I'm Savanah Vargo. I'm 22 years old and I have lived in Lake County all of my life.

Just recently I was flown out on CalStar for premature labor at 34 weeks and four days with high risks. It started at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake Tuesday night and the nurses and doctors tried to stop the contractions but it didn't work.

On Wednesday morning UCSF was contacted and they asked me to be flown out immediately which is where CalStar came in.

I was terrified but the CalStar staff did everything they could to reassure me that everything was all right. On top of that, while I was in the helicopter I was able to take a few snapshots with my phone and one of the staff members actually took a photo of me and one of out the window.

It took 43 minutes to arrive in San Francisco. I was transported by ambulance to UCSF and upon arrival I was told I was having my baby and they weren't going to try and stop it.

Part of the reason I was going into premature labor was because I was born with the RH factor. Basically, I have a negative blood type and my baby has a positive one, so my body developed antibodies that would attack the baby's blood cells because to my antibodies the baby was a foreign object.

I also was being monitored for a disease called preeclampsia, which has several different types of symptoms like high blood pressure or protein in the urine or abdominal pain and so forth, but the only way to cure preeclampsia is delivery of the baby.

Luckily i didn't develop preeclampsia fully but it is a disease that not many people are aware of and it affects more than you think it would.

I ended up giving birth on Thursday to a beautiful baby girl and we have been in the hospital ever since because she has a high bilirubin count and requires photo therapy and has to be monitored for feedings and weight gain.

The staff at the hospital allowed us to stay in an isolation room until the great people at Ronald MacDonald house had an opening for us, which is where we are currently staying.

I just really want to thank the CalStar staff and the staff at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake who tried their best and the amazing staff at UCSF and the Ronald MacDonald house.

I also want to thank the people who were able to gather donations and supplies for premature babies to help my husband, Nick, and I stay here in San Francisco with our baby, Peyton.

Some of these great people are the staff and owner Gary Muench of North Coast Supportability, who gathered donations and all kinds of supplies. You guys are amazing!

Thank you also to the staff at Lake County Special Districts and the Riley family who went above and beyond the call of duty to help support and keep us in San Francisco and take care of our house and animals while we are away.

Also, thanks to the Benitez, Kraft, Kerns, Cose, Mullings and many other families that helped out with everything, and Chris Bowman of Blue Horse Shoe Tattoo in Virginia.

Without you guys I don't know how we would have done it! I cannot begin to thank you guys enough!

Savanah Vargo lives in Clearlake, Calif.

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Written by: Savanah Vargo

Published: 17 April 2014