Two beautiful babies. And a LOT of drugs. This is what it took for Caitlin Boyes to make it through her twin pregnancy.
This is What Really Happens When You Have Severe Morning Sickness
The mother-of-three wants the world to see what pregnant women with severe morning sickness REALLY go through just to make it through the day. And it’s daunting – and expensive – as hell.
Now she’s on a mission to have the most expensive drugs added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) so other expectant mothers don’t have to suffer with hyperemesis gravidarum, especially if they can’t afford to pay.
Welcome to your pregnancy nightmare
Caitlin had hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) during her twin pregnancy – the same illness that’s plaguing royal mother-to-be Kate Middleton – and says the experience was “horrific”.
“Here is a snapshot of the medications I was on for the HG symptoms of nausea, vomiting, heartburn, insomnia, anxiety/ depression, headaches/ migraines,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Nothing helped a great deal but they did seem to take the edge off some of the symptoms and limit my admissions to hospital and keep me and the twins progressing through the pregnancy.
I was still unable to work, mother or do basic tasks for 7 months. I am so glad my HG journey is over and so sorry to anyone else that has to go through it!”
Caitlin is trying to get the government to subsidise the most expensive medications and is supporting an online petition that’s already attracted almost 42,000 signatures.
“Some of these medications including ondansetron aren’t on the PBS for HG and are expensive and sometimes unaffordable for HG sufferers. Please help by signing the petition to get ondansetron on the PBS for HG,” she said.
“It very nearly killed me”
Samanatha McCall started the Change.org petition after her own debilitating battle with hyperemesis gravidarum.
She relied on family members to pay for the drugs, which cost more than $30 for a packet of 10. The mother-to-be needed three tablets a day for almost her entire pregnancy and ended up in hospital when she couldn’t afford the medication.
“The dehydration and malnourishment very nearly killed me. No one should not be able to take medication that is required to keep them alive because of the price,” she said.
“Ondansetron is on the PBS but only for those who are going through chemotherapy. I would like to see it added for women who suffer Hyperemesis Gravidarum during pregnancy too.”
At least one member of a family of four had died while the rest continued to fight for their lives after attempting to escape the deadly California wildfires, which had now claimed 40.
Family of Four Loses 14-Year-Old Son While Trying to Outrun Deadly California Wildfire
Jon, Sara and their 17-year-old daughter Kressa Shepherd are all currently recovering from their injuries in different hospitals and remain sedated and unaware of the death of 14-year-old Kai Shepherd, who died just about 50 feet away from them near their Mendocino County home, according to the Associated Press.
“We will have some terrible news to break,” Sara’s sister Mindi Ramos told The Los Angeles Times. “We have been advised not to volunteer the tragic information. Until they ask, we don’t tell them.”
GENEROSITY
Neighbor Paul Hanssen also spoke to the L.A. Times, saying that after he first saw the fire had spread to the neighborhood, he called Jon to warn him. “I woke Jon up and told him there was a fire and he needs to get ready to leave and that I would call him if we needed to evacuate.”
The Shepherds reportedly tried to drive themselves to safety, but their cars caught fire as they were driving down the mountain they lived on. They were forced to get out and attempt to escape on foot, according to the AP.
Sara and Kressa were saved by Hanssen, who survived the flames by locking himself in a metal trailer along with his dog and a hose which was filled with water, reported the AP. Hours later — after the fire passed — Hanssen left his trailer and went to the Shephard’s house, where he found Sara and Kressa on the ground, badly burned.
After he called 911, Hanssen “got water for them from their water heater and squeezed it into their mouths with a towel,” Sara’s sister Mindi Ramos told the L.A. Times. “He held them when they got cold. He assured them that help was coming. Kressa told him, ‘I just want to go to the hospital now.’ ”
Hanssen also asked them if they knew where Kai and Jon were, but “they both said they didn’t know,” Hanssen told the L.A. Times.
Just before the paramedics arrived, Hanssen found Kai’s body and later, along with another neighbor, Efren Turner, they covered him with a sheet. “We paused a moment with our hands on him, speaking solemnly, and praying for him,” added Hanssen. “We didn’t feel right leaving him alone on the road up there. But the coroner/sheriff was there to get him within an hour.”
While Sara and Kressa didn’t know where Jon was, first responders found him separately, also badly burned, but alive, reported the AP.
Although Jon suffered from burns over 45 percent of his body, Ramos told the L.A. Times “there was no muscle damage” and that doctors “have 100 percent confidence in his full recovery.”
Sara and Kressa — who both suffered burns over 60 percent of their bodies — are also expected to recover. Sara suffered burn damage to her hands and legs and Kressa’s legs had to be amputated below the knee. Ramos also added that Kressa’s face was badly burned although “there was no muscle damage to her face…so there is enough structure to rebuild.”
“It will be a blessing to us if Kressa retains her eyesight and hands,” she added.
The Shepherds did not have fire insurance due to the remote location of their house — which they built and called their dream home, reported the AP — so Ramos launched a fundraising campaign for them to help pay for rebuilding and medical costs.