When Paris Yarbro was making plans for the arrival of a new addition to her family, there really was no debate as to where she would deliver. Her obstetrician of 15 years was on the medical staff at Texas Health Hospital Frisco, so that was the hospital of choice.
On delivery day, Zadie Lee came into the world without much fuss. “I would say that whole experience from arriving at the hospital to me getting to hold her was maybe 45 minutes; like it was really, really fast — and then I had a baby,” Paris joyfully recalls.
“Here at Texas Health Frisco, our goal is to provide seamless, high-quality care to all patients that walk through the door, especially patients that have experiences like Paris’s,” explains Dawn Nichols, MSN, RN, BEA-BC, director of Women & Infant Services for the hospital. “So, we want to be able to provide the care that you expect for those expected admissions but also be here when you have the unexpected arise.”
After returning home from the hospital, Paris quickly came to realize just how well the staff at Texas Health Frisco caters to both the expected as well as the unexpected. A few days after her delivery, and one day after bringing Zadie Lee home, she was in a lot of pain and knew something wasn’t quite right. When Paris decided to reach out to her OB’s emergency phone line, the on-call physician directed her to return to Texas Health Frisco.
With her husband and four-day-old baby in tow, Paris made a late-night trip to be readmitted to the hospital. “All I could really tell them was I’m short of breath and I couldn’t hold my daughter and then the nurse came in and she said, ‘I know they saw something on your chest scan, but I think they just need to run more tests.’ Then she said, ‘I’m really glad that you came in when you did because you need to be here.’”
Paris underwent a number of tests, including a full-body scan. “I pretty much spent that whole entire day thinking that maybe I had such a beautiful summer and all these memories so that my husband could show those to my daughter, because I was really starting to think that I might not be around to see her,” the new mom admits.
Early conversations around a possible diagnosis of congenital heart failure later took a more positive turn. What Paris was experiencing was not a heart issue but rather the lingering effects of the fluid she had received during her cesarean section. Instead of her body getting rid of all the excess fluid post-delivery, as is typically normal, it had retained it — leading to what is known as postoperative edema.
“I had all this fluid sitting in my chest weighing on my heart and lungs, so it was really good that I came in when I did,” she says.
Paris spent several more days at Texas Health Frisco while her body recovered and until she was able to get up and walk without having breathing problems. With the scary experience behind her, Paris again went home to begin the process of bonding and enjoying the next chapter of her family’s story.
“I felt really taken care of both times [at Texas Health Frisco]. The nurses were amazing, and I felt like they were sharing with me. Throughout every step of my journey, I can’t imagine being anywhere else except Texas Health Frisco,” she adds.