Complications No Obstacle for a Healthy Delivery at Passavant Area Hospital

Early in Rachel Kesler’s pregnancy, her physicians discovered that Rachel’s kidneys were beginning to fail. Kidney disease had been present but undetected until she began regular appointments and pregnancy testing.

Jeffrey Olejnik, MD, at the SIU Center for Women’s Health, immediately referred Rachel to SIU’s maternal fetal medicine specialist, Robert Abrams, MD. Both physicians monitored Rachel closely during her pregnancy referring her to a team of five specialists – kidney specialists and maternal fetal specialists, including physicians at a respected medical center in St. Louis.

A month before her due date, Rachel went in for her regularly scheduled bi-weekly checkup and learned that her kidney function was dropping quickly. Dr. Olejnik sent Rachel to Dr. Abrams for a final 3D sonogram to check the health of the baby.

Even though Rachel had not reached the desired 37-week milestone, Dr. Abrams sent Rachel to Passavant Area Hospital where she was induced the next morning at 8 a.m. She labored for 36 hours.

When it was discovered the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck, Dr. Olejnik called for C-section, delivering a healthy baby boy.

“The labor and delivery nurses at Passavant were amazing,” Rachel said. “I knew things were not going well, and yet the nursing staff was so caring and reassuring. They kept me informed; they never sugar coated but reassured me everything would be okay.”

After delivering Charlie, Rachel recovered at Passavant for five days.

“The nursing staff was so accommodating to my needs, and the service was amazing,” Rachel said. “I had a private room and access to the best care in the area. The staff was great, and they respected my husband and me as a couple, something I did not experience at the larger hospitals in larger cities that I visited for my health issues. Passavant provided me with big city amenities but with a small town caring feel.”