23 weeks. 161 days. 3864 hours. 231840 minutes. 13910400 seconds. The amount of time it took to change our lives forever and send us down an unexpected path!
We were so excited to find out we were having a baby! We couldn’t wait to tell everyone! We came up with a fun way to tell our family that we were expecting a baby. Everyone was so excited when they found out. Things were going fantastic! No morning sickness, no real drastic weight gain, just a little heart burn–that’s it! We had our first baby shower in North Carolina, went on a trip to Seattle to do a Pampered Chef show, then our world forever changed.
On Friday, April 15, 2011, I was 22 weeks pregnant. I had a doctor’s appointment that day and was put on blood pressure medicine since my BP (which had been low the entire time) was high. We went to Seattle the next day. On our way home from Seattle, I had a slight headache. By the time we got home, my head was pounding. About 3am, I woke my husband up since I was unable to sleep and it hurt to lay my head down on the pillow. Our doctor said to immediately go to the hospital. When we arrived, my BP was 220/135! Needless to say, they put me on all sorts of BP medicines and began testing for pre-eclampsia. The inital test results came back good, but I had to stay under the close eye of doctors.
Since I was stabilizing at this point, we were planning to spend at least the next 7 -10 weeks in the hospital until our little girl arrived. We talked about how we could decorate the room, how we could sneak the dog in so I could see her, how I could change rooms to get a different view, etc. A few days later, everything changed!
My liver enzymes went from around the 200 mark to over 10,000 in one day! The doctors have never seen HELLP syndrome come on this fast. It was a shock to everyone, but especially me since I felt absolutely fine!
We were advised that it was against medical advise to continue on with the pregnancy, and it was recommended for me to be induced. (The part I found out afterward was that had we decided not to be induced, they explained to my husband that I may not make it through the next 24 hours!) On Thursday, April 21st at about 8am, we began the inducing process. At 6:30pm on April 22nd, my water broke. 9 minutes later I had our sweet angel!
Lorelai Tess was born on April 22nd, 2011. It just so happens that it was Good Friday. Lorelai weighed 1 lb, 0.4 ounces and was 10.75 inches long. She was perfect! Tons of fine brown hair, long feet (1.5 inches already), a freckle on the bottom of her feet, and the tiniest finger nails I’ve ever seen! The most amazing thing is that we got to see her first and last breath.
We got to hold our angel for as long as we wanted. I was with Lorelai for 23 short weeks. I don’t recall the entire time we got to physically hold her as much as my husband, mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, father-in-law, and dad do though. I was still on lots of medication at this point to ensure that I was okay, so I was in and out during the next few days. We do have incredible pictures of our time with Lorelai. My sister-in-law documented our journey and a photographer from Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep also came.
We may never know the reasons why I developed HELLP syndrome so quick or why this happened to us. And we are okay with that because it is God’s plan for us. We decided that the best thing we can do is to remember the short time we had with our angel, not play the “What If” game, and to make something good come from a bad situation. If we are able to help 1 person going through a similar situation, we will know that something good has come from our unfortunate situation!
Our daughter has taught us to enjoy EVERYTHING about life, no matter how big or small. She has taught us to live life to the fullest and have no regrets. She has taught us how to be better parents for our future children. She has taught us what unconditional love truly means and for that we will forever be grateful to her!
One day we will again be with our sweet Love Bug, but until then Lorelai Tess will forever be in our hearts!
Lorelai's Legacy 
I witnessed the whole process that you and my little brother have gone through and want you two to know that you two are the most amazing and strongest people I know! I am so proud of how the two of you have handled this and continued to move forward and work through this. I could not imagine the pain one suffers loosing their baby, I can only imagine having babies of my own and watching the two of you. Thank you for allowing me to share your special day with you and document Lorelai’s short but precious life! I love you two so much and will always be here for you two when and if you ever need me; a sholder to cry on, vent to or to just talk. I also did not know what HELLP syndrom was exactly (learned a little during nursing school). Great web page! Thank you so much for sharing your story! I love you very much and will be here for you always!
