Dr. Fealko

I was supposed to have my regular check-up with Dr. Fealko on January 11.  It was originally scheduled for back in October... but since I was already seeing Dr. Kuhn that month I moved this one so that rather than have two breast exams in the same month, I could get this bonus exam before I see Dr. Kuhn again in April.

Then... we got a new insurance carrier on January 1st and ran into some major issues... there are virtually ZERO doctors in-network with 100 miles of me!  So, I pushed my appointment with Dr. Fealko out into February and hoping to have something worked out by then.  In the meantime, I thought I would still write about how she became my regular OB/GYN and why she is awesome.

This is the story of how I met Dr. Fealko...

In early December (or late November?) of 2010, Juan and I were very excited to find out we were going to have another baby.  Shortly after seeing a positive result on a home pregnancy test I called my doctors office to make an appointment with Dr. Young at Women's Health Associates, who had delivered Claire.  I was sad to find out she wasn't delivering babies anymore so I would need to select a new doctor.  I decided to talk to some friends and get recommendations before picking a new doctor, but I knew I had plenty of time so wasn't worried.  We didn't tell anyone I was pregnant yet and even successfully kept it a secret through Juan's annual Christmas party.

December 14, 2010 started out like any other day.  I went to work, and I was having a bunch of girlfriends over to my house that evening for cookie party.  Everyone was bringing several dozen cookies over to exchange.  It was going to be fun!  At work, things were laid back.  We were decorating our hallway and offices for a contest at work.  I remember I was helping put snowflake wrapping paper on the cubicles when I started to not feel well and rushed to the bathroom.  I thought I was going to be sick.  I felt pretty yucky and thought maybe I was going to have morning sickness this time (I really didn't have much with Claire).

While I was in the bathroom I started to feel dizzy.  I was already sitting on my knees on the floor (because I thought I was going to be sick) and so I put my head down.  The next thing I remember is waking up on the floor... I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh!  I think I passed out!"  It was kind of scary but I didn't actually think much of it, pregnant people pass out in books routinely (I have since learned if you pass out and know you are pregnant you should call a doctor ASAP!).  I told my boss I wasn't feeling well and then a co-worker drove me home.  I figured I just needed to rest so I laid down and took a nap.  I still didn't feel very well and thought maybe I was having gas pains or something.  I didn't really hurt that bad, just uncomfortable.

My sister was watching Claire at the time and I realized I didn't feel up to driving over to pick her up.  So I called and asked Andrea if could bring her to our house.  I had to let the cat of the bag and tell her I was pregnant and that was why I wasn't feeling well.  So she dropped Claire off and at some point Juan came home from work.  I spent the afternoon resting and not feeling well.  I remember debating with Juan if I should call the doctor.  I didn't really have a doctor so wasn't even sure who to call.  Finally, after feeling like I was going to pass out again in the bathroom and then crawling on the floor to help Claire with something I realized I really did need to call the doctor!

I called Dr. Young's office and explained I was a former patient but currently "doctor-less" but hopefully someone could help me.  They got me to a triage nurse who asked me questions, then I would give answers, and then she would put me on hold to consult with a doctor.  This happened several times... finally after another hold, the nurse said I should go to the ER immediately, although I remember her sounding very calm.  She said it would be best if I came to the St. Luke's downtown because that is the only place their doctors can practice, but that I should go right now.  I told her I thought I could make it and we would head there now.  So we packed up Claire and drove to the ER.

There was one other problem... what was I going to do about all these girls bringing dozens and dozens of cookies over to my house that night??!!  I didn't even know if I would be home.  I called Dawn or Beth (or both?) to ask if they could help and let them know what was going on with me.  Of course they were happy to help... that was the end of my cookie party!

When I got to the ER I think I told them my pain was like a "3-4" on their happy/sad face chart.  Rather quickly, they got me into a room and an ER doctor came in to ask questions and check me over.  I think they took blood, too, and hooked me up to an IV.  At some point, I met Dr. Fealko.  She was the doctor on-call from my other doctor's office, Women's Health Associates.  She seemed nice enough.  They took me downstairs for an ultrasound which is when I really started to feel pain.  Searing pain in my shoulder.  I don't think the techs who do ultrasounds and those sorts of things are not allowed to tell you anything they see, and so this gal kept quiet and just said hang on, she was almost done.  Finally she was finished and she left the room so the radiologist could look at the films.  I remember laying there looking at the ceiling tiles and dimmed lights (side note... when I was laying there at the breast center waiting for the radiologist to look at those ultrasound films this was the exact moment I remembered).

