Things continue to progress with the pregnancy. Following this week we will be having daily ultrasounds for the duration of the pregnancy. This will mean office visits each weekday and traveling to Mary Birch Hospital on Saturdays and Sundays. On average an appointment lasts an hour to an hour and a half.
Jenn's fluid has continued to stay in a good range although they are not taking any chances. Each ultrasound includes a biological profile of baby Grace to make sure that everything is stable. It is amazing how "normal" things become in time as you deal with an issue like this. Granted there have been serious stresses throughout the pregnancy, once you begin to deal with the new reality things begin to fall into a new pattern.
We are also scheduled for two more echocardiograms over the next two months and Jenn has weekly OB appointments. To date Jenn has been able to go to work each day with minimum issues. It is my understanding that she will probably go on maternity leave a month before the due date of October 16th. We are meeting with the doctor today and it is possible we will know when we are scheduling the C-section.
There will be an infant heart specialist in attendance as well as our High Risk Pregnancy specialist who will be doing the delivery. Shortly before the surgery Jenn will also be switching to a different anticoagulation medication from the Lovanox shots that she is presently taking twice daily. Once Grace Rose is born we will determine what we need to do to address her heart condition. The doctor said we may have to do nothing for a time or she may immediately need surgery. Inevitably she will need a pacemaker unless the Lord intervenes with immediate, direct healing.
I will continue to keep you posted as things progress and we get closer to the due date. Please feel free to leave posts on this site. If anything changes I will also let you know.
6 comments:
there's a cool parallel between the regular disruptions in your life becoming the new "normal" and the scheduled c-section and inevitable pacemaker.
i hope these things do go well.
So, it seems to me that the only "abnormality" Grace will experience is a pacemaker. Is that correct? And even then, a pacemaker is hardly abnormal in this day and age.
Ben, that is potentially the case. With the Sjorgren's antibody A there is also the possibility of her developing a rash that can last up to a year. Sometimes the rash is mild and other times it is extremely severe. There are too few cases to give any real statistics about the likelihood of this. The best I can tell it is about 33%.
The real issue is how severe her heart condition is. It could be mild and she doesn't need a pacemaker right away or she could be rushed into surgery the moment she is born. The heart surgeon will be on hand at the delivery and will evaluate the situation when she arrives.
He thinks she will live a completely normal life other than a pacemaker. In fact, he has told us to not let this be a factor in us having other children even if all our kids go through this. In his eyes it is not a decisive factor in more kids. Of course he deals with infant heart conditions all day, for us it is a one time tramatic situation.
I'm sure. I was reading over my previous comment and realized I may have come across as uncaring about the fact that she may need a pacemaker, but I'm sure you didn't take me that way. I was just thinking about my cousin who was born with heart problems among a host of other things and it resulted in her being mentally retarded. My over-arching concern for Baby Grace was something more...traumatic and life altering than a pacemaker. Definitely a pacemaker and surgery immediately after birth is no small thing.
Hey Ben, don't worry about it. I didn't take offence at all (jerk). I knew you didn't mean anything (insensitive snob). We've been friends too long for misunderstandings like that (don't talk to me again). Consider it forgotten (I'll take this to my grave). Just having some fun, seriously I didn't take it wrong. Hopefully it is nothing more than a pacemaker.
I'm so glad you understand (shut your pie-hole!) It does me good to know you still know my heart (you really don't know me at all do you?) :)
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