From a perfect pregnancy to a case of preeclampsia

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Amanda Olson, pictured with her husband, Ron, son, Holden and baby, Jack, is grateful for the care her family received at Sharp Mary Birch.

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Amanda was experiencing a relatively smooth pregnancy until she was diagnosed with preeclampsia at 37 weeks. Pictured here with her mother, Elizabeth.

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Due to labored breathing, baby Jack was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

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Caregivers in the NICU made it possible for Amanda to hold Jack and help him grow strong enough to go home.

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Big brother Holden smiled brightly when he finally got the chance to hold baby Jack.

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Today, Jack is thriving at home with his loving family.

Having just rung in the winter holidays, Amanda Olson, 37 weeks pregnant, was preparing to start her maternity leave. Her OBGYN was out for the holidays, but Amanda was unconcerned. She attended her regularly scheduled appointment with another doctor in the same practice.

After taking Amanda’s blood pressure, the doctor became concerned. She ordered bloodwork, performed tests on Amanda and advised her to go to triage the next morning if her blood pressure did not decrease.

“I brushed it off, thinking it was surely from the stress of hosting the holidays,” says Amanda. “But the next morning, my blood pressure was still high. So, I decided to run to triage at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns to double-check.”

Before leaving home, Amanda told her husband, Ron, to take their son, Holden, age 7, to his scheduled playdate. She planned to meet up with them later.

Receiving a shocking diagnosis

When Amanda arrived at the hospital, she was admitted into triage, where she learned the results of her bloodwork from the day before. She had a severe case of preeclampsia, a condition in which the sudden development of high blood pressure results in issues such as protein in the urine, which can indicate kidney damage and damage to other organs.

Amanda was shocked. Other than being at an advanced maternal age for her pregnancy, a term for pregnancy that occurs after the age of 35, Amanda’s experience to that point had been as straightforward as it was with her first pregnancy.

Amanda’s blood pressure was so high that the doctors feared she would develop seizures, causing serious risks to both mom and baby’s health. They immediately began prepping Amanda for an emergency cesarean section.

When a mom needs her own mom

A nurse instructed Amanda to contact her loved ones. She called her husband and hoped he would have time to make accommodations for their son and get to the hospital. But as they exchanged “I-love-you’s,” the reality that he would not make it in time hit her. She called her mom and asked her to immediately come to the hospital.

Amanda felt the comfort of the supportive staff around her as she was transported to the operating room, but she was still in shock that not only had her birth plan gone out the window, but also that her husband wasn’t with her. What’s more, her mom had not yet arrived.

“As I was in the mix of delivery, one of the nurses went to actively seek out my mother and bring her to me,” says Amanda. “Because of her doing that, my mom was there with me when Jack was born.”

Building a different kind of connection

As Amanda embraced her mother and cried with a blend of emotions, her just-born baby, Jack, was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) due to labored breathing.

“I panicked — I thought I would be able to hold my baby on my chest, like I had with my first son, Holden,” Amanda says. “What made everything better was once they closed my surgery incisions, the nicest nurse said he was going to make it possible for me to see Jack and wheeled me down to the NICU almost immediately.”

As the nurse navigated Amanda in her gurney through the tight rows of beds in the NICU, she sensed the staff completely understood how she felt and was clearing the way for her to see her son. “This experience of seeing my son was beyond my expectations and filled with empathy from every person I came in contact with,” Amanda says.

With assistance, Amanda leaned over and touched her son for the first time. But as she returned to her room, Amanda says she felt as if she had a hole in her heart. However, each nurse who cared for her as she recovered vowed to take Amanda to see Jack whenever she wanted.

Additionally, Amanda was set up with AngelEyes, a secure camera streaming system for parents, guardians and extended families to view their NICU baby 24/7. She never felt disconnected from Jack and even recorded her screen as she witnessed different nurses coming in and compassionately caring for him.

Mom and baby together again

Amanda says she always felt integral to Jack’s care team. “I was offered so many opportunities to connect with my son,” she says. “The staff helped me bathe Jack for the first time, even though he was covered in wires, and they supported many other hands-on experiences.”

Three days later, Jack was cleared to return to Amanda’s hospital room.

“It was such a humbling experience to have your child in the NICU and witness the level of care these little newborns receive,” Amanda says. “When you visit the area, your eyes are opened to a completely different world.”

Amanda and her husband attended the daily baby class offered to all new parents in the hospital before they left. They were also given extra supplies before getting the information they needed at discharge.

“The nurses at Sharp Mary Birch are in a league of their own, caring with such a level of tenderness and sincerity,” says Amanda. “I cried when I left because I was in shock at how amazing my experience was.”

Amanda returned home after four days in the hospital, thrilled to reunite with her loved ones and start the new year as a family of four.

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