My Twin Pregnancy Part 1

On our journey to a miracle, sight is not important as faith is!

In life, we will all experience many events that push us to believe that God is working miracles before our very eyes. Experiences that render us silent because words just cannot express what we feel. Experiences that reassure us that God is still in the business of turning impossibilities into possibilities if we have faith that is the size of a mustard seed. It is God’s nature to be faithful. God’s faithfulness in the lives of those who take Him at His word, daring to believe that He is faithful and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, just cannot be ignored and is incomprehensible. God worked a miracle for my family, and we have our twin girls today with us as proof that God is a present help in times of trouble. God is indeed the giver of life! He is a creative force, and the rules of what we consider to be the cycle of how things are in nature can be broken at any time for His divine will.

I can remember feeling unwell for two consecutive weeks. I would wake up in the mornings, feeling extremely weak, and at nights I was literally blacking out involuntarily going off to sleep. In the mornings, I was not remembering how I fell asleep. After sleeping for the entire night, I would feel as tired as I was before going off to bed. I visited the doctor on more than one occasion, and they could not find out what was wrong with me. They encouraged me to get rest and take vitamins to see if that would improve how I was feeling. Their suggestions did not work. After work, I would still feel drained and had little or no energy to do anything. I can remember going back to the doctor and being told they were concerned for me and would schedule some bloodwork to be done. When the results came back, I went in to see the doctor. I was told that they would need to do more tests because they were concerned about the levels of protein in my urine. According to the findings, they were concerned that my kidneys were not filtering correctly. They made it clear to me that if they were functioning as they should, there would not be so much protein in my urine. I was going on vacation the upcoming week and was told to try and rest as much as I could. They encouraged me to come in as soon as I returned for more testing.

I was looking forward to going to see my parents and wanted to enjoy my father’s home-cooked meals now more than ever. When I arrived home, my parents were concerned for me when I shared that the doctors were concerned about the functionality of my kidneys. I can remember my dad cooking my favourite dish, and I was given a significant amount of food. I planned to eat it in two sittings, but to my dismay, when I sat over the plate, my stomach felt so full, and I just started crying. I could not eat; I felt like something was terribly wrong with me health-wise.

When I returned from my vacation, I went to the lab to get some more tests done as the doctors recommended to find out if my kidneys were functioning as they should. The results came back, and they were all normal. About a week after, I missed my period, and my husband and I did a pregnancy test. We were delighted to find out that we were expecting and that was reason enough for the symptoms I was having. I returned to work with all intentions to eat healthy, work as hard as I usually do and in nine months, I would be as fit as a fiddle. God had other plans!

I made an appointment to visit my doctor. We were so excited picking out names (Just one). We made our minds up that one more child was good enough for us. Again God had other plans! I was going to work and finding that my symptoms were getting worse by the day. I was trying to watch what I was eating by bringing mostly fruits and vegetables for snack and lunch. This meal plan did not work. I would feel so hungry, I had a strong desire daily for home-cooked meals. My husband would leave work and bring me food daily. One afternoon I can remember sitting at my desk gasping for air, I could not breathe. I was exhausted, and my heart was racing. My coworker realized I was not well and drove me to the emergency room. When I got there, my pressure was very high, and my heart was still racing. They started monitoring me immediately for what seemed like forever. Late that night, I was sent home with an appointment made for an ultrasound because they could not figure out what was causing my body to respond how it was so early on in my pregnancy.

The morning we went in for the ultrasound, my husband and I were sitting out in the waiting area and saw a couple with two pairs of twins. It was a funny sight for me. They were holding the newborn twin girls in their hands, and the two boys were skating around on the floor. I thought to myself I would not be able to manage taking care of twins. When I went in and was on the bed, my ultrasound began. The technician said to me, “You know you are pregnant, right?” I said “Yes”. She said, “You know you are also having twins then?” I jumped off the bed, and she started to laugh. My husband’s eyes were wide open with a grin on his face. We made our way home and was super excited to share the news with our family. The fact that we were having twins created a buzz of joy and excitement. Our family was waiting in anticipation, trying to figure out what kind of babies they would be girls or boys. My mother said to me “Kim, it does not matter what gender they are.” “Pray for them to be healthy!”

