What Happened

About a month ago, I started having severe headaches. Progressively severe. Two weeks ago, I started missing work because the headache pain was so overwhelming. I have never felt pain like that in my life, and every day would be worse than the day before.

I tried ice. And heat. And chiropractors. And doctors. And medications. And herbs. And massages. We did bloodwork and uninalysis and a CT scan and an MRI. We didn't find anything conclusive to explain what was happening to me.

Last Saturday, after narcotics had failed to alleviate the pain and I had developed double-vision, I was admitted to the hospital. Specialists were called in on my case, but no one really knew what was going on. I lost the ability to move my right eye. We decided to try inducing, hoping that it was a hormonal headache that might be cured by delivery. We tried inducing on Sunday, and again on Monday, with no progress. (Just to say, the pain of Pitocin-induced contractions didn't even compare to my headache pain. At all.) I remained in the hospital until Tuesday, when we decided there wasn't much more to be done.

My birth plan, the high priority I had placed on a natural birth was stripped away, one line-item at a time, as things like "brain tumor" and "anyurism" became more and more a part of my world. I was unable to see beyond the pain I'd be enduring for the next five minutes, let alone contemplate the long-term affects of what was happening.

On Friday (Sept. 26), we received a phone call at home that I had tested positive for West Nile virus. For which there is no treatment. For which there is not enough evidence during pregnancy to provide any indication of what to do there. I'd never had a fever, or a rash, or any other West Nile symptom other than headache (encephalitis) and vision abnormalities.

On Saturday (Sept. 27), I woke up and my headache was gone. It was the first time I'd been without pain in weeks. The damage to my eye did not automatically repair. It may take up to months to regain the full capacity of that eye. It is patched over most of the time, as I can't process the two distinct images I'm receiving from each eye. But each day it seems to regain more of its mobility. Reading is difficult, I don't know when I'll be able to drive again.

The baby. The baby seems fine and healthy, and we've decided to let her stay put as long as she needs. Our case is being tracked by the State Dept. of Health, and I hope that it helps someone else in this situation know what whether it's best to stay pregnant or not. We just don't know at this point. That said, I've sure had a lot of contractions these last couple of days, so she's welcome to join us anytime now!

Sorry if this post is totally disjointed, I'm not my best these days, but I thought I'd let everyone know what was going on.