On a December 2011 weekend which John Avanzini came to CHC to preach on Quick Answers, I was challenged to give an old S$50 note (given by ah ma for my wedding) to the offering bucket. It was something very precious to my heart and I trusted God for a quick answer. On the offering envelop, I wrote, “I want a baby.” Soo Chee and I only started trying for a baby in November 2011.
I saw a + on the pee stick on 28 Dec 2011. Soo Chee got more excited than me. At that moment, a gush of emotions came. I was happy and scared at the same time. We got a quick answer! I knew our lives would change forever. Parenthood is a new phase of life. It was another + on 1 Jan 2012. After sharing the good news with family and close friends, anxiety soon set in. I started light spotting and was given MC to rest at home. Then the bleeding worsened to what was like a normal period flow. I thought I have lost my baby.
My gynae, Dr Chin did an ultrasound scan and saw that the baby sac was still intact and told me she wanted to fight for the baby. She gave me injections and Duphaston to support the pregnancy. I was also given hospitalization leave to bed rest at home. This treatment lasted throughout my entire first trimester. The bleeding eventually came to a stop. It is a blessing and God’s promise to me that I did not experience much food cravings or morning sickness.
Pastor Aries came for a home visit. He spoke to me about keeping myself happy and I felt God had come for a visit.
It was a breeze with my second trimester. I started my new job and things went back to normal. I was happy and I know my baby is a champion & a fighter! At the beginning of the 5th month, we got to know that our baby is a girl and we decided to name her Isabel which means God’s promise. We started shopping for baby clothes and stuff. Henry and Yan came to our rescue when we got lost with what to buy at the Taka Baby Fair.
Things became worrying again when I reached my third trimester. I was gaining weight too fast. Dr Chin sent me for glucose test (to check if I was diabetic) and blood tests and I was also asked to go for a second opinion scan with Dr Lai because she found that I had too much amniotic fluid. Dr Lai found no possible cause for the excessive water. Everything was normal with the baby. The following week, I was plagued with painful muscle contractions that gave me sleepless nights. It became so painful that I was literally in pain every 5-10 minutes. On the morning I was due for my check up, the pain was so bad that I woke up and banged my fist hard on the wall and started to cry. I was frustrated with the pain.
At first, Dr Chin dismissed the pain. It was only when Soo Chee emphasized that I couldn’t sleep at night that she saw the seriousness of the situation. Dr Chin admitted me to Gleneagles Hospital that day on 2 July 2012. Amnio-reduction was done by Dr Lai. Wanxia, Christine and Joseph were there and Pastor Aries prayed with me before the procedure. The procedure took an hour and my butt hurt real bad because of the weight of my bump and I couldn’t move during the procedure. I felt much lighter after the procedure. But water was quickly building up again. Dr Chin and Dr Lai + PD Dr Yip wanted to deliver the baby by Cesarean Section the following week because excessive amniotic fluid is linked to preterm labour and negative outcomes (stillborn).
Two steroid injections were given to me to help develop Isabel’s lungs. I was also given medication to lessen the baby’s urine to prevent more water build-up. The baby would have to stay in neo-natal ICU as she would be premature at week 28. She was only estimated to weigh 1.2 kg. Dr Chin talked to us about the costs of NICU at Gleneagles (talking about 60K) and that if we wanted to transfer to a government/restructured hospital, it would be best to do the transfer before delivery. CTG monitoring was done at Gleneagles and I was to monitor fetal movements. Many CG members and close friends/colleagues came to visit. Meng How encouraged me and said that his daughter was also born premature but is now the tallest in class. When he prayed for Isabel and me, I saw a beautiful vision of Izzie. Pastor Yong and Val also prayed with us and asked us to consider going to KKH which is subsidized. Dr Chin discharged me after 5 days in Gleneagles. Karen Chua was so nice to fetch me home the day I could be discharged. Before we headed home, we went to the Tampines Polyclinic to get a referral letter to go to KKH. We wanted to have a plan B in case I was to go into preterm labor. We wanted Izzie to be at KKH NICU because of its expertise and costs. It was also a time of seeking God because going to KKH means starting afresh: The docs wouldn’t know my case. We needed God’s wisdom.
I had to go back to Dr Chin’s clinic for CTG monitoring that Saturday and on Sunday, I had to do CTG monitoring at Gleneagles Hospital. On Sunday, Dr Chin came by and said that my CTG monitoring showed irregular contractions and asked me to go to labour ward immediately if my water broke.
