When a dream becomes a nightmare
I was flooded today with memories. Lots of memories-mostly bad memories. I visited a friend and former student in the hospital today who has HG-something I know all too well about. For those who either don’t know or who lost touch over the course of the last several years, HG is Hyperemesis Gravidarum, and it turns the dream of pregnancy into a nightmare. As I was sitting there with this young woman I was reminded of what it was like to sit in the hospital bed and wonder if this feeling would ever end. I thought I would never eat again-that I would wither away.
With my daughter (who is now 4), HG was fairly new in Modesto and it took 15 weeks for me to be diagnosed with it which left me down 31 lbs. Hyperemesis isn’t just really bad morning sickness, although that is the best way I can describe it, its a constant feeling that this time in your life that was supposed to be wonderful has turned into an everyday misery that can only for certain be ended by the birth of your child.
I haven’t spoken much about my experience with this mainly because when I felt I should I was too weak to, but after talking with my friend today I wondered if it might benefit others not only knowing that HG exists but that real people are affected by it, that it changes their life, and that there is something YOU can do about it.
If you know someone who may be affected by HG (for more info www.helpher.org) the best thing you can do is to be there. Don’t let them become any more alone than they already are. Encourage them to take care of themselves and their baby-and understand that this may be all they are capable of during the worst of it.
If you have been pregnant without HG, you can participate in a study to help find a cure (again-more info on www.helpher.org). You can also keep an eye out for others whose pregnancies don’t look like yours and encourage them to keep up with their OB-Its always best to catch HG early and prevent weight loss. And remember to pray for those who are enduring-and their families.
More than anything, I guess I just want to raise awareness that sometimes our lives get so busy that we don’t even realize that someone close to us may be struggling, barely getting by and that often its the simple things that can help them.
