Woman in pain during pregnancy couldn’t hug daughter

An Australian mother-of-one was left bed bound for days and unable to lift a finger without being in agony during pregnancy.

Stephanie Pace, 26, was in so much pain while expecting her second baby she couldn’t walk to the bathroom without her husband Ryan’s assistance.

‘Ryan ended up having to dress me, shower me, take me to the toilet – it was ridiculous! I was so frustrated and confused as to why my body was doing this,’ Stephanie wrote in a blog post.

‘There I was laying in my bed feeling trapped in my own body unable to move and honestly I got to a point I was too scared to move because of the pain.’

Stephanie explained that the feeling was like she had torn every single muscle in her body, even the muscles you use to chew your jaw. 

She woke up one day feeling as if she had just done a huge work out as her muscles were tight and sore. 

‘I told Ryan and my mum and a few people kept saying it was the flu, except this was so different,’ she wrote.

‘It was nothing at all like a flu ache, it was more intense and a different sensation and I wasn’t sick.’

‘Ryan ended up having to dress me, shower me, take me to the toilet – it was ridiculous!’ she wrote

Stephanie explained that the feeling was like she had torn every single muscle in her body, even the muscles you use to chew your jaw

‘Each day it got worse so I went to the doctor and ended up passing out. I got to the point that moving any part of my body was quite painful and it would make me light headed [and] then I just fainted.’

Stephanie eventually went to hospital where they monitored her baby and ran some bloods before sending her home. 

‘I assumed from here my body had to feel better as I thought it was impossible to get any worse.

‘By this point walking was difficult, as was siting and opening things like packets and bottles.’

Stephanie eventually went to hospital where they monitored her baby and ran some bloods before sending her home

‘Every toilet trip was a long painful process and I even got anxiety soon as I felt my bladder was full,’ the mother-to-be wrote

She forced herself to have showers every hour as well as paracetamol to help ease the pain but eventually this stopped working.

‘I got to a stage that afternoon [where] I physically couldn’t reach my arm out, walk, sit, roll in bed, ANYTHING without Ryan doing it for me because it was such excruciating pain,’ Stephanie explained.

‘I have a relatively high pain threshold and I was also someone who didn’t make a sound during labour so when moving would make me cry out in pain Ryan knew it was serious.’

She forced herself to have showers every hour as well as panadol to help ease the pain but eventually this stopped working

At this point everyone knew that what they were dealing with was much more serious than the flu or a case of low iron levels, as previously thought. 

‘Every toilet trip was a long painful process and I even got anxiety soon as I felt my bladder was full.

‘I couldn’t use my arms, even sign a piece of paper without shuddering in pain.

‘I remember laying there in the one position for days and just thinking to myself “this seriously cannot be real life”.’

At this point everyone knew that what they were dealing with was much more serious than the flu or a case of low iron levels

The pain reached such an intensity that Stephanie was unable to sign a piece of paper without being in severe pain

Stephanie, who had once had an active lifestyle, was now not able to move at all, not even to hug her daughter Harper.

‘When I didn’t improve the next day that’s when we all got scared.

‘[When] talk of my condition as a semi permanent thing was said my heart just shattered I couldn’t even let myself think that I could be like this for weeks, months.

‘The stress and sadness I felt when Harper would come in to see me because she didn’t understand why I wasn’t hugging her or even reaching my hand out for her was shattering.

‘It broke my heart. I thought it was sad when I could no longer pick up my own daughter let alone not reach out to her anymore.’

‘[When] talk of my condition as a semi permanent thing was said my heart just shattered I couldn’t even let myself think that I could be like this for weeks, months’

Stephanie once had an active lifestyle and now she was left not being able to move at all, not even to hug her daughter Harper

Stephanie had to endure a variety of blood tests and swabs to try and figure out what exactly was going on.

Another assumption was that her body was shutting down because she wasn’t putting herself first during the pregnancy and her body was overworked.

‘When a body is under a great deal of stress for a long period of time it can do strange things in order to protect the baby.

‘It’s as if my body has had to physically force me to stop all together.’

Stephanie had to endure a variety of blood tests and swabs to try and figure out what exactly was going on and there was the fear that her body was going to remain this way forever

Unfortunately the treatment to help with severe muscle soreness wasn’t an offer for Stephanie because she was pregnant.

Since they didn’t know the exact cause of this pain she was told to rest, take pain relief, get injections daily to prevent blood clots and see a physio every day. 

The one day Stephanie was able to lift up her drink bottle all by herself, which was a sign that she wouldn’t be immobile forever. 

Unfortunately the treatment to help with severe muscle soreness wasn’t an offer for Stephanie because she was pregnant

‘I can say this traumatic time really did change my outlook on life. I would like to think prior to this I was a grateful person but now I was grateful for everything and especially for what blessings my body gives me daily.

‘Being able to hug Harper again was just euphoric and the smile on her face when I could once again hold her on my lap was beautiful. 

‘What happened to me is still mind-blowing but also such a huge wake up call for me to realise as much as I like to think I can do everything – I really can’t.

‘Mothers take on so many roles and have such huge responsibilities but we need to remember that if you don’t look after YOU then you are not good to anyone else.’

‘Mothers take on so many roles and have such huge responsibilities but we need to remember that if you don’t look after YOU then you are not good to anyone else’

Stephanie stressed in the post the importance of mothers looking after their physical and mental health.

She said that you need to put yourself first that you can be the best possible mum that you can be.  

‘Little did I know all the care I was putting into everyone else like, cleaning, cooking, dressing Harper, even wiping her ass – I would soon find myself on the other end of – literally having someone have to wipe my ass for me.’

Now Stephanie is out of hospital and is taking it easy until her second child is due in December.