Shortly after my husband and I were married, I became pregnant with our son, Cameron. He was due on June 15, 1998.

My blood pressure started increasing around 26 weeks gestation. My midwife transferred me to the OB/GYN who worked with her. At 31 weeks I was dropping protein in my urine. My doctor started me on blood pressure medication and put me in the hospital for observation. I was sent home the next day on bed rest.

Only 24 hours later I was back at my doctor's office for a re-check and my blood pressure was extremely high. My doctor sent me to York Hospital to see a maternal fetal specialist, and I stayed at York for about four nights of observation and bed rest. We went home for a day and then a nurse came to our house to check my blood pressure. It was up again and I was sent to the local hospital for observation. It was April 29, 1998.

My OB/GYN at the local hospital was on vacation. So the attending sent me by ambulance back to York. My husband didn't think the baby would come right away so he stopped at Wal-Mart on the way to York Hospital. Well, when I got to York, the specialist was waiting for me. He said we were going to have a baby tonight! I was 33 weeks pregnant. I had been given steroid shots to help Cameron's lungs mature faster.

My husband got to the hospital as they were wheeling me into the OR for anesthesia for an emergency Cesarean section. The anesthesia did not numb me very well, so I felt pain as the doctor was cutting me. I started screaming and they gave me general anesthesia.

I didn't see Cameron until the next day. I had a catheter in my back and couldn't get out of bed until the next day. He was on oxygen for a few hours, but did very well after that. I remember seeing him in the NICU so small and frail. It was so shocking to see all the wires and tubes.

I started pumping immediately after his birth and the NICU gave him my milk through his feeding tube. He did start to nurse at 35 weeks! I went to see him every day until he came home on May 25, 1998. He weighed just over 4 pounds and he was on a heart monitor. The heart monitor was removed when he was 5 months old. He has been fine! He is growing so quickly!