Plagued by Hyperemesis Gravidarum

So here’s a little history about my wife Ruth and me, Derek. We met almost five years ago in Manhattan, at a Memorial Day party at the Empire Hotel rooftop lounge. We immediately clicked. We dated for a while, and without a doubt in my mind, I knew I wanted to be with her and spend my life with her. After nine months of dating, I proposed, and within a year we were married. Life has been good to us since and today I am more in love with her now than I've ever been. She is my rock, and every day when I wake up I am so, so thankful for us being together. As a young girl who moved at the age of 16 by herself to the U.S. from Ghana, Ruth has such strength and courage. When I think of her life before we met, and when she tells me stories about it, I am always in awe about how she got to her place in life and how she managed to go through all trials and tribulations, but still stayed strong.

Recently, we decided to start a family and by God’s grace she conceived on the first try. We weren't expecting a pregnancy so quickly; when she told me I was so excited to have another person join our family and make as whole. The thought of this little one being a part of both of us was just a great feeling. We were so thankful and felt for blessed for this. But then something happened. The day after she told me the news, she started to get really sick and started to vomit almost uncontrollably. Of course the first thing that came to our mind was morning sickness-- most pregnant women go through that, and we understand this. But as the day passed, Ruth couldn't keep anything down, including water. This worried me, so I made a quick call to the doctor and they asked that I take her to an emergency room in case she got dehydrated. We left in the evening. In the ER Ruth got some IV drips, and after a few hours of tests and treatment, we left the place around 3 AM. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of our troubles, as we learned her diagnosis: hyperemesis gravidarum (you may recognize this as the disorder Kate Middleton had).

As the days passed, Ruth began to lose weight drastically. We recall her weight around 145 pounds the day she went to the hospital, but only after a couple days she had lost five pounds. We went to our new OB/GYN who gave us some meds to help with the nausea. Unfortunately, it did not have any positive lasting effect, as she continued to vomit many times a day. The next weekend we needed to go to the ER again; it seemed like the weekend before—IV drips, tests, treatments. Apparently, although women may suffer this horrible condition, Ruth’s case is so extreme that it is considered quite rare, and often requires hospitalization, and feeding through IVs.

Fast forward to today, and Ruth weight about 129 pounds – that’s a total weight of 16 pounds lost in three weeks. We just got back from the ER (again) last night, and despite more treatments, etc., she’s no better. Constant nausea and vomiting is no way to live under any circumstance. It seems no medications have any effects of easing the pain and nausea, and we’ve considered all options on the table. Obviously, we do not want to lose the baby, and despite the constant agony, Ruth has been quite the soldier and has mustered all courage and strength to see this through. But it’s not coming without the price—agony, depression, stress, etc.

We consistently pray and keep the faith that the Lord will help us see this through, and we want to bring attention and awareness to everybody of this debilitating condition. Up until this point Ruth has been able to continue her job (barely), but at this point it seems she has become incapacitated to the point where she can no longer work. Obviously, this leaves us with a financial burden. We are asking for any assistance in help with the oncoming medical treatment, etc., as Ruth will receive medical assistance at home. This is our first child (and perhaps only one), and we wish to overcome all obstacles to create a new miracle of life. We will kindly give you updates through this journey, and be more than happy to be in touch through every step of the way. Thank you for reading this, and God bless.