I went to work and shared with my supervisor that I was pregnant, and with twins, so the level of hormones associated with having twins was the reason I was feeling so ill. Not long after, I was at work having difficulty breathing, and my heart was racing again. I was taken to the emergency room and monitored for hours. I was given time off from work and was told to rest. The Sunday before I was due to return to work, I went to the restroom and realized I was bleeding. My heart started to race! I went into the kitchen, and I could only say to my husband “We need to go to the hospital.” I was reading about being pregnant with twins and knew I was at a higher risk for a miscarriage or even losing one of the babies. My mind was going to every adverse scenario it could find. My husband was the one that was clam and brought me back to my senses by quickly helping me to get out of the house. The drive to the hospital seemed longer than usual there was not much talking. I believe we were both praying and talking to God. 

When we got to the emergency room, I was registered quickly and went in to speak with the nurse on duty. He said to me “Can you sit so I can take your pressure?” At that moment, I could feel blood pouring down my leg. I responded by telling him that I could not sit because I would make a mess. He gave me a plastic pad, and I was able to sit. When I got up, I could see that I did make a mess. At this time, Satan was whispering into my ears, telling me “They are dead.” “They cannot be alive.” “You have lost so much blood, no one will be able to help you.” “They are so underdeveloped.” “There is nothing there for the doctors to save!”

 I knew he was coming in for the kill and needed me to doubt God. At that moment, with all the chaos hope came alive and I could hear my mother saying to me “Kim, if you are in a situation that no man can solve you are in the right place!” “When you find yourself in a place where human efforts fail, it simply means it is a God case!” At that moment, faith kicked in. I was carried in by the nurse to wait on a bed to see the doctor. While my husband and I waited, we prayed. We were sitting in silence for a while, and I remembered Jerimiah 11:29 that states “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” My husband and I placed our hands on my belly… it was as flat and soft as it was before we got pregnant. I said out loud “God it can not be your plan for these two babies to die in my belly.” “That would not be a good plan!” “This cannot be what you had in mind when we became pregnant.” I said “Lord let your will be done.” My family was now aware, and they were praying for us. I could not take any calls, so my husband was keeping everyone updated. I cannot express enough gratitude for the praying members in our family that were with us and still are on this journey.

The doctor came in and asked me to explain what was wrong. As I explained, he was very calm and sensitive to our situation. He told us there is no way to know for sure what is happening we need to do an ultrasound. My eyes were filled with tears because I understood that he was telling me to expect anything without saying the words. Shortly After he left, the porter took us in for my ultrasound. The technician could see the blood on my sheets, but she was so calm. She got to work and was so silent. I kept asking her, “Are they ok?” She said, “If you keep asking me, I will not be able to focus and tell you.” I struggled to keep my mouth shut. She saw my discomfort and showed me the babies hearts beating. My husband and I were so relieved. When the ultrasound was completed, I was told that the doctor would enlighten us on what was happening. I asked to use the restroom and when I did the water in the toilet was scarlet with the amount of blood I was still losing.

We returned to my room, and the doctor came to speak with us. He explained to me that the babies were doing well, their heartbeats were reasonable, and I was the one feeling the effects of the ordeal. He explained that I was experiencing a placental abruption. Placental abruption occurs when the placenta separates from the inner wall of the uterus before birth. Placental abruption can deprive babies of oxygen and nutrients and cause heavy bleeding in the mother. He told me that cases like mine typically ends in a miscarriage. I could hear me saying inside “You don’t know the capability of my God!” He instructed me to go home and stay in my bed. He made it clear that the only time I should get out of bed was to use the bathroom.

We were living in a foreign country, so we did not have many family members around to help us. My husband would leave work every day to come home to ensure I was having a hot lunch. My son would come home from school and help until my husband got back from work. For two days, I continued to bleed. I prayed, I cried, I believed God, I doubted Him. This was a cycle that the days took on. I am so glad that God’s grace is sufficient for me, and His strength is made perfect in weakness.” My mother and mother-in-law would call me daily to encourage me and spoke the promises of God over my family. They were towers of strength and still are. After two days, I started passing old clots. This continued for over two weeks. At times I would begin to rejoice and return to the bathroom to pass more clots. I was on an emotional rollercoaster. We made it over this mountain, and I told myself this is the worst that could happen. I am now out of the woods, but boy, we were wrong. Our entire pregnancy would be an opportunity to trust God!