Well, we are still waiting on any news of lung growth. We heard from UCSF today, and unfortunately the technician who did our last ultrasound did not take all of the pictures/measurements required to do an exact calculation. The radiologist will take a look at the pictures tomorrow to see if he/she can at least tell us if the lungs have grown since the last ultrasound. We should find out more probably late tomorrow afternoon.
Unfortunately we were not able to take a tour of San Francisco today. Travis had a couple of work conference calls this afternoon that were scheduled to take place during the time of the last available tour for the day. Instead, we are going to go to Fisherman's Wharf this evening to have dinner. At the beginning of our trip, we found a great place called "The Crab House" that we both love. It is exciting to get out of the apartment to go somewhere other than the hospital.
We also received a final appointment schedule for this week. All of our appointments will take place this Thursday. We will have a fetal echo (to check on the baby's heart), an ultrasound (to check on the balloon and lung growth) and an ob appointment (to make sure I am still not at risk for preterm labor, etc.). The ob appointment is actually at another UCSF campus so we will have a very busy traveling to and from hospitals.
I am sure that next week we will probably have another ultrasound the day before the procedure. I can't believe we only have a week and a half to go until the balloon removal on 5/10. If all goes as planned, we will be heading home shortly after. We have our flight scheduled for 5/15, but are looking to see if we can pull that ahead a couple of days based on how I feel after the appointment. We are optimistic that we may be able to take the red eye home on 5/13.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
A Little Taste of Freedom
Some good news. Our preterm labor test came back negative which means there is more than a 90% chance that I won't go into labor in the next couple of weeks. This means two things to us. The first is that we can relax a little bit when it comes to worrying that we will "make it" to the May 10th procedure. The second is that I have been granted some freedom to explore San Francisco every 3rd day. I know it doesn't sound like much, but after spending the last two weeks confined to a couch, it is just what I (and we) need. Monday is my first day of freedom, so we are trying to decide what to do. We can take a tour as long as it is not bumpy. Sadly this eliminates any boat tours and also the popular Alcatraz tour we have been eyeing.
Believe it or not, that little tiny dot on the front/side of my belly (pretty hard to see) is the scar from my incision. It is amazing that they did everything through that tiny little hole.
We also have the pictures as promised. The first pictures are of our apartment.
And, by popular request, here are the belly pictures....
Believe it or not, that little tiny dot on the front/side of my belly (pretty hard to see) is the scar from my incision. It is amazing that they did everything through that tiny little hole.Friday, April 27, 2007
Recovery Update #3
Another week under our belt, seems hard to believe that it has been 2 weeks since the first procedure. We had two doctor appointments this week. Thursdays ultrasound was mainly to check to see if the balloon was still in the correct position, and it was. They also checked the amniotic fluid level and my cervix to make sure it is still closed. Everything checked out with me and the baby. They took pictures of the lung and were going to have the radiologist take a look, but we still have yet to find out if there was more growth since the last ultrasound. Hopefully we will know more on Monday. We also had an ob appointment with our perinatologist today. Everything looked good and she was very glad that we were doing so well. She tested me to find out if I am at risk to go into preterm labor in the next two weeks. We will get the results tomorrow and if they are good, then she will increase my freedom. This means we will be able to go out for dinner and maybe take a couple of San Francisco tours next week.
Another ultrasound and ob appointment are scheduled for Friday of next week.
Sorry we haven't posted the latest pictures yet...hopefully we will get to that soon!
Another ultrasound and ob appointment are scheduled for Friday of next week.
Sorry we haven't posted the latest pictures yet...hopefully we will get to that soon!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Recovery Update #2
The recovery is still going pretty well. My incision (only about 1/4 of an inch) has almost completely healed. I am still amazed with how small it is. So far, there have been no signs of pre-term labor and our fingers are still crossed that it stays that way. The bed rest has been tough, more so than I had imagined. I was able to keep myself occupied for a few days and now it has become much more difficult. Travis and I joke that we are living the same day over and over. For such busy people, it seems strange to have prime time tv be the highlight of our day.
We have two appointments at UCSF this week. An ultrasound on Thursday, and a high risk ob/gyn appointment on Friday. We also received news that the balloon removal has been scheduled for Thursday, May 10th (my birthday). We are counting down the days, as this is our next biggest hurdle to overcome before we can head home.
We would like to thank everyone who has sent us cards, flowers and care packages and have been posting encouraging comments and sending us encouraging e-mails. We can't say how much this means to us and helps keep our spirits high. We are thankful to have such tremendous support.
Tomorrow we will post some belly pictures (by popular request) and some pictures of our very unique apartment with the "closet kitchen".
We have two appointments at UCSF this week. An ultrasound on Thursday, and a high risk ob/gyn appointment on Friday. We also received news that the balloon removal has been scheduled for Thursday, May 10th (my birthday). We are counting down the days, as this is our next biggest hurdle to overcome before we can head home.
