2021 was the most unexpected year of my life, but I could not be more grateful that it happened, every last bit of it.
It began with me getting Covid in January, most likely from one of the toddlers I worked with at my awful daycare job. Looking back, I thought that was the sickest I would ever be. Ah, the naivete of January. The year had only just begun.
In late March, I found out I was pregnant. The morning sickness hit me almost immediately, and I was throwing up every single day. For most people, this only lasts for the first 12 weeks or so. I was still sick at 18 weeks. I missed the last two months of my senior year. I called in sick to work almost every day until I was eventually fired (the day I was going to put in my notice, of course. My boss beat me to it, oh well). I was able to graduate, though I was fighting morning sickness as I walked across the stage and received my diploma. No scenes were made, thankfully.
In mid-June, I finally acknowledged that I was pregnant, and needed to find a family to adopt my future child. I knew, being queer myself, that I wanted a gay couple, preferably men. The first couple I reached out to was wonderful, and we had an instant connection. It was like they were always my family. We decided to do a zoom call every week so they could stay updated on how the pregnancy was going.
In July, just after my 18th birthday, they flew out to visit me. I showed them around my hometown and introduced them to my partner, we all got along very well. Saying goodbye when they flew back home was so hard for me.
In September, they came back to visit again, renting a cabin in the mountains for all of us to stay in, including my family and my partner. Unfortunately, right before that trip my partner and I split, the situation was too stressful for them, and they had to focus on other things.
In October, my family and I flew across the country to visit them at their home. The night before we were to fly home, I was rushed to the hospital, having contractions just two minutes apart. The due date wasn't for another 8 weeks. They were able to stop the contractions, but I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, which deemed the pregnancy as high-risk, not for the baby, but for me. If my blood pressure got too high, I was at risk of a stroke. The only cure was to give birth, or I would keep getting sicker. I wouldn't be able to stay pregnant past 37 weeks, making it so he would be at least 3 weeks premature. I was to keep track of my blood pressure, and if it hit a certain threshold, they would induce me immediately. My family flew home the next day, and my mother stayed with me and the dads in the hospital for another two days. I was also diagnosed with hypokalemia, also known as low potassium. You see, normal potassium is 3.5-5.0. I was at 2.8. If you reach as low as 2.5, you're at extreme risk of heart failure. I had four emergency potassium infusions. It was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life, It felt like my arm was on fire from the inside out and on the verge of exploding. When I was finally cleared to fly and go home, the dads flew back with us. They were planning on being in town for the birth anyway, this was just earlier than planned.
The following weeks were mostly filled with doctor appointments. When we weren't at an appointment, we were at the hospital, in Labor & Delivery, because we had gotten a bad blood pressure reading, and they were watching it at the hospital to see if that was the night they'd need to induce.
At 34 weeks, that night came. 6 weeks premature is scary, but still a good chance of survival. They did an overnight induction since my body wasn't ready for labor yet. The next morning though, the new on-call doctor called it off. My blood pressure was stable again, there was no need for him to be born yet, I was safe again. They removed my epidural, stopped the contractions, and then the dads and I were sent home the next day. None of us had heard of someone being un-induced before, it is extremely rare.
Exactly one week later, I was induced for the final time. Our son was born 5 weeks early, but healthy and safe. He spent a week in the NICU on a little bit of oxygen, then "home" with oxygen to the Airbnb the dads had rented near the hospital. They stayed another week until the adoption paperwork had cleared and then flew home.
We continued our weekly zoom calls, and my health was good again.
Until about a month ago.
It started with some mild chest pain, reminiscent of when I had that dangerously low potassium. We thought it was only caused by the pregnancy, so we ignored it. But it started to get worse. Palpitations, headaches, blurry vision, lightheadedness, and I was scared. When my 6-week postpartum period was up, we knew at that point it wasn't just from the pregnancy. Something was wrong. My mother took me to the Emergency Room, where they found my potassium to be low again. Luckily, I only had to drink it this time. It still burned. I also found out that I was experiencing hypomagnesemia, low magnesium. Apparently, one's potassium levels cannot stay up/normal if the magnesium level is too low. My magnesium had never been tested until after the pregnancy, but it was determined to be the underlying cause behind the hypokalemia. I was given an infusion of magnesium, but the doctors still had no idea what was causing me to have such low levels.
Less than a week later I was back in the ER with the same symptoms. I was given more potassium and another mag infusion. I have a prescription for potassium pills now, but magnesium is something that can only be maintained by pills, but replenishment must be through an IV. We were to follow up with an internal medicine doctor the next week, and that appointment is Monday.
It seems like it may be a chronic issue, that only became bad enough to be noticeable when I was pregnant and was losing most electrolytes to the baby. As I sit here writing this, I still feel that chest pain and occasional palpitation. I'm still so sick, and I don't know if it will ever end.
However, I am so grateful for every unexpected twist that came this year. I gained three new family members, became more in touch with my physical self, did something I never thought I could or wanted to do, and was inspired to start writing.
I've begun a manuscript of a stage play based on the events of this year. I can't wait to share it with you.
Here's to a much less eventful 2022! *clink*
Stay safe out there, drink plenty of water, and look for adventure.
You matter
-Morgan Rie
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