Alexis Krauss Instagram – SAVE YOUR OWN LIFE
Content warning: traumatic birth, postpartum preeclampsia and PTSD
I’m not ready to speak about my experience in its entirety but I do want to share a few things:
1. I am safe and have welcomed a healthy baby into the world. Wilder is an absolute dream and we are so deeply in love with him.
2. My delivery was both beautiful and traumatic. It was long and hard and honestly it almost broke me. Despite all my hopes for it being shattered, it was absolutely the most powerful and transformative experience of my life and for that I am grateful.
3. Two days after being discharged from the hospital and returning home I developed a sudden and terrifying case of postpartum preeclampsia. After a quick call to 911 and an emergency transport I was re-admitted and have been receiving treatment for my elevated blood pressure. I hope to be discharged today.
4. During my ambulance ride I was forced to advocate for myself with a paramedic who was not taking my condition seriously. Thanks to the excellent nurse who discharged me 2 days prior I knew what was happening to me and just how close I was to having a seizure, a stroke or worse. Despite an extremely high BP and difficulty speaking, I had to beg for him to administer the drugs that would manage my hypertension. Despite his dismissal and lack of urgency, I continued to advocate for myself. Thankfully I arrived to definitive care in time.
5. Never before have I been forced to save my own life. Thankfully I was empowered with the knowledge to do so. I was lucky, but women and pregnant people die everyday from this postpartum condition because they either don’t know what to look for or no one listens to them when they say something is wrong.
6. My journey to process what has happened to me is just beginning. All I know is that I will share my story and I will do everything I can to advocate for all the mothers out there who aren’t being listened to. In the meantime I need to heal.
Thank you for reading and for sharing your love and support. It means the world to me 🩵 | Posted on 12/Oct/2023 15:35:13
