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Despite all the advancements we’ve made in regards to modern medicine, we all know that pregnancy and delivery can come with lots of complications. We can prep and plan and have the best doctors in the world, but sometimes things just go wrong. Tova Leigh is a popular parenting blogger who revealed the frightening thing that took place when she was giving birth to her twins: she almost died.
Tova reveals that she discovered she had preeclampsia during her pregnancy with the twins.
"I go in for a routine check-up at 28 weeks and get my blood pressure measured. The nurse looks at me and asks: 'Is your eyesight blurry?' You immediately know it's not a great sign when someone asks you that. She makes a phone call, and I am asked to give a urine sample." she recalled.
Tova ended up spending the last 2 months of her pregnancy in the hospital on bedrest because of her condition.
At 35 weeks, Tova was ready to deliver her twins via C-section, and initially, everything went fine.
“"They are so small. I don't expect them to be so small. Dina weighs exactly 2KG and Ally is not even that. At 1.9KG she is honestly the ugliest baby I have ever seen, but I love her with all my heart, and I am so relieved the ordeal is over."
Unfortunately, Tova’s feelings of relief didn’t last long.
"I am lying in a hospital bed in the intensive care unit after giving birth to my twins, at 35 weeks and three days. My blood pressure is 240 over 120, and my whole body is shaking. I have lost control of my muscles, and I can't speak. Three doctors rush into the room and stick an IV in my arm. I am now being pumped with drugs in a desperate attempt to reduce my blood pressure, which is out of control." she wrote.
“I am about to enter the world of Eclampsia which is a condition in which one or more convulsions occur, often followed by coma and sometimes death.”
Even in such a terrifying state, Tova knows exactly what’s going on. Her husband, on the other hand, does not. In that moment, she had an overwhelming rush of fear at the thought of leaving her children alone with her confused husband. So, instead of dying- she chose to stay alive. By thinking about relaxing on the beach, eating cheese in Paris, and the loving faces of her family, Tova slowed down her blood pressure.
“ My body is still shaking and more drugs are being shoved into my veins, but now I am at home with my girls. I can see them all so clearly. Their faces, their eyes, their hair, I can smell it, and I know that everything is going to be okay. I find myself smiling and at this stage, I think the whole room thinks I have lost my mind.” she recalled. “Just then my blood pressure starts coming down. My body settles and I open my eyes. I am not dead.”
Amazingly enough, Tova made it, and years later, she can reflect on this crazy moment, feeling nothing but gratitude that she is home with her family.
You can read her amazing story in it’s entirety below.
