by April Shuler

Created on: May 20, 2009   Last Updated: May 21, 2009

You've just found out the best news of your life. You're pregnant. It's a glorious day when you find out you are expecting one of God's greatest gifts. You immediately begin preparing. You have clothes to buy, furniture to assemble, and a room to paint. All mothers know the feeling. It's a feeling only God can give, a precious baby lives inside of you.

You are starting to experience all the joys of pregnancy, after all you've just been pregnant six weeks. Then there is another joy, morning sickness. You've always dreamed this would happen. It's the only time in your life when you enjoy being sick. You've heard it will just last a few days so you don't think anything of it. It seems to linger longer than you think it should, and you begin to get worried. You give up and call the doctor. The nurse tells you to get to the hospital or your baby can die. What a horrifying experience. At least that's how it was for me.

I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum very early in my pregnancy, but not without going through psychological evaluations first. Of course this was a planned pregnancy and yes, I wanted this baby. This was not a question, and selective termination was not an option for me. Hyperemesis can be compared to the most severe form of food poisoning you could possibly imagine.

I've never been so sick in my life. Day after day I would lie in bed praying God would heal me from this horrible illness. When I would think of something I found the slightest bit abhorrent I would vomit. I could not stand the smell of food, cleaning chemicals, soap, or even my husband. It was horrendous.

I remember my first trip to the emergency room. Several nurses tried to begin my IV to no avail. I was severely dehydrated. This became the first of many hospital stays. Eventually a PICC line was put in place so that I could avoid the agonizing torture that came with starting an IV.

The sickness did not go away. It did not matter what I tried. The traditional crackers and pickles just made me more nauseous, and every prescription didn't help the slightest. Constant vomiting twenty-four hours a day with no ending. I must survive nine months for myself and the baby.

Whenever home health would visit my home, they would immediately send me to the hospital because dehydration is not healthy for mom or the baby. The normal pregnancy glow only occurred in the glowing stuff that I flushed down the toilet.

I had a pump that injected me with nausea medicine at certain intervals throughout the day. This is the same medicine prescribed to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. I was only twenty years old and I felt as though I was dying.

My husband and I agreed this would be our first and only child together. This would be a hard decision for me because all my life I had always imagined a large family with lots of children. Pregnancy was not supposed to be this way.

I eventually begged my doctor to induce labor. I could not live like this anymore. Finally with only two weeks remaining until my due date, he agreed. It was a glorious day for me. Labor was simple when compared to Hyperemesis.

The sickness was gone immediately, but it would take years to be healed of the lasting anguish. It was truly a life-changing experience for me.

I would say that I kept my promise that I would never have any more children. But I didn't. Six weeks later I started all over again. Yes, I would face Hyperemesis yet again, but not in the same severity this time. I love my children more than life itself. If I could change anything, I probably wouldn't. My children are alive and that's all that matters.

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