Severe Pre-e and HELLP syndrome = Charlie is here, my 33 week preemie

Sorry I haven't posted in a week+.  I went to drill last Saturday and got my BP read - it was 182/105 when I was resting.  I left drill after I was done for the day, went home, and a friend brought me to my local hospital.  I got admitted to L&D, constant monitoring of my BP, all readings were high.  I took a urine test and it was + for protein (quite a bit I guess).  Next thing I knew I was getting a steroid shot in my butt to mature Charlie's lungs and I was told I was being transferred to a hospital with a NICU.  The ambulance guys got there and started magnesium sulfate (anti seizure IV meds) and we started the drive to the hospital I was being transferred to. 

Once I got to the hospital with the NICU I had an u/s, DH and I were told that the baby wasn't measuring correctly.  I was a bit out of it already due to the mag sulfate.  I was told that I could be in the hospital for a few days or a few weeks, just depended on how my body reacted.  No one really told me what was going on, just that I was going to be spending some time on a high risk maternity floor until I got stable (BP was insanely high).  On Monday evening I was transferred to long term pregnancy bed rest floor.  I was there that night, and the next day...a few nurses even commented that I was looking great and might be going home on strict bedrest and BP meds.  Yea...then late that afternoon (Tues) I got this horrible pain below my ribs.  I explained the pain to my nurse, she started constant monitoring of my BP.  In less than 30 min it went from a mild pre-e BP to severe pre-e BP.  My BP couldn't come down no matter if I was on my side or anything.  I got moved back to the high risk floor and the perinatologist came in to tell me she was breaking my water.  She checked first and I was 2cm, 50% effaced, and -1.  After breaking my water the pain just got more intense (at this pint I figured out it was my liver) and the doc finally let me have some pain meds.  They worked!  Then the pain started creeping back, I asked for the epi (contractions weren't hurting but I was hoping the liver pain would go away).  The epi worked to take the edge off of the contractions but the other pain was insane.  I can't describe it, other than I would rather birth my 8lb little girl again with no epi.  I haved a high tolerance for pain and I couldn't handle it.  I wanted to cut my own liver out.  So the doc agreed to give me the pain meds again...I went from being stalled at 4cm to complete in 20 min.

Once I felt the baby right there we moved down to a operating room, I pushed lightly twice and little Charlie was born!  DH said Charlie poked his head out and looked all around trying to figure out the world before he was even out all the way.  Once I pushed that second time they laid his tiny body on my chest and I got to look at him for a quick second.  The NICU doc took him away to get him breathing right.  I laid there...I was so out of it...all the drugs and pain had completely drained me, physically and emotionally.  I was wheeled back into my room (pain came back and I needed more meds) and I really wasn't told much (DH filled me in about Charlie) as I think the docs and nurses didn't want to worry me about how sick I really was.

I am still a bit foggy about what happened and when (all I know is that I was insanely sick and I am grateful that I was where I was and not at home or driving somewhere or that DH was called back to Japan), but I am ecstatic to say that our little 33 weeker was born at 3lbs9oz and 16.5in long (found out yesterday that he is an IUGR baby and that definitely helped him to stay out of the NICU).  He has been breathing on his own since birth, and has hit milestones that normal 33 weekers don't usually hit until much later (breastfeeding champ!!!).  I just got home from the hospital today (released on Friday) as I have been staying at the hospital taking care of baby Dougie in the special care nursery at his care sessions every 3 hours.  I didn't want to come home, but I know that it is probably the best for my sanity not to spend every waking moment there.

Some of the docs and nurses said I should call my insurance to see if I can get a lateral transfer from the larger hospital to the one in my town (the only reason we were transferred to the larger one is that they have a NICU and I was less than 33 weeks when admitted), my insurance said they would do the transfer so now we are waiting until Dougie is off of the IV and we can get things going on that...we are so lucky as he is in a level II nursery, no NICU has been needed for this strong little man...:)  Our miracle boy that almost wasn't here...