That Sunday evening, Wendy Goh came to our house with her kiddos. She prayed for me and while she was praying with her hand laid on my bump, we could feel Izzie’s movements. The familiar pain (from excessive water) came back after an afternoon nap. We decided to go straight to KKH as we already knew the possibility of delivering early and the need for NICU. That was the start of the valley experience. I was put under CTG monitoring for an hour and was left all alone. Then a cervical check found that I was in active labour. Thus, I had to be warded. Initially the doc in charge wanted to transfer me to SGH as the KKH NICU was full. But because my condition wasn’t stable, they decided to let me stay at KKH. Suraj was with Soo Chee throughout the entire admission process. In the midst of checks, they found I had vaginal infection and antibiotics have to be prescribed. I was transferred to delivery suite later that night because of my regular contractions. The doctors administered medicine to stop my contractions. The delivery suite was a scary place because I only had access to my hubby and health care personnel. No visitors were allowed. My CG members gave me an encouraging card which touched me. I was on bed pan and was hooked to the CTG machine 24 hours a day. That means bed confinement! Laying in bed for long hours gave me butt pains coz of the weight of the bump. I was put on drip and nil by mouth whenever I have regular contractions. What I didn’t like the most was the dependence on the nurses and not being allowed to bathe. I had doctors’ visit every 3-4 hours asking if I felt pain from contractions. I told them I couldn’t feel the contractions or the pain. The next day, KKH contacted Gleneagles to get all my records and started their own investigations.
I was shuffling between ward 34 and delivery suite because of my frequent contractions. Whenever I had regular contractions, I was sent to the delivery suite. I like ward 34 better because I could see more people and I had more freedom to go to the bathroom on my own. On a Saturday, I developed a fever. There was panic. I was put on fast, blood tests were taken, antibiotics was prescribed and I was alerted of possible emergency C Section.
All along the pregnancy, polyhydramnios was diagnosed and nobody said anything about Isabel’s condition. My baby was doing fine. However during a scan with Prof Yeo, possible chorioangioma was diagnosed. This meant that the baby’s heart was working too hard and is linked to anaemia and fetal heart failure. He did not want to induce labor. Rather he was for holding on to the pregnancy. I fell very low that day. Whenever friends asked me how I was feeling, I could not verbalize my pain except to cry very badly.
Karen Chua came that evening and though I was crying and hiding under a pillow, she continued to talk to me and asked me to cooperate with her. She made me say out how I felt (no matter how simple or silly my words were) and she challenged me not to give up and behave as though Izzie had died. Izzie would still fight on and I was the only one who could talk positively to her. I had to be strong for Izzie. Izzie has been fighting a good fight all along. Karen reminded me of how there were problems along the pregnancy but yet Izzie and I overcame them. Karen prayed with me, the hardest prayer I have ever made. It was hard because it took so much of me to believe and to trust in the sovereignty of God. As she talked and prayed, there were tears in her eyes. I knew that it was a God moment. God was feeling for me and to me, that was a great comfort. God was with me and the situation. Before she left, she made me say, “It’s going to be okay” three times.
From then on, every night I prayed. Every day I think positive thoughts and shared with Karen 3 things that I was grateful for the day. I started to notice the grace of God. I saw angels in the nurses, doctors and housekeeper and in the family and friends who came for a visit. Family and friends would bring me nice food and books and gifts to lift my soul. Marina prayed for us and again we could feel Izzie’s movements during the prayer. William, Ally and Emma came and they brought a lot of joy to me. I felt overwhelmed by the love shown.
Dr Lim was very motherly to me. She let me ask her questions and she would answer all my questions. She would encourage me every day and let Soo Chee push me in a wheelchair to the KKH mall and park.
From week 30 since being admitted to KKH, my pregnancy lasted till week 34. There were many ‘alarms’ with the show, the fever, the regular contractions… CTG monitoring and scans were studied by the doctors. Every day the pregnancy lasted is a day to be thankful because Izzie would be one day more mature. The doctors finally decided not to prolong the pregnancy any further. They did not want Isabel’s condition to worsen. The high risk consult team discussed my case and after confirming a bed in NICU, decided to go ahead with C Section when Izzie turned week 34 at estimated weight of 2.4kg. The head nurse and Soo Chee accompanied me to the OT. Dr Agarwal prayed with me just before my op. That brought great peace in my heart.
Finally Izzie was delivered on 1 Aug 2012 when she turned week 34 by Cesarean Section. She weighs 2.160kg and is 44cm long. My placenta was sent for testing and it was confirmed chrioangioma. After 3 days of post op, I was finally discharged. Total stay in hospital: 33 days! Izzie was in NICU for 2.5 days. Doctors said she was in a better shape than what was shown in the scans. After the first day, doctors took her off the breathing machine and after the second day, she could feed on milk drip instead of relying solely on the glucose drip. Izzie was then transferred to Special Care Nursery and she was off all drips on day 5. She could take milk in by bottle. Izzie was discharged after 8 days in KKH.
“Every day, it seemed that the doctors were telling us something else was wrong.” Izzie is truly a miracle. She is an active girl and a beautiful promise of God! We want to thank God for rescuing her in time and keeping her under His protection and we are very grateful to family and friends who stood with us through the tough time.
Soo Chee and I are looking forward to be great parents to Izzie. Presenting to you our little Izzie…