We would like to thank everyone who has sent us cards, flowers and care packages and have been posting encouraging comments and sending us encouraging e-mails. We can't say how much this means to us and helps keep our spirits high. We are thankful to have such tremendous support.
Tomorrow we will post some belly pictures (by popular request) and some pictures of our very unique apartment with the "closet kitchen".
Saturday, April 21, 2007
San Francisco Accomodations
I hope that this works (it's our first time posting pictures).
This one is of our hotel / apartment building. We are staying on the 7th floor. The hill you see is one of the many that Travis must climb in order to go to the grocery store. At least one of us is getting exercise...
Another view of the hill from hotel/apartment building.
This one is of our hotel / apartment building. We are staying on the 7th floor. The hill you see is one of the many that Travis must climb in order to go to the grocery store. At least one of us is getting exercise...
Another view of the hill from hotel/apartment building.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Some History
I wanted to post a little bit of history on what we have been going through for the past couple of months. It will be difficult to relive some of those moments, but I will give it my best shot.
It all started in November when we returned from a business trip to Mexico (visiting Aunt Beth and Uncle Bob in the process). I had been feeling "funny" so before making a doctor appointment I had decided to take a pregnancy test. To our surprise it was positive. We were thrilled, especially since we had been trying for about a year. Everything was going normally until we had our 18 week ultrasound (where we found out we were having a boy). That day we received a call from our doctor saying that they had found a problem with the baby's heart and that we would need to have a follow-up echo to diagnose the problem (if there was one). We were crushed, after all the 18 week ultrasound was supposed to be fun. We had never expected to have a problem turn up.
At about 20 weeks, we went in for the fetal echo, very nervous. The test went well and it was determined that the heart was healthy and functioning fine. We were very relieved, but at the end of the test the cardiologist mentioned that the heart was pushed too far to the left. She couldn't see a cause and told us to have a level 3 ultrasound done to "dot the i's and cross the t's". We left feeling very comfortable and with no idea there could be something more serious going on.
At 22 weeks, we went in for our level 3 echo. It sounds strange, but we were not very nervous since we had felt so comfortable after the echo. The technician found the problem almost right away and mentioned to us that there was a defect in the diaphram. At the time it did not sound like much to worry about. He brought the doctor in and we could tell right away by his somber face that this was something serious. Our baby was diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia on the right hand side. The doctor began talking about survival percentages and offered up termination as an option. We had felt like a train hit us, our worst nightmare had come true. Just hearing that your baby might not survive after birth was devastating. We left the hospital in shock and in tears.
After a fetal MRI to measure lung growth, we met with a pediatric surgeon who spoke to us about the condition. The fact that this was a right sided hernia (it is more common on the left side) combined with the fact that it was diagnosed so early in the pregnancy made it very serious. On a prognosis scale, we were far towards the poor prognosis end. This meant that either the baby would not survive or if he did, he would face many short and long term health problems. We asked if there was anything we could do. The surgeon mentioned two things that were offered for severe cases such as ours. One was a temporary balloon tracheal occlusion surgery done in utero. The second was an Exit to ECMO procedure, performed at 38 weeks. Both were considered fetal surgeries which are still very much experimental and come with many risks. There are currently only two places in the world that perform the tracheal occlusion procedure, Belgium and UCSF hospital in San Francisco California. If nothing was done, the baby would have a less than 50% chance at survival.
After the meeting, we knew we had to learn more about the tracheal occlusion surgery. The surgery consists of placing an inflated balloon in the trachea of the fetus using a small probe with a camera. The goal is to keep the fluid in the lungs (which normally escapes into the amniotic fluid) to help them expand and grow, give the baby better chance at survival when born. We made plans to head out to UCSF to see if we would be considered for this surgery. In short, we were offered the procedure. As it turns out, it is only offered to a few couples every year. It comes with many risks including pre-term labor, premature birth, infection, etc. We made the decision to proceed with the surgery which would plug the trachea around 28 weeks and unplug at 32 weeks. We would have to stay in San Francisco for the 4 week duration. If everything went as planned, we would return home and labor would set in at about 34 to 35 weeks. We knew there would be a lot of risk, but we felt that we had to do everything we could to give this baby a chance. Although a successful procedure is not a guarantee that the baby will survive, we are praying that his chances increase.
We are extremely thankful that we have a tremendous support group of friends and family that have been praying for us. We would like to thank everyone who has been supporting us through this tough situation.
Plans were made to leave Canton and stay in San Francisco for 4 to 5 weeks. We both had to leave our jobs temporarily to make it happen, as Travis would have to care for me while I was on bedrest for the 4 weeks. Luckily he is able to work remotely via a wireless internet connection and conference call. Currently we are staying in a furnished apartment in downtown San Francisco. We will try and post some pictures soon. I cannot post the address or phone number on the internet (for safety reasons), but you can e-mail us at rosieandtravis@comcast.net or contact our parents for the information.
