I have finally got round to writing my speech and I must admit, it brought back a few feelings I haven't felt in a while. Especially pulling my hospital notes out and making sure I was getting all of my facts correct.
I have copied it below for you all to read if you have the time. It is quite lengthy! I think it will be a teary day for me and I shall definitely have a packet of tissues to hand.
NHSBT Donor Awards Ceremony - Croydon Park Hotel - 18th September 2014
Good afternoon everyone. My name is Sara Miles and I firstly want to thank everyone for giving me this opportunity to be a guest speaker at the Donor Awards Ceremony.
I am here with my fiance Tony and 3 year old son Noah, and I think I can safely say my speech today comes with as much gratitude from them as it does from me.
The reason I am here today, telling you my story, is because I feel I need to be able to say thank you in some way, and this is how I can do that.
In November 2010 we were overjoyed by the news that we had finally fallen pregnant! After a previous miscarriage in May of 2010 and then 6 months of trying, it was a welcome relief to finally see those 2 blue lines on the pregnancy test.
After telling family, and booking an early 6 week scan to put our minds at rest, we had finally reached Xmas and were ready for our 12 week scan which meant we could sing our good news from the rooftops!
Everything with the pregnancy was fine and we hurriedly started saving a deposit for our first home, hoping to buy somewhere before the baby arrived. Nothing like leaving everything to the last minute and doing 2 hugely stressful things at the same time!
I was due in July 2011 and in the April we treated ourselves to a 4D scan as we were so impatient to wait another 14 weeks to see our babies face. We weren't finding out the sex of the baby, so we had lots of pictures of the little ones face, something I am now so grateful that we did.
We also found and bought a house at the end of April, completely chain free and we had exchanged contracts and collected the keys by the 1st June. This is when our lives first became hectic! We had a house that needed gutting, a complete refurb including re-wiring and central heating installing all in 4 weeks as my due date was 5th July! I think we knew we were pushing it, but we were certainly going to give it a go! I finished work on 25th June ready for a week and half of maternity leave hopefully before little one would make an appearance.
Regardless of being heavily pregnant, I was insistent on wanting to do lots of DIY myself. So much so that on the 4th July, me and my mum were painting the front room. I was up high on a chair, rolling paint onto freshly plastered walls, the day before my due date.
The plan the following day, my due date, was to go to the bank, buy some bedding to set up our bedroom and head over to the house to set it all up. My body on the other hand, had other idea’s!
I woke up feeling a little tender and realised quite quickly that things were starting! I rang Tony, my fiancé, at work to tell him that I thought things were on the move, but obviously very early on and that I would keep him posted.
My brother ran me into town as I thought it best I didn't drive and then I went back to my parents to relax. My mum finished work at around 5pm and we decided to still head to Dunelm to buy some bedding. Whilst walking around the shop, I was stopping every so often to deep breath through my contractions. It was like something you see in a film! When my mum suggested that we headed back to hers rather than me set up our bedroom, I was devastated, but in hindsight it was the best option.
I called Tony at work on the way back to my parents, as he wasn't due to finish work until 8 and informed him that my contractions were approx 7 minutes apart. His words were “I’ve got time to finish my shift though haven't i”? Typical!
The next few hours were a pretty long night of pain and breathing through contractions and after going to bed for half hour and listening to Tony sleep, I had to get up and pace the front room. At around 1:30am on 6th July, I called the hospital and they told me to come in and be checked. We eventually made it to the delivery suite at Maidstone Hospital at 2am and I was checked immediately. I was 2-3 cm dilated and was told I could stay on the ward but Tony had to go home. Luckily his parents lived 5 minutes from the hospital but it still meant a long lonely night on my own at the hospital on a extremely quiet ward, trying not to be too noisy through my contractions. I didn't sleep and at 8am when Tony arrived back, I was checked again and was finally 4cm! I was transferred to the delivery suite and the birthing pool was filled ready for me to get into.
I began gas and air, amazing stuff, which made me giggle lots at first and then I submerged myself into the warm birthing pool which eased the pain so much. Gas and air blurs a lot of the next few hours for me, but having read my notes, my labour was progressing normally and I reached 8 cm before my waters broke. I kept asking the midwife if they had broke, but it soon became apparent that I certainly didn't need to ask because when they did, the noise I made resembled a wild animal fighting for its life! I was then 9 cm and I was on the home straight!
This is when things started to go a little wrong with the labour. The midwife needed me to get out of the birthing pool to check me properly and I stated that if I had to get out, I didn't want to get back in. I ended up having an edpidural, my cervix had swollen back to 8 cm and the babies heart rate was dropping. They noticed that the baby had pooed and was showing signs of distress. After trying to get me to push a few times, it was decided an instrumental delivery would be best in theatre. I was so tired and worried, I just wanted to know that the baby would be safe.
Within 5 minutes of deciding on a forceps delivery, they had changed their minds and I was going down for a caesarean section. I had my epidural topped up with a spinal block and Tony had donned his gown. Very George Clooney in his ER days!
As far as I am aware, the C-Section went well and baby Noah was born at 20:16pm on 6th July 2011 weighing 8lb 1oz and adorning a head of ginger hair!
45 minutes later I was back up in the delivery suite but if i’m honest the rest is information I have been told by Tony, family members and my hospital notes as I don’t remember much.
I was not really with it, quite dozy and felt sick. My blood pressure was quite low but that is to be expected after major surgery.
Within 15 minutes of being back in the room, my stats had become worse and the medical team started me on a drip to increase my blood pressure. I instantly felt better after I had received this fluid but this cycle happened another 3 times. Me feeling unwell, almost unresponsive, fluid given, felt better. My uterus was being checked the whole time to make sure it was contracted and my blood loss was being monitored.
At 10:40pm my hospital notes state that my blood pressure had dipped to 101/15 and I was very pale and lethargic. The registrar was called and I was examined as they knew something wasn't right. I had a brisk blood loss of 2.5 litres there and then in the delivery room, in front of Tony, which must have scared him so much. By this point, I have no recollection at all of anything that was happening. I had my bloods taken so that they could send for blood and 4 units of cross matched O negative was requested urgently as I am type A negative.
The decision was made to return to theatre at that point.
I believe they tried everything that night to stop me bleeding, but regardless of any procedure they used, they couldn't stop me losing blood at a fast rate. I was told that I bled the hospital dry of A negative and they had to have more biked in especially to keep me going!
After a little while in Intensive Care where they believed they had stopped the bleeding, they soon realise they hadn't and took me back to theatre to perform a life saving hysterectomy, which ended the bleeding immediately.
In my notes it states that I lost 8 litres of blood that night and received 12 units of blood to keep me alive.
As I look around this room, and see all of you who give blood, I cannot ever explain fully how eternally grateful I am for what you have done for me.
Because of you, blood donors, I survived and have seen my little boy grow up to be the cheeky ginger 3 year old he is now. My son, Noah, has a mum and doesn't just get shown pictures of me to explain who I am. He knows how my voice sounds, how I smell, and how much I love him, something he wouldn't be aware of if it wasn't for you amazing people.
My beloved Tony. He went through hell and back that night, as did my parents and siblings. He truly believed I wasn’t coming back and If it wasn't for you heroes, he would be a single dad, bringing Noah up on his own whilst grieving for the loss of his fiance.
I cant ever repay you all for the gift you have given me, but by telling you all how your selfless good deed helps save lives, I hope it gives you a sense of pride and worth that you all deserve.
You are my knights in shining armour, my Superman, my Wonder woman…….. my heroes.
Thank you.
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