In the summer of 2013, as I headed into the third trimester of my first pregnancy, I started to feel not quite right. Like any other anxious expectant woman, I turned to Google. Topics I searched over the following weeks included: ?Headaches third trimester.? ?Nausea third trimester.? ?Nose bleed third trimester.? ?Bruising third trimester.? ?Swelling third trimester.? And on and on. According to my research, all these symptoms were normal on their own, and it didn?t occur me that they could be connected by anything other than being pregnant. Despite feeling progressively tired and unwell, I didn?t actually think anything was wrong. I assumed this last trimester was hitting me hard or that maybe I simply sucked at this pregnancy thing.
The night before my 33-week appointment, the nagging heartburn I?d had on and off turned into a searing pain that radiated across my chest, through my back and stabbed my right shoulder. It kept me up most of the night, but I wasn?t concerned enough to go to the ER as I was seeing my doctor in the morning. Exhausted and barely coherent, I reported my symptoms to my OB/GYN, who prescribed Zantac for heartburn. As I gazed up at a poster listing the warning signs of preeclampsia (and deciding, nope, not me), the nurse noted my blood pressure was a little higher than my last visit, but still in the normal range. She also made a passing comment about watching out for rib pain, which totally didn?t register?probably because I was focused on my terr...