It all started in November when we returned from a business trip to Mexico (visiting Aunt Beth and Uncle Bob in the process). I had been feeling "funny" so before making a doctor appointment I had decided to take a pregnancy test. To our surprise it was positive. We were thrilled, especially since we had been trying for about a year. Everything was going normally until we had our 18 week ultrasound (where we found out we were having a boy). That day we received a call from our doctor saying that they had found a problem with the baby's heart and that we would need to have a follow-up echo to diagnose the problem (if there was one). We were crushed, after all the 18 week ultrasound was supposed to be fun. We had never expected to have a problem turn up.
At about 20 weeks, we went in for the fetal echo, very nervous. The test went well and it was determined that the heart was healthy and functioning fine. We were very relieved, but at the end of the test the cardiologist mentioned that the heart was pushed too far to the left. She couldn't see a cause and told us to have a level 3 ultrasound done to "dot the i's and cross the t's". We left feeling very comfortable and with no idea there could be something more serious going on.
At 22 weeks, we went in for our level 3 echo. It sounds strange, but we were not very nervous since we had felt so comfortable after the echo. The technician found the problem almost right away and mentioned to us that there was a defect in the diaphram. At the time it did not sound like much to worry about. He brought the doctor in and we could tell right away by his somber face that this was something serious. Our baby was diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia on the right hand side. The doctor began talking about survival percentages and offered up termination as an option. We had felt like a train hit us, our worst nightmare had come true. Just hearing that your baby might not survive after birth was devastating. We left the hospital in shock and in tears.
After a fetal MRI to measure lung growth, we met with a pediatric surgeon who spoke to us about the condition. The fact that this was a right sided hernia (it is more common on the left side) combined with the fact that it was diagnosed so early in the pregnancy made it very serious. On a prognosis scale, we were far towards the poor prognosis end. This meant that either the baby would not survive or if he did, he would face many short and long term health problems. We asked if there was anything we could do. The surgeon mentioned two things that were offered for severe cases such as ours. One was a temporary balloon tracheal occlusion surgery done in utero. The second was an Exit to ECMO procedure, performed at 38 weeks. Both were considered fetal surgeries which are still very much experimental and come with many risks. There are currently only two places in the world that perform the tracheal occlusion procedure, Belgium and UCSF hospital in San Francisco California. If nothing was done, the baby would have a less than 50% chance at survival.
After the meeting, we knew we had to learn more about the tracheal occlusion surgery. The surgery consists of placing an inflated balloon in the trachea of the fetus using a small probe with a camera. The goal is to keep the fluid in the lungs (which normally escapes into the amniotic fluid) to help them expand and grow, give the baby better chance at survival when born. We made plans to head out to UCSF to see if we would be considered for this surgery. In short, we were offered the procedure. As it turns out, it is only offered to a few couples every year. It comes with many risks including pre-term labor, premature birth, infection, etc. We made the decision to proceed with the surgery which would plug the trachea around 28 weeks and unplug at 32 weeks. We would have to stay in San Francisco for the 4 week duration. If everything went as planned, we would return home and labor would set in at about 34 to 35 weeks. We knew there would be a lot of risk, but we felt that we had to do everything we could to give this baby a chance. Although a successful procedure is not a guarantee that the baby will survive, we are praying that his chances increase.
We are extremely thankful that we have a tremendous support group of friends and family that have been praying for us. We would like to thank everyone who has been supporting us through this tough situation.
Plans were made to leave Canton and stay in San Francisco for 4 to 5 weeks. We both had to leave our jobs temporarily to make it happen, as Travis would have to care for me while I was on bedrest for the 4 weeks. Luckily he is able to work remotely via a wireless internet connection and conference call. Currently we are staying in a furnished apartment in downtown San Francisco. We will try and post some pictures soon. I cannot post the address or phone number on the internet (for safety reasons), but you can e-mail us at rosieandtravis@comcast.net or contact our parents for the information.
All Labels: | |
Post and
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Recovery Update
Well, it has been 5 days since the temporary balloon tracheal occlusion surgery. The surgery was scheduled for Friday, 4/13/07 (just our luck lately). I was admitted to the hospital the night before. The overall surgery and balloon placement was successful. Overall, I felt pretty good after the surgery with very little pain and only a few random contractions and was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, 4/14/07. Since then I have been on modified bed rest which basically means I still have to lay around but I can get up to use the bathroom or walk from room to room if I wish. We had an ultrasound both on Saturday and yesterday. The balloon was identified in both to still be in the correct place. Travis and I also received some good news yesterday that there appears to be some visable lung growth. We are praying that there will be continued lung growth and no pre-term labor complications between now and the surgery to remove the balloon (tentatively scheduled for 5/10/07). Our next ultrasound appointment will probably be on Thursday of next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
