In her column published on The Philippine Star on Sunday, Corpuz recalled that she had been warned of a "difficult" pregnancy when she met a healing priest, two months before she was set to give birth.
"He touched my very pregnant tummy, kept quiet for a moment, then told me in a serious tone, 'You will have a difficult pregnancy, you take care of that baby,'" she said.
According to Corpuz, the priest opted to pray over her belly instead, when she asked him to explain what he meant.
The warning prompted her to undergo a number of medical tests to ensure she is in good condition in time for her delivery. The tests, she recalled, yielded no worrying results.
Corpuz said her family had convinced her that the priest's warning may have simply referred to an earlier phase in her pregnancy -- during her fourth month, she had food poisoning and was hospitalized for four days.
"After what I had been through, I thought my family must be right that the priest meant it in the past tense," she said.
On her eighth month of pregnancy, however, Corpuz said she experienced severe stomach pain, prompting her husband to bring her to the hospital.
Her doctor, Dr. Jose Moran, suspected that it may be due to appendicitis. But aside from addressing the pain that "grew by the hour," Corpuz and her doctors also had to consider her pregnancy.
"When I was wheeled into the operating room, there were more people than usual since aside from the surgical staff, the delivery room staff was also there, just in case I go into pre-mature labor during the operation.
"I only remember that I was in extreme pain before the anesthesia knocked me out. Next thing I know, I was waking up in the recovery room. The surgeon told me that Dr. Moran’s hunch was right, and that my appendix was already gangrenous and about to rupture," Corpuz narrated.
But the worst was still ahead for Corpuz.
Only days after her operation, the Kapamilya reporter recalled "[waking up] in the he middle of the night shivering in cold sweat." She was rushed to the hospital by her husband at 3 a.m. due to high fever.
She recalled: "Doctors discovered that my wound from the operation was infected! Doctors had to re-open the wound right then and there to drain the infection, without anesthesia!"
Corpuz explained that due to her pregnancy, the doctors could not risk giving her aggressive antibiotics and painkillers.
"They had to keep my wound open, so they could drain the wound every few hours. For someone who turns clammy at the sight of an injection, I cannot begin to describe how painful it was! I imagine that’s what it would feel like to get stabbed, with the knife being given an extra twist inside," she said.
"My days were divided into sleep and pain. But even sleep wasn’t an escape, as my baby would start moving inside my belly and place a well-aimed kick right at my open wound! I would literally wake up screaming after she did that, many, many, many times in the three weeks we were waiting for her to be ready to come out," she said.
The infection slowly got better, Corpuz said, with her doctors eventually deciding that she was in good enough condition to deliver the baby.
On May 1, 2012, the Kapamilya reporter and her husband welcomed Stella, their first child, at 7:02 a.m.
According to Corpuz, giving birth via C-secion paled in comparison to her experience nursing appendicitis and the infection that followed.
"I remember that while I was pregnant, I prayed to God saying sorry for being afraid of giving birth to another human being. I prayed that I would take any pain, as long as Stella turns out okay," Corpuz said.
She added: "When Stella came, I was amazed that I was capable of so much love and sacrifice. My needs, my wants, my life are no longer as important. I’m willing to cry her tears, feel her pain, take all of life’s cruelties for her even if I know I can’t shield her from these things forever. My daughter reminds me that I’m no longer the same. I am a mother."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
