10/26/2025
For today's we are sharing Maribeth's story with
"As I was greeting my students before the next class period, I found myself leaning on the wall, hands on my knees, suddenly weak. I jogged to the school nurse, and asked her to take my blood pressure (I knew nothing about blood pressure other than that a few times in my life, I had fainted or nearly fainted from low blood pressure, so I was vaguely familiar of that “off” feeling). It was high. She suggested I call my doctor and they told me to head to the emergency room.
At the hospital, my blood pressure was still elevated but less so than it was at work. They sent me home and told me to hang in there for a couple more weeks until my next appointment. The weekend came and it full of celebrations and activities. I didn’t feel or look my best, but I “hung in there,” believing that everything must be ok.
On Saturday night, however, I couldn’t sleep. Intense body aches and shoulder pain kept me pacing all night. I vomited, which convinced me it was a stomach bug. Sunday was Easter, and I stayed home most of the day. My mom, who is a nurse and was working all day, stopped by my house with her blood pressure monitor after work. Another high reading, exceptionally high, according to my mom.
Back at the hospital. Luckily, my OB was on call. She sat at my feet and said “Maribeth, you have preeclampsia and it’s severe. It may be days or weeks, but you are not leaving this hospital until the baby comes.” I barley had time to process the shock when she returned to say I had to be transferred to another hospital in town. It was HELLP syndrome and the baby would be born in a matter of a few days, maybe even hours. My hospital’s NICU couldn’t take a preemie this small, and she didn’t want us to be separated."
Read more: https://www.preeclampsia.org/our-stories/maribeths-story
