H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S
Because of the pandemic, her kids were doing virtual school. Smith had to balance teaching them with her sickness, all while working from home as a corporate recruiter. “When your stomach hurts all the time, all you want to do is lie around. I had an old orange Halloween bucket that I had to carry around with me,” she said. “I had all these little rituals. I’d go lay in the shower and have the water run over me in the tub, because I’d rather just throw up in the tub than have to run to the toilet every five minutes. Every day, I would just remind myself that the end date was my due date.”
“It was a day-by-day struggle. I look back, and I don’t know how I made it through.” Kamilah Smith
20 The Newton Community Magazine
Smith’s healthcare team put her on a pump that distributed a continual dose of the anti-nausea medication Zofran. She had a home health nurse that helped her manage the pump and her diet. “The nurse educated me on how to eat when I did feel well enough to,” she said. “It was basically a bland diet—stay away from spicy stuff and things you crave but trigger you. For me, dairy was a big trigger. I always craved ice cream, but I learned that if I gave in, I regretted it later.” Despite the limitations from HG, Smith was amused to find that she still gained a normal amount of weight throughout her pregnancy. “I’m that lady that always gains 40 pounds when I’m pregnant,” she said with a laugh. Smith credits her healthcare team, Dr. Cathy Larrimore in particular, with helping her have a positive outcome. “One time I was hospitalized, [and] my potassium was really low. They brought this big fruit bowl up to my room. Later, I found out that Dr. Larrimore had sent it to me herself because she wanted to get my potassium up. We have a special relationship.”
