A Weekend to Remember: Perspective, Reflection, & Afterparties
By: Suzanne Badillo
March 7, 2021
1 year ago today, I had no idea our world was about to drastically change in the coming weeks. We were celebrating my son Isaiah’s birthday weekend, and we met some of our family out at Dave & Busters on a fun Friday night, at his request. No masks. Indoors. Laughing. Hugging. Sharing apps and toasting our drinks. That Sunday, we had a party at the park, with the usual “afterparty” at our house with the 30-40 people who wanted to still hang out and celebrate. Little did we know that would be the last big family and friends gathering for a while. We all know what transpired in the following weeks, which turned into months, and now, a year.
However, I can’t help but also remember this weekend 7 years ago. On this day in 2014, I was 29 weeks pregnant with my third child. I had no idea my world was about to drastically change that weekend. My due date was May 23, but because I had a condition called placenta accreta, I was strongly advised to have a scheduled cesarean delivery a month early. With placenta accreta, the placenta abnormally grows into the uterine wall, unable detach itself as it should during delivery as it normally should. Over time, the placenta may continue to grow out of the uterus and attach itself into other organs or structure, making it dangerous, and sometimes fatal, for the mother. My maternal-fetal medicine OB recommended I have a scheduled cesarean section at the end of April, at 34 weeks – if we wait too much longer, my risk escalates, but if we do it too early, the baby’s lung development would be at risk.
As it turns out, little Isaiah had plans of his own to come out earlier than expected. In the middle of the night, I began to hemorrhage severely, and my husband, George, rushed me to the hospital. Thankfully, my sister-in-law was able to come over within minutes to stay with my other 2 little kids, Jackson (4) and Lexi (20 months). After the bleeding continued for the next few hours at the hospital, I was brought into the operating room for an emergency cesarean section and partial hysterectomy. Isaiah was born at 8:45am and placed on a ventilator in the NICU. My surgery was over 6 hours. The placenta apparently started to make its way through my uterus and began trying to attach to outer structures, including my bladder. I had severe blood loss – about 1 ½ times my total blood volume had to be replaced. I woke up the next day on a ventilator, in the ICU, with a drain coming from the left side of my lower abdomen.
George’s story from the waiting room is a difficult one to hear, as he was in a state of not knowing how his wife or baby would come out of this. Some of my family and friends gave support in the waiting room that day. I will never forget the expressions of each of their faces when they came in, two at a time, to see me in bed, while I was on the ventilator. I couldn’t see myself, but I can see how difficult it was for them to see me in that state. With both me and my baby in different ICUs, it took a couple days before I could meet him and hold him in person. George would FaceTime with me while he was with the baby in the NICU so I can at least meet him virtually. Thankfully, I made steady progress and made my way to a regular postpartum unit soon, and I was able to finally touch my tiny baby. After 7 weeks of good progress in the NICU, Isaiah came home.
I am happy to report both Isaiah and I are healthy and doing well. Our family is strong, happy, and silly. Our house is loud and messy. This year, we miss hugging all our family and friends, but we have found many creative ways to support each other. We miss all the kids’ sports and activities, but we are grateful they can attend school and that we can still work. Masks are a pain to wear, but seven years ago, it was a good day when Isaiah and I could just breathe on our own. This past year has tested my patience in many ways, but reflection and perspective have helped me reinforce my gratitude and resilience. Oh, and BTW - always stay for the afterparty – that’s when the fun really starts.