Only 3 Days After Giving Birth, A Young Mother Thinks She’s Having A Stroke
Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Hannah and her husband Jared had just welcomed their healthy newborn baby boy home when Hannah knew something was wrong.
Three days later, “I woke up … with the left half of my face drooping. Since my blood pressure had been running a bit high throughout the end of my pregnancy, we were told to head into the ER out of concern of preeclampsia and stroke.”
During pregnancy, high blood pressure can cause preeclampsia. It is a rare, dangerous complication causing blood pressure to rise, even more, putting pregnant women at risk of brain injury, kidney and liver damage, seizures, pulmonary edema, blood clotting, premature birth, and even death.
Worried for Hannah’s life, Jared and she had no choice but to take the new baby with them to the hospital. The whole ordeal was overwhelming.
Brand new dad Jared waited anxiously with the baby in the car. It was just a frightening, mentally and physically exhausting scenario.
Imagine being a brand-new mother, not knowing what’s going on, worrying about your newborn and your husband outside the Emergency Room, imagining the worst. Her blood pressure must have skyrocketed.
After many hours, Hannah was diagnosed with postpartum hypertension and a different rare condition called Bell’s Palsey.
Bell’s Palsey is an unexplained paralysis and or weakness of facial muscles. It affects the control of facial expressions like blinking, squinting, smiling, and eye closure. It also can cause excessive pain and discomfort, drooling, and complications with the eye on the affected side.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Hannah
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Bell’s Palsey patients have the appearance of uni-(one)lateral(side) facial drooping, loss of wrinkles and folds on the forehead and mouth, a sagging eye and mouth.
Bell’s Palsey can strike anyone at any age. However, pregnant women are at risk of Bell’s palsy, on average, three times more than nonpregnant women.
Bell’s Palsey is not considered a permanent condition. In most cases, recovery begins 2-weeks to 6-months from when symptoms first occur. Unfortunately, there’s no known cure, but most patients recover full facial strength and movement.
The couple planned to take several weeks off to care for the new baby. But things have changed. It will take some time for Hannah to physically and mentally heal from childbirth and Bell’s Palsey.
She has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to stay at home and not have to worry about their finances while taking the time she needs to take care of the new baby and herself. For more information, you can find Hannah and Jared’s story here.
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