I have enough time to drive myself to airport so that I won't have to burden Chris with picking me up on Wednesday when I return.
- 2:45: Get home, transfer carry-on to my car. Go to start car. CAR WON'T START!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
- 2:48: Get BACK into M&D's trusty Highlander and head BACK to DSM airport.
- 3:25: Get through security without any issue; approach gate C6 - no listing for Chicago flight. Visit attendee's stand to inquire about flight. Conversation:
R: I'm wondering about the 3:45 flight to Chicago
A: Yeah?
R: My ticket says it's supposed to board at C6, but-
A: IT is…. The plane's right there (points out window)
R: OK… but it's not listed on any of the display boards (only a 4 p.m. flight to STL was listed on the C6 display and all other flights on other gates were going to Dallas)
A: Well, it's a brand new flight as of yesterday, so it's probably not updated yet. - I presume that was my fault for asking… another flyer commented that apparently we're not allowed to NOT know this kind of stuff. Lovely.
- I wasn't going to push it and ask another question (…. Am I going to be able to fly standby…) because I thought she'd tell me I have to wait anyway. I wait until all other passengers board (that's how standby works) and visit the same lovely attendant who is now accepting ticket for the flight. She sends me back to ticket counter where two other ladies now stand. I am given my boarding pass without issue just as one agent is telling the other, "I'm serious… it's a full moon … there's got to be with the way people are acting"
I could NOT agree more. - Get to Chicago 4:40 local time; get checked luggage; wait, and wait, and Wait and Wait and WAIT for shuttle. Missed the first one the moment I was heading out the door; the second one FLIES past me. Jerk. Talk to Chris; says he was trying to get a special something sent to my hotel - some chocolate, a rose, a massage…. Etc… but couldn't locate the hotel information. His thoughtfulness makes me cry, again.
- Phone dies… when considering calling the hotel again.
- THIRD shuttle's a charm - 30 minutes after the LAST shuttle whizzed by (the hotel said they come by every 15 minutes. Right.)
- Get to hotel and settled into my room at 6:20 p.m….
- Dinner and prep for meeting with stand-in (as the scheduled meeting facilitator was suddenly unable to attend due to death in the family).
- 8:30 p.m.: return to room to focus on positives in life and finish work.
- 12:30 a.m. Turn in for the evening... Tuesday's a big day.
The rest of my time in Chicago (Mon-Weds) brought me just over eight hours of sleep (i.e. not nearly enough). After a good close to the meeting, it was time to shift to the other work I'd not been focusing on, since I had been tied up. Thursday I was back in the office for a "normal" work day. Friday, our Des Moines crew "punched in" at 5 a.m. to get an industry "special report" out to our clients. We then headed to Kansas City for a team meeting around 6:30 a.m. Arriving at 9:30, we finalized and sent out the report. Our team meeting started around 10 a.m. and we were having a great time learning about all the exciting initiatives we were all working on, the new team members we'd gained and the plan of attack as we moved into the second half of the year.
At 3 p.m., we took a break. I'd been feeling wonderful, albeit tired, but when I stood up, I knew something was wrong. Something had definitely changed. I'll spare the details, but in short, I quickly realized something wasn't normal. After calling my doctor, I was asked, "Can you be to the downtown location (Des Moines) in 15 minutes?" KC is three hours from DSM. I was instructed to go to a local hospital immediately. Two of my co-workers became aware of the situation and quickly helped me pick up the pieces, gather my things and quickly transported me to the nearest hospital which was less than 10 minutes away.
Once at the hospital, the blur set in. Some highlights:
- Very nice nurses
- Exam reveals that I'm 1.5 cm dialated and 60% effaced
- Baby heart monitors and my persistently moving belly reveal baby is healthy, active and stable
- Monitors on me reveal that I'm contracting every 5-7 minutes.
Because of the stats, and because I was only at 32 weeks and 6 days, the medical team determined that I was in pre-term labor. They proceeded to give me magnesium sulfate - a muscle relaxant used to help stop contractions which also makes you feel like you have the flu. As well, because there was a risk that the baby could still be delivered, they started steroid treatments (total of two shots, 24 hours apart). These help the baby's lungs, intestines and brain develop to their fullest extent, should it decide "it's time."
Chris arrived at the hospital a couple hours later - just before the medical team decided there was enough of a threat that the baby would be making its grand entrance. They felt it was in the best interest of everyone to transfer me to another hospital in downtown KC that has a level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. An ambulance ride later, I was stationed in a birthing room, still breathing through contractions and still extremly painfully aware of the fact that this was not supposed to happen this way.
Over night, the contractions slowed, lessened in intensity and finally stopped altogether. I was held all of Saturday for observation, another steroid injection and many pricks and prods including 4 IV entrances, antibiotics - "just in case", a RhoGAM shot and many exams. Saturday afternoon, after I had been stable for several hours, a neonatologist came in to tell us all about "what will happen when the baby's born." Excuse me?? She described the likely condition of the babe, the challenges it would face being premature, the milestones it would have to meet.... I had to stop her about five minutes into her schpiel. Conversation went omething like:
- "Did something with my status change that's making you believe that I'm going to deliver this baby?"
- "No. But my job is not to know what is going on with you - it's to take care of the baby you could be delivering here. You need to know what condition this baby could be in, should it decide to come out."
- "Ok." (I then proceeded to focus only on the sound of the baby's heart monitor, as I couldn't face the prospect of having a baby in a NICU three hours from home.
The best part was Sunday morning. Among the lack of answers from doctors and nurses about when I was likely to be released, we finally had some resolve. Because I'd been stable, and because baby was happy and healthy, I was going to be released. That afternoon, that's exactly what happened. Chris and I followed the doctor's instructions to a tee (do not pass go... do not collect $300), and speedily went straight home.
For the last week, I've been on bedrest. This is one of the most difficult things I've done in a LONG time. I don't do the whole "couch potato" thing very well. When at home, I'm usually on the go, especially lately with baby prep.
I've been cleared to get back to my "normal" schedule next week. But what is most important is that I need to learn to slow down, pace myself, know that it's ok to not accomplish EVERYthing on my list of to-dos all in one day... I'll be back to work next week, but focusing on mini-goals, getting in and out of the office at "normal" times and knowing that tomorrow will bring a fresh slate. This will be great practice for when BB does arrive.
