About

Imagine vomiting every day to and from work while sitting in highway traffic in your car. Then at only 6 months of pregnancy, developing preeclampsia with high blood pressure in the 180s. These are numbers where people have strokes and die. Welcome to my pregnancy.

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I was placed on very strict bedrest at only 6 months of pregnancy. Let me define that for you. Laying down in a bed 24/7 on one side of your body (to help decrease the high heart rate) and only getting up to use the bathroom or shower.

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No decorating your baby’s nursery, no trips to Babies R Us or Target, no walking outside and feeling the breeze of the wind in your hair, no listening to the birds chirping in the morning, no presence at family dinners, no attending your best friend’s wedding.

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NONE OF THAT.

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I’m telling you this because most people think bedrest means having a relaxing time chillin’ at home. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

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After laying down for so long you begin to get really sore. I’m sure you’ve heard of older folks getting bed sores at the convalescent home. It was that bad.

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At 7 months of pregnancy, I gave birth to Avery at only 33 weeks of gestation. Not good. I had to get hormone injections 2 weeks prior to his delivery to speed up the production of his lungs and brain so that he could breathe on his own after birth.

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Immediately following the emergency cesarean section that had to be performed to deliver Avery, my body went into kidney failure. I began shaking. I remember feeling extremely cold, faint, and because I had loss muscle mass in my legs from the bedrest, I could barely even walk. I felt this way for 60 entire days.

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I thought I was going to die.

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My family cried.

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We were all scared.

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One month after giving birth to Avery, I begged to leave the hospital and go home. Was I feeling better? No. But being in the hospital and having my blood drawn every three hours didn’t allow me to get any rest. They let me go home and I had three doctors appointments a week for the next two months.

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Because Avery was born prematurely, he had to spend time in the NIC-U just to make sure everything was okay with him.

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Shortly after my release, it was time for Avery to come home. I was so scared to bring home a 4lb baby. For starters, he was below the weight minimum for the car seat so I was really worried about him being in the car. The hospital had to pad his carseat with lots of washcloths because he was still very tiny and only 4lbs.

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It took me about two months to regain enough strength to walk independently.

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I began the process of finding a kidney donor by visiting Piedmont Hospital and then Emory Hospital.

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I also purchased a nice camera to start documenting my days with Avery because I really didn’t know how much time I would have with him.

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My sole purpose behind purchasing the camera was to capture as many memories as possible with Avery.

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I knew that Avery wouldn’t remember going to a strawberry farm at 1 or 2 years old but I wanted him to have the photographs of him with his Mommy having fun to look back on.

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Then I started “Just the Kings” as a way to leave a legacy to Avery of all of the good times shared with his Mommy.

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With this platform, I will share my journey through Motherhood with Avery as much as I can.

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My kidneys are still failing by the day. I’m doing everything I can to sustain them before I have to begin the process of being transplanted because it’s better to keep the organs you have than to be transplanted.

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Once you are transplanted, you have to keep up with and take 15 anti-rejection prescriptions a day otherwise your body WILL reject the new organ. Your body will NEVER get used to the new organ. Taking all of these meds will be your lifeline. Also, even if you take all of the pills as prescribed, not all transplants are successful. So that’s why it’s best to suffer and live with your failing organs until it is no longer possible.

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I’m telling you all of this because I know a lot of you Mommas are tired. I get it. As a single mother and as someone living with a chronic illness, I’m tired too. And a lot of you want to know how I get up every day and do activities with my son in the state that I am.

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It’s called adrenaline.

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You know how they say a Mother could lift a car if her child was trapped under it? That’s me. Everyday. Running on adrenaline for my child.

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I don’t have the energy to get up out of the bed half the time. I live with a chronic illness. My vitamin D is low, my iron is low, my blood pressure is high, I’m anemic, and I’m at the end stage of my disease where my body doesn’t produce enough red blood cells. That means my body isn’t getting sufficient oxygen circulated to my brain and other organs. I’m exhausted y’all.

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But I find the strength of a mustard seed every day to get up and do something with my son Avery. I know it seems like we are constantly on the go but we don’t spend hours and hours having fun. I don’t have that capacity to give. But I give everything that I can because Avery’s happiness gives me the adrenaline I need to be the best Mommy to him.

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I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know how many days are promised to me or anyone else. But I do know that something higher than me has called me to this platform to talk about our journey and share our experiences with the world.

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Thank you for following along.