Before my pregnancy, I was diagnosed with POTS and had only one functioning kidney, so I was under the care of both a nephrologist and a cardiologist. I had been taking blood pressure medication for several years, and my health remained stable with the treatment. When I became pregnant, I was prescribed antibiotics and low-dose aspirin as a preventative measure early on.

At 19 weeks, we discovered that our son had a few anomalies. Despite a few scares, none were life-threatening. From that point on, we were closely monitored by a team of specialists, including maternal-fetal medicine, nephrology, pediatric nephrology, pediatric cardiology, and pediatric orthopedics. We had 1-3 appointments each week until delivery.

At 34 weeks and 4 days, my doctor recommended that I be admitted to the hospital for the weekend due to decreasing amniotic fluid levels detected in a recent scan. She anticipated that I would be discharged on Sunday and return to her office on Tuesday. We had been monitoring for intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) for a few weeks. Although our baby was small, he was still growing. However, by 34 weeks, his growth had slowed significantly, and the cause remained unclear.

When I was admitted to labor and delivery, everything initially seemed fine, and I was discharged on Sunday morning as expected. But by Sunday evening, everything changed. I went into preterm labor and couldn’t stop vomiting. I returned to the hospital, already 4 cm dilated, and was diagnosed with preeclampsia and class I HELLP syndrome, despite not having had any prior symptoms.

I was induced, but a few hours later, it was clear that our baby was in distress and needed to be delivered immediately. I was rushed to the operating room and, thankfully, delivered my son without needing a C-section. He was born at 35 weeks, weighing 4 lbs 1 oz. I wasn’t able to hold him, as he was immediately taken by the NICU team, placed on CPAP, and admitted to the NICU, where he stayed for just over nine days. I have only scattered memories from that night and throughout my hospital stay.

Now, I have a relatively healthy, though tiny, 6-month-old son. Both of us have contributed our DNA to preeclampsia research. No one should ever have to go through such an experience.