The result is positive. My partner and I are thrilled. Tears prick our cheeks and we embrace each other as we revel in the joy of our future. I tell my mum and my best friend. Everyone is thrilled. I started to get sick...
...A week later I find myself collapsed on the bathroom floor. Thinking that I need to get a hold of myself but the sickness gets the better of me and I vomit stomach blood into the toilet basin. I can feel my throat burn and the taste of rust in my mouth as I continue to vomit anything that is remaining in my body. I have no energy and I know I need to get up and try to go on, but I can't. I try to lift myself up by grabbing hold of the toilet and the sink, but my feet keep buckling.
It is my partner's birthday. I manage to get myself out of bed. I want to show him the presents I ordered him online that I was never able to wrap. I struggle through the hallway leading from the bedroom to the living room. The smell of paint stings my nostrils and I find myself detouring to the bathroom again. I made it just in time. The ginger biscuits, crackers and water containing a dehydration pack came straight up. My head feels light and dizzy but I keep going determined to feel "well" for his birthday. After all we have two reasons to celebrate.
I lay on the sofa in my most nausea-free position, but even that was too much today. I text my mum to ask if I could get a lift to hers as I knew he wouldn't celebrate his birthday tonight if he knew I was feeling this sick.
She sees me and I can see shock in her eyes. She hasn't seen me for a week. She asked me about what the Doctor said. They told me this was normal, that most women experience this. The fact the second lot of pills weren't working was a bad sign. So without further questions we went straight to the hospital.
Within 15 minutes I was tested and put straight on IV fluids. I had a scan and everything was OK with her. It was me. I was in danger.
I was 6 weeks pregnant, 1 ½ stone lighter within a week, vomiting blood, and severely dehydrated and malnourished. I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I was told my hormone levels were that of a multiple pregnancy. My baby was fine then, but the journey had only just begun.
During my pregnancy I was put on a project that specialises in my condition. I was frequently monitored to make sure my little girl was OK and was given Cyclizine. It didn't stop me from vomiting, but it did take the edge off my nausea. Through the months I battled with the illness and tried to work from home, but in the end it just got too much. My bucket was my friend. I wasn't able to have any human contact. No hug. No hand holding. Not even capable of a conversation without it making me vomit.
But I managed to get waves of relief. Whenever I had my 5 days in hospital on the drip I would feel fantastic, but as soon as I was drip-free I would be bedridden again after a day. Luckily during my pregnancy I had a whole 6 weeks where I had the strength to walk and go about daily life, but things went downhill again and rather rapidly.
This is all behind me now. I have a beautiful baby girl who is almost 3 months old and I have forgotten what it felt like to be so ill. I can walk, eat, laugh, hug and best of all enjoy the greatest gift I have ever received my wonderful daughter.
If you or someone you know has/is experiencing Hyperemesis Gravidarum please visit www.helpher.org they have some great survival strategies.