Stitch of Life
A Week Before Receiving the Stitch (McDonald Cerclage)
The week leading up to the out patient procedure of receiving a stitch to close the bottom of my cervix was exciting but also a little scary. I asked a few of my closest friends to host a “prayer shower” for me. To pray over the procedure, the pregnancy, the length of my cervix, my anxiety, etc. That prayer shower was probably one of the best things that I could have ever received. The people that showed up and covered me in prayer encouraged me so much. They spoke life and truth into existence and it was so powerful that I left feeling a supernatural peace and joy about the procedure that would happen in a few days.
The Day of the Procedure
August 29, 2016 - we were told that we were supposed to arrive at 6 a.m. to the outpatient surgical building across from the hospital. We pull into the parking lot and Christian turns the vehicle off. He grabs my hand and begins praying over me and the procedure. After we pray, we head into the building, check in, sign paperwork, and speak to someone who handles insurance. Everything is going smoothly so far. We sit in the waiting room for a short amount of time before a nurse calls my name to start prepping me for the procedure. The nurse is so kind and soft spoken. She begins to ask me about my past pregnancies which I tell her about our first miscarriage and then the birth/death of our son, Isaiah. Immediately she gives her condolences but then goes on to say how strong I am at such a young age. I instantly point it all back to Jesus because in all honesty, I AM NOT STRONG WITHOUT JESUS. She goes on to say how that is completely true. That we all need Jesus. In that moment, I felt myself relax some more because I knew that this nurse was specifically put into my pre-op care for a reason.
She finished all of the preparations for the procedure and then Christian and our pastor push past the curtain to my area. Our pastor talks with us a bit and then prays over the procedure and the baby. After praying, he leaves Christian and I in the room alone. Having my husband there before the operation was such a blessing because we were able to have time to just sit and hangout with one another. He sat next to me holding my hand completely silent. In that moment, I knew that we both felt such peace about this procedure and the promises that Jesus has given us.
About 10 minute later, my doctor comes by to ask how I’m doing and double checks everything. He finishes up some paperwork and then tells the nurse that he is all ready to begin the procedure. The nurse tells us that Christian will need to say his goodbyes and head back to the waiting room because they will be taking me back to the OR (operating room). He looks at me so hopeful and I know that everything is going to be alright. The nurse grabs the bed and takes me into double doors which lead into the OR.
As soon as we enter into the OR, I begin to get chills all over my body because of how cold it is. I mean, I know it has to be cold for sterile reasons but this was COLD. The OR is filled with large equipment, machines, over sized lights, and another bed for me to transfer to. They pull my bed up next to the other one and help me transfer myself to the other bed. I have 3 people around me, one telling me that I will feel a little sting and coldness while the other two are making sure that I am covered completely because they must know that the thin little white sheet that was currently on me was not enough to keep anyone warm in that room. One of the ladies in the OR puts a breathing mask on me and tells me that it is “fresh air”. She tells me to take deep breaths and after about 4, I don’t remember anything after that.
The next thing I know, I am waking up in the room that I all of my pre-op care in. I look around and no one is to be found. I close my eyes again to get some rest since I was still a little groggy. Another 5 minutes goes by and a nurse comes in to check on me. I wake up and she completes some tests to make sure that everything is going smoothly after the operation. She leaves but quickly returns with my husband. He sits next to me and asks how I’m feeling along with all of the normal questions that someone asks when they are genuinely concerned. In all honesty, I was feeling fine but I feel like I was only asleep for 5 minutes. Christian tells me that my doctor talked to him about my procedure on his way out of the building. He told Christian that everything went very smoothly, my stitch was placed really high, and that my cervix looked great. Altogether, the procedure lasted about 15 minutes. It was extremely quick.
The recovery time for this procedure was pretty simple. I spotted for about 24 hours which is completely normal. I was placed on bed rest for a week but since I was already a stay at home wife, it was pretty easy to do moderate bed rest for the next few weeks. Netflix was definitely helpful. Haha
We had a meal train going around for us which was so sweet and helpful. People came by to keep us company and the food was delicious! If you ever want to serve someone who is going through a difficult time, meals are a lifesaver! www.takethemameal.com
Receiving the McDonald cerclage was completely simple and I’m so thankful that I was able to receive it in order to help my pregnancy go full term! If you have any other questions about this particular cerclage, please let me know. I’d love to answer any of your questions.