This is Ann

Continuing from where I have left off ….

As the doctor relayed the shocking news to us, he continued doing the ultrasound to check how the baby was doing. He took note of the weight, the measurement and movement and said at 29 weeks, the baby’s size was quite substantial and has a pretty good chance of survival.

By then I was in tears and whatever he said didn’t really register.

We finished the ultrasound and were immediately told to rush to the hospital and get myself warded. Since my membrane had burst, there’s a 100% possibility I would deliver in the next 48 hours. And because it’s a premature birth, the doctor advised us to go to Kantonsspital Aarau, which has better neonatal unit compared to the one in Baden. Aarau is about 20 mins drive from Baden.

Nak dipendekkan cerita, ktrg reached the hospital at around lunch time. Sepatutnya boleh sampai awal lagi but we had to pick up No. 1 from school and the hubby had to do something kat Baden town and then cancel his trip to Paris lagi, yada yada. Time tu boleh rilek lagi cuz contraction tak start lagi pun.

Upon reaching the hospital, we were immediately given a room. Tak payah register pun. They were expecting us. My doctor had communicated with them regarding my case and sent them my files ahead of my arrival. So efficient kan.

Between then and the next couple hours, things progressed really fast. I was instructed to do another ultrasound and thereafter was given three IV drips, yg I remember; cortisone to mature the baby’s lungs, antibiotic to fight off any possible infection and the third one tak tau nama but it was supposed to stop the contraction. Lebam-lebam my hands and arms cuz the nurses had trouble locating my veins.  The doctors and nurses said kalau boleh jgn deliver too early. 29 weeks was way too early they said.

But kalau benda dah nak jadi, nak buat camna kan. Despite being given the drips, my contractions came fast and regular.

Nak dipendekkan cerita lagi, at that time the neonatal unit was full. Takda spare incubator, can you believe it. So no choice, they had to rush me to Zurich in an ambulance! Merasa jugalah naik ambulance in Switzerland, haha.

Sampai-sampai at Unispital Zurich I was wheeled immediately into the labour room. Time tu dah pukul 2 petang. My hubby was not with me at this time. I told him to bring the kids home, let them have lunch and petang sikit he could come and see me. Luckily, we have some Malaysian friends in Baden yg sudi tolong tengok-tengokkan budak-budak tu. Time ni lah rasa sedih sgt hidup merantau. Takda saudara-mara, semua benda pun kena buat and tanggung sendiri, harapkan ihsan kawan-kawan je time-time emergency like this.

At Unispital Zurich, surprisingly my contractions subsided although ada gak sikit, which only the machine can detect. One by one the staff came to check on me and ask about my updates. They were doctors, surgeons, midwives and lastly the anaesthetist. I was on my own in there but never quite alone. In fact I felt very relaxed, boleh update facebook lagi.

At 5pm, the husband finally arrived. Right on time too, cuz a few minutes later the chief surgeon came in and said they have to operate on me ASAP.

I won’t go into details about my operation. Suffice to say I was wide awake when they cut me up. Waist down je kena bius. I hate spinal! I was freezing in the OT. Menggigil-gigil kesejukan. Or more accurately, ketakutan.

At 7.33pm, No. 3 was out. I had a brief look at her. She was small but looked ok. She was taken immediately into the NICU, where she was cleaned and intubated.

She stayed in the NICU for 6 weeks.