My ectopic pregnancy occurred on our honeymoon in Spain, on 25 August 2002.
We got married in a beautiful ceremony on 17 August and went to Dartmoor for a week, it was whilst we were there that we found out we were expecting. We were over the moon about it, my husband had two sons already, 12 & 14, his wife very sadly passed away in 1999.
We all flew to Malaga as a family, on Sunday 24 August. However, I had an awful feeling that I shouldn’t go, a feeling I couldn’t shrug off – if only I had paid attention to it! Halfway through the flight the pain in my left ovary area started and just wouldn’t stop. It got worse once we landed and the only time the pain eased slightly was when I went in the swimming pool. I assumed I was about to miscarry, but I didn’t start to bleed, and the pain only got worse.
Eventually at 3am, whilst walking back from the bathroom, a huge pain hit me, and I collapsed on the floor of our holiday apartment. My husband ran to the hotel reception, and they called the emergency doctor. She immediately thought that I was miscarrying and sent an ambulance to take me to hospital. Once there, unbeknownst to me, they sent my husband back to the hotel and shut me in a room on my own. They put me on a drip which I identified was only saline, I had NO pain relief throughout the whole experience.
At 9am my husband came back, and I was taken for a scan, which showed I was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. I was sent back to my room and told they would monitor my blood levels. For the next 24 hours I was left in a room, in pain, nil by mouth, in 35-degree heat. I was going downhill all the time as my blood pressure was dropping. At times I didn’t feel like I was ‘here’ it was like I was in a parallel world, and I was watching this horror story happen to someone else.
The Gynaecologist (who always carried a hand mirror with him to check his hair frequently) came into my room the following morning saying he was going to check my hormone levels again and would likely send me back to the hotel to see how things went. He checked the blood levels, which were worse. At this point I knew how bad things were and that basically I was slowly dying – so I summed up the energy to question what he was doing – asking him if he knew I was a nurse (I wasn’t a fully qualified one but was half way through my training) he looked horrified – within 20 minutes I was transferred to a larger hospital and told I would be operated on.
When I got wheeled into theatre the Gynaecologist was sat with his scrubs on, feet on the desk speaking to his wife on his mobile – as he joked with the anaesthetist!
I woke up in my room a couple of hours later, so relieved the operation was over. I just wanted to go home. Nobody told me what had happened during the operation, I had three small dressings across my lower stomach.
I was told by the nurse the next morning that the Gynaecologist would be there at about 9.30am to discuss the operation and discharge me – he finally arrived at 7pm, informing me he had forgotten me as he was playing golf, handed me a discharge report and said that I could go!
Once home I got my report translated as it was all in Spanish – I had lost my left Fallopian tube, it had snapped off and was found on the right side of my tummy. I had lost 2 litre’s of blood, and due to the damage caused would struggle to ever fall pregnant naturally.
I was very ill physically and emotionally, and left my nursing course.
Getting pregnant became my be all and end all – monitoring temperatures, when ovulation was etc. occupied every hour of every day.
In January 2004, I found out that I was pregnant, and this time it was in the right place! I wouldn’t allow myself to get excited until I held him in my arms. I was lucky to go on and have two daughters as well.
But despite it being 22 years ago, I never forget what might have been if my little ‘bean’ had been in the right place. There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think what might have been. I am just so grateful that I questioned the gynaecologist that morning, because I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn’t.
Thank you to Kerry for sharing her experience. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
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