Love,
Your Sister-in-Law & Lorelai’s Aunt Dawn
Lorelai has an aunt or uncle in heaven along with her 4 year old cousin. I was not as far along & didn’t have all the complications you did. They never told me what the baby was, back then at 3 or so months they just called it a miscarriage, Barb has had a couple too. That baby as well as Lexi have been a part of my everyday, as has Lorelai since the day I knew she was coming. I love you & applaud you for what you are doing to help others.
Much Love from Lorelai’s Great-Gramma Fran
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL–CAME FROM YOUR HEART–i WISH I COULD HAVE HELD THAT SWEET GIRL–I LOVE HER SO MUCH I’M SURE GOD IS PLANNING TO SEND YOU ANOTHER SWEET BABY AND A HEALTHY ONE KNOW THAT I AM PRAYING FOR THIS TO HAPPEN LOVE YOU BOTH GRANNY
What an amazing tribute to your littlest angel! The moment she begn growing in you belly…you were a mother. Ad you are still a mother to an angel baby that will ALWAYS be a part of your life! She is perfectly tiny…and perfectly GORGEOUS! Have faith that someday Lorelai Tess will be a big sister…..and that you will not have to face THIS battle again. Your strength is inspirational….. and your faith and hope for the future….unwavering.
We are ALL here for you…….
It is amazing how you can be so positive – that is truly a work of God. You are such an inspiration to me. If you need help making the baby blankets, I will be glad to help. Let me know what I can do.
Lorelai was an angel that God loved too much to let go. She was as beautiful as her mommy and as strong as her Daddy, and would have been spoiled by all of us. We loved her as much as we love her parents and are grateful for even the short time she was with you.
Susan,
What an amazing woman you are!
I am so moved by your strength, and your compassion for others.
What the world means for bad, God will use for good! He will use you
in this wonderful ministry!! Praying for you and your husband. What wonderful
parents you are!! I want to support you in helping with making blankets and hats.
Love you!
God Bless!!
I am totally impressed by the woman you have come to be after such a traumatic loss. You’ve taken something so painful and made it into something beautiful. I am sure that your darling baby daughter would be so proud of her Mommy! I love how you have chosen to honor your baby. I also am thinking of what I can do to raise awareness of MTHFR pregnancy loss. You have now given me my motivation. Thank you
I wanted to tell you thank you for sharing your story and I’m sorry things happened the way tey did, in all it great to see you being so positive amidst the circumstances. I too, had HELLP syndrome while pregnant which caused my placenta to rupture and it required an emergency c-section, 10 blood transfusions, 4 platelet transfusions and an evacuation of a hematoma. I have zero complaints my little boy came into this world a fighter and was born at 32 weeks (measuring at 27 due to IUGR) and weighting 3 pounds, 4 ounces and is celebrating his 5th birthday this month!!! Yay!! My family ad friends were told to say their goodbyes because my liver, kidneys, heart and lungs began to fail and instead of giving up, I pushed through that trying time and am here to share my story just as you did because there is not enough awareness of this traffic condition. Keep up the encouragement and spreading the word! One life saved is more then worth it! HELLP awareness!!
After reading your story about HELLP syndrome I thought I would share mine with you.. As they are very similar..
I found out I was pregnant in July 2013 and everything was going great… No morning sickness, not much weight gain at all just some heartburn in my first trimester… In my second trimester I felt great I had more energy and the heartburn was gone. Toward the end of November 2013 I started to have horrible heartburn and indigestion.. It was nothing like it was in my first trimester.. It was worse… I called my doctor (who already had me on heartburn meds) that my heartburn was getting worse (I just thought that was normal for third trimester) he told me to keep taking my meds watch what I ate, keep my head and chest elevated at night and so on… I tried EVERYTHING to relieve this awful heartburn and indigestion bag nothing worked. It was the week before my scheduled doctor appointment and I noticed that I had just “blew up” over the past week with weight gain in my legs and thighs.. I was 26 weeks and in my third trimester I just thought I was finally starting to gain some weight.. The night before my doctor appointment I notice the imprint of my socks were showing on my anckles and my belly button was sticking out more… I felt fine not headache… Other than the awful heartburn I was feeling great.
