I’m writing this 36 hours after being discharged from Mon General and while laying in an UHC ICU hospital bed. I do not have anything negative to say about my OBGYN doctor at Mon General. I always felt that I was in good care with her. Unfortunately, the nursing care and hospital system at the birthing center was a complete opposite experience.
This was my second child and I never experienced cramping after my first birth like I was with my second. It was to the point where I couldn’t stand up straight and struggled to walk. I mentioned this to my nurse who smiled and said it’s completely normal to cramp more with each pregnancy. I was offered Motrin and a shower.
24 hours after delivery I began to have spells where I would get freezing cold to the point of uncontrollable shivers. This would last for about two hours then I would transition into full on body sweats where I would soak through the clothes that I had on. My heart rate would also elevate between 120 and 140. During my second episode of this I paged for my nurse, Olivia, because I started to have blurry double vision, dizziness, and a severe headache. It took her twenty minutes to come in the room. I actually had to page her again. When she did come in she seemed very dismissive of my symptoms stating although my heart rate was in the 140’s my blood pressure was fine and my temperature was normal she offered to give me two Tylenol for the headache. I was not fine and I told her this wasn’t normal for me. She said she would consult the doctor on call, not the one that delivered me, but there isn’t anything else she could do. She told me at 2:30am the doctor had ordered a preeclampsia screening and they will be in to get my blood. My blood was taken around 7am.
I was being discharged that day. When the doctor on call came in to speak with me, the fourth doctor I had seen at this point, I asked again about these episodes and she told me it sounds like symptoms of your breast milk coming in, she suggested that I freeze some cabbage and put on my chest. At 1pm on Thursday I was discharged and made to walk to my car shivering and haunched over in pain. I rode home in a sweatshirt and jeans with the heat on in the middle of June.
By 3am on Friday, I had a high temperature and was being admitted to UHC hospital. At 1pm on Friday, 24 hours after discharge, I went sepsis and was being rushed to ICU with a crash cart while watching my husband hold my newborn baby. I was hooked up to a bipap machine and packed in ice. I was given a two blood transfusions and rushed to surgery where retained placenta was found along with a large back up of blood that was sitting in my uterus.
I chose Mon General because I heard such great things about the care you receive. I also heard great things about the birthing center and how nice the rooms were, especially if you have other kids and a family to accommodate during your stay. My first nurse, Mandy, was excellent. She listened to me and put my anxieties as top priority. The rest of the nursing staff seemed untrained and uninterested in what my concerns were. If a nurse or the doctor on call consulted with my delivering doctor or read my chart, they would have realized my placenta came out in pieces and I was symptomatic for something I was at risk for.
I’m thankful for the care that I received at UHC. The OB at the hospital stated my symptoms weren’t presenting themselves as they normally would but something was clearly wrong so they kept me and thank god I was here when things went bad. My nurse on Floor 4 North, Nikki, immediately went and got the head nurse as soon as I started shivering and they were in there when my breathing became compromised. The urgency and care they gave me was completely opposite of Mon General. The one thing I remember when first getting to ICU, while so much was being done to me, is a nurse leaning over and telling me you are in great care, all these ladies have kids and we understand what you are going through. We are going to take great care of you and they did.
