Been to HELLP Syndrome and Back: Kedisha’s Story

This week, I am excited to share another interview with a HELLP Syndrome survivor. She is also a stroke survivor. Preeclampsia, eclampsia, and HELLP Syndrome survivors are amazing and strong women who have faced some of the worst things you can face during pregnancy and postpartum. In the past few months, I have interviewed a preeclampsia survivor from the UK and her husband as well as a postpartum preeclampsia survivor. In other past posts, I have interviewed a preeclampsia survivor who started her own Instagram page to bring awareness to NICU babies as well as one who created her own non-profit.

I am a preeclampsia survivor, and if you would like to read my premature birth story and journey with preeclampsia, click here

What is HELLP Syndrome?

HELLP Syndrome is a life-threatening pregnancy complication that is a form of preeclampsia. It gets its name from the following symptoms: Hemolysis (breaking down of red blood cells), Elevated Liver enzymes Low Platelet count. The mortality rate of HELLP Syndrome is high-up to 30%. This is why it is so critical for pregnant women to know the symptoms.

Tell Me About Your Pregnancy Before HELLP Syndrome

My pregnancy was great until it wasn’t. I had a normal pregnancy until my third trimester. Around 28-29 weeks I was just feeling fatigued. It was during my second trimester that my feet started swelling. I told my OB about my swelling. They said it was normal to swell during pregnancy. I told her that my hands and feet would swell when I went walking/jogging. She just suggested that I not walk as much. 

It was a Friday, I remember it because we were on an in-school field trip. I was feeling so tired. My feet were also hurting from the swelling. At the end of the day, I stopped by my principal’s office on the way out to tell her about my appointment on Monday and I was taking a half-day. Once I got in my car, I was hit with this Intense pain in my stomach. I don’t even know how I made it home. But I was praying the whole way home.

I have no memory of my daughter being born. Because I had a stroke before they took her via emergency c-section.

But I can tell you what time I left for the hospital that night and what time she was born. I left for the emergency room around 7 pm and Kinsley was born at 11:41 pm. 

When did you know something was wrong?

I knew something was wrong when I left work feeling more tired than usual. Once I got in the car I felt excruciating pain on the right side of my stomach. I didn’t know then, but it was my liver failing.

I just thought they were Braxton Hicks so I called the doctor’s office and told them about how I was feeling. She asked me if I was bleeding, I told her no. She suggested I lay and put my feet up (because as a teacher we do a lot of standing) and if I didn’t feel better to call back. An hour or two had passed and I still didn’t feel better. So I called back. By then the doctor’s office had closed and got the doctor that was on call. She said to go to the emergency room. 

Tell me about your hospital stay when you were diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome.

When we went to the emergency room they told me to go up to labor and delivery. They took my blood pressure and it was 215/128. They didn’t tell me how high it was. The nurses only told my husband. They also said to him “she’s having this baby tonight”. All I remember was the nurses trying to put the IV in me. There had to be at least three nurses trying to get the IV in. My husband told me they eventually got the IV started, but my blood pressure wasn’t dropping fast enough.

When I had the stroke my husband (Ben) was holding my hand and trying to keep me calm. He says he asked me a question. It was like someone cut my vocal cords. He told the nurses “something is wrong with my wife” and they immediately rushed him out of the room.

I don’t remember any of this. I woke up in a different hospital two and a half days later with half of my head shaved due to a craniotomy. Basically, I had a brain bleed stroke. I wasn’t diagnosed with HELLP syndrome until the second hospital, because I had to go to a trauma hospital so they could perform my brain surgery. I was in the ICU for about a week, then I went to Rehabilitation Hospital.

Keep in mind, that I haven’t seen my daughter yet. Because we were at two different hospitals. I would see on the NICU cameras, but I wasn’t able to meet/hold her until about a month after she was born. The day that I went to go see her for the first time was truly magical. When the nurse placed her into my arms she was still asleep. But when I began talking to her she popped her eyes open, looked at me, and smiled as if to say “what took you so long!” She was in NICU for 64 days. 

How has your life changed since the HELLP Sydrome diagnosis? 

I had to learn how to talk, walk, read again.

I stayed in the Rehabilitation Hospital for two months while Kinsley [my daughter] was in the NICU. On December 12 I was released from the hospital and she was released the following day. 

My brain bleed was on the left side so my right side was affected. The left side of the brain controls your speech. That is why I had to learn to talk and read again. I also have Aphasia which can affect your ability to understand language both written and verbal.  Since I am right-handed, I had to learn to eat with my left hand. I also had to learn how to dress with one hand/arm. I’m still learning to write with my left hand. I walk with a cane. Even though I can walk, I can’t move my foot or ankle. I get tired easily. 

 Now, I am a stay-at-home mom. I am no longer able to teach. It has been a hard pill for me to swallow because I love teaching.

Did you struggle with any emotions of failure/upset that resulted from HELLP Syndrome?

Every day, I think about “what if”… I had called the doctor earlier that, if I had gone to the emergency room earlier. But I try not to think about “what ifs”. 

How long did you suffer from the effects of HELLP Syndrome?

The doctors took me off the high blood pressure medicine when I was in the hospital. After about a month of blood pressure going back to being normal, I went to the emergency room. It was about 6 months after I got out of the hospital. I was having the feeling in my stomach as I did when my liver was failing. Turns out it was gallstones. 

Describe your journey with HELLP Syndrome in 3 words

Traumatic. Survivor. Rehabilitation. 

Did you know that HELLP Syndrome could occur before it happened to you?

No, I had no idea! 

What advice to you have for HELLP Syndrome survivors?

It wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. Lean on your friends and family, and go see a trauma therapist. 

How did you heal from the trauma you endured from HELLP Syndrome?

I still haven’t fully healed mentally or physically. But I do take it one step at a time. I celebrate the small things as well as the big things. 

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If you are a preeclampsia survivor or HELLP syndrome survivor and would like to share your story, please contact me through email at courtney@knockonmotherhood.com. I would love to share your birth story and keep spreading awareness. I am trying to gather as many preeclampsia survivors’ birth stories as possible to spread awareness.

If you are a preemie mom, I would also love to share your story. Please contact me through email at courtney@knockonmotherhood.com.