Eventually the tech came back and I was taken back to my ER room.  At this point I know Dr. Fealko came in and talked to us.  I remember her saying I needed to have surgery as soon as possible.  She said they couldn't see an embryo or fetus or anything on the utlrasound and there was no baby that could be saved, but they could see a lot of blood and I was bleeding internally from most likely a ruptured ectopic pregnancy (when the embryo implants into the fallopian tube instead of the uterus) and there was no other option than an emergency surgery.  I didn't argue!

I remember a nurse had brought in an Elmo storybook for Claire and I read it to her while we getting things organized.  I remember reading to her and thinking, what if I die and these are the last moments I have with my daughter.  Once we knew I was going to have surgery I told Juan to call my sister to see if she could watch Claire overnight.  I think I told him to call Dawn and Beth too since they knew I had gone to the hospital and would be worried.

They gave me some pain medication which made me slightly loopy.  Juan left to take Claire over to my sister's house.  I remember I sent my phone with him, because after he was gone I realized I hadn't told my parents what was going on and now I had no way to call them.  I decided, oh well, there is nothing they can do and they would just worry about me if they knew.  (Note... this was not the correct decision... if you are in a life and death situation you should always call your mom! Sorry mom!!!)

I remember an orderly came in to do something with my personal belongings (clothes and purse was about all I had).  He said they didn't normally take purses and for some reason that sent me over the edge.  For the first time through the entire ordeal I felt intense pain through every inch of my body.  I remember pushing the nurses call button like crazy.  I think I told him I didn't care what he did with my purse... I'd just been told I'd lost a baby and needed surgery to keep me alive so it didn't matter.  I think he just put my purse in with my clothes after that.

I remember getting back into the operating room and Dr. Fealko being there saying I was going to be ok and just close my eyes.  Of course the next thing I remember is waking up in a recovery room.  Dr. Fealko came and talked to us and said how I'd lost half my blood volume and she would like me to get a unit of red blood cells as it would help me recover more quickly.  I think I joked that as long as it was Red Cross blood that was fine.  She said the fallopian tube on my left side was completely destroyed and there was no way to save it, but that I would should still be able to get pregnant even with just one tube.  She told me about her sister who had the same thing happen and went on to have two more children.  Through everything she was so kind and I had complete trust in her.

About a month later I had a follow-up appointment with her and she said I was cleared to try and get pregnant again if we wanted.  I asked if she would be able to be my doctor if I did get pregnant and she said that she would love to see me through a healthy pregnancy.  She also said that the second I thought I might be pregnant to take a test and if I had a positive result to call them immediately so I could come in for tests.  Having an ectopic pregnancy increases your risk of having it happen again.  I didn't have any of the risk factors for the first one and will never know why it happened.  I certainly didn't want it to happen again and be left with no fallopian tubes at all.

About 5 very long months later I did get pregnant!  I called Dr. Fealko and came in that day where they took a blood sample.  I had to go and have blood taken every 48 hours (I think?  Maybe every 24?).  Anyway, they tested the blood sample to watch a certain hormone level that when you are pregnant it doubles every 48 hours.  Once it reached a certain level they did an ultrasound to verify that there was an embryo in my uterus where it belonged.  I think I had to have 2 or 3 ultrasounds before they could see the future Mr. Bryce in there without a doubt.  After that my pregnancy was smooth sailing (well, except for that I had gestational diabetes for the last few months).

On January 13, 2012 Dr. Fealko helped bring Bryce into the world.  And she's been my doctor ever since.  After I was diagnosed with breast cancer I called her pretty much immediately... I was scared and needed to talk to someone as soon as possible to find out what I should do next and get her medical advice and recommendations for what doctor to see next.  I remember telling her, "Thank you!  Now you have saved my life twice!"  Without a second of hesitation she recommended Dr. Livingston as a surgeon and said they would send my records over to her office.  She explained the very little that was known about the cancer cells in my biopsy and helped me calm down a little bit.

Even if Dr. Fealko is going to be out-of-network with this new insurance plan and they won't cover a wellness visit with her at all, I don't care... I'm not changing to some other random doctor who doesn't know my history and might not be as competent and kind.  So that is the story of how Dr. Fealko became my doctor and why I'm going to keep her as long as I can!