We found out my contraception had failed 5 weeks into the pregnancy. I had decided not to have kids, but I wanted to let whatever would happen happen. I wasn't expecting a perfect pregnancy, as I have polycystic kidney disease. My blood pressure had always been slightly elevated, but nothing I took medication for. I made sure to get on medicine for it as soon as possible and I started taking baby aspirin at 12 weeks. I saw practitioners constantly, so I felt well-monitored. They always warned me about seeing spots or headaches and pain, so I thought I knew what to look out for.

The night before my baby was born, I noticed only my right leg was swollen. Nobody told me that was a red flag. I brushed it off and went to bed. The next morning I started seizing. It woke my fiance up and he called an ambulance. They maxed me out on every blood pressure medicine and gave me a shot to help quickly develop my 25 week old baby's lungs. We were told she only had a 20% chance of making it out of the c-section. And if she did, she'd be too small for NICU equipment. She was 1lb 3.8oz. And she's a relatively healthy 10 month old now.