When I went to my doctors appointment the next day and they checked my blood pressure it was high (I NEVER had high blood pressure) then the doctor checked it himself and he was shocked at how high it was and that I felt fine… He then sent me to the hospital to get checked out.. My blood pressure was then 202/138 … And I felt find.. The doctor then told me I didn’t have heartburn… I had HELLP syndrome and preeclampsia at 26 weeks pregnant.
I had heard of preeclampsia but I had no clue what HELLP was. I then called my husband(who worked 6 hours away in Oklahoma) and told him to come home Immediately. They told me they were going to have to deliver my baby.. It was the only way…. If they didn’t deliver the baby I would die… I and the baby were in danger. I don’t remember much after the doctor told me that because I went into shock before the surgery.. I gave birth to a 1lb 2 ounce little boy who was then flown to a children’s hospital 2 hours away and he was in the NICU for 16 days.. He was a very very sick boy because of the HELLP and on 1-1-14 my sweet baby boy passed away.. It has been one month ago today that my life changed forever.. I gave birth to my first child and on 1-1-14 my life changed again when I said goodbye to my sweet boy. I know he is no longer sick or hurting and he is in a much better place now and that makes me happy …I now want to spread the word about HELLP syndrome and what the sign dang symptoms are so that maybe another mommy-to-be won’t have to go through something like HELLP..
My condolences to you and your family. I am too a HELLP Syndrome Survivor. I had a very similar “easy” pregnancy at the beginning, or so I had thought. I had little signs here and there. My fingers were like sausages and it hurt to grasp anything. I went into the hospital at 29 weeks with upper gastric pain. They did an EKG said every thing was fine I just had heartburn and sent me home. I went into my Ob a few days later and they said my blood pressure was slightly elevated but nothing to be concerned about. That night I was back in the ER with the same pain. They took me up to labor and delivery. By this time I was vomiting and in severe pain. They did blood work and told me I’d be flying out to a hospital with a NICU as I was delivering. My son was born at 30 weeks and 2 days. He survived and is a growing almost 4 year old. I wanted to start something like this to raise awareness for this syndrome as there is little to no information on it, and what there is, it’s vague as to why and what causes it. Everyone in my family has had normal births, easy pregnancies. It’s not hereditary. That I can conclude. Your baby girl is precious and an angel. ❤ thank you for sharing your story.
Beautiful name for a beautiful angel… I developed hellp at the end of March 2016. My daughter was due may 28th. Three hospitals knew something was wrong, but couldn’t quite give me an answer.. I had a bad feeling. I didnt understand the swelling and pain and headaches. That’s when I met Doc. He transferred me to a hospital with a nicu. They gave me magnesium and blood pressure meds. Anything to prolong the pregnancy. I was diagnosed 4/5/16. They immediately started inducing because my platelets were below level to give me a c section. It failed. On 4/8/16 at around 10:30 pm i was rushed in for an emergency c section to save my daughter and my own life. Analiesa weighed 3lb 7oz, she was born with no heartbeat. They brought her back! This was something they never told me. I read it in her discharge paperwork. I needed platelet transfusions. I am still currently fighting with blood pressure medication. When i look up i see stars. My daughter is struggling to gain the necessary weight to catch up, but is healthy otherwise and she is home. Most importantly, I want all women to know the dangers of PreE and Hellp. I try to tell anyone who asks about my little preemie or asks why she was so early. Thank you for sharing your story, heres a short version of mine!
We received the birthday card and kind gesture this evening of the dessert. Thank you and our condolences for your loss. It was a nice tribute to your girl.
You’re very welcome! Happy that you both can be part of our story.