Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Today was another good appointment. The baby is right on track for growth. The ultrasound measured him at 23 weeks and he is 23 weeks, 1 day. There are no new issues with his heart. There is no additional fluid and it is functioning the same as it has been. As far as can be seen, all of the parts of the heart and necessary vessels are there, just in the wrong place or too small and not functioning properly. At least we aren't missing pieces!

My doctor is now going to refer us to Ann Arbor so we can meet with the pediatric cardiologist. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get an appointment. Hopefully, then we will be able to get some information on what surgeries would be possible, possible outcomes, what to expect and all of those other unknowns we have only been guessing at.

I am feeling great. The baby is moving a lot and his movements are getting noticeably stronger. After our previous losses, movement is a very wonderful thing!

Neither Phil nor I have thought far enough into the future to consider bringing this baby home, but we are hopeful and know that we will be able to handle whatever happens. We are heading to Ann Arbor and we really didn't think we would make it this far, so who knows!

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. We couldn't make it through this without them.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Friday, April 9, 2010

We had our doctor's appointment today. We had an ultrasound and the baby looks fine with the exception of his heart. His heart rate was 158, which is right where it is supposed to be. There is no additional fluid around his heart, which is one of the things that I was very worried about. Everything was as good as we could have hoped!

Our next appointment is April 27th to check on the heart again and assess his growth. He will be 23 weeks at this time. If everything looks good at this appointment, the doctor will get us connected with the pediatric cardiologists at the University of Michigan.

I have been doing some research on the pediatric cardiology program at U of M. It is amazing and we are very lucky to be so close. The surgeon at U of M has pioneered a lot of the work that surgeons all over the world are performing for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. In the early 1980's, this condition was nearly always fatal. Now the surgeon has a success rate of 80% to 85%.

Our baby has Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, which is much less common and therefore does not have the track record with successful procedures. At least we are in the right place and will not have to travel halfway across the country to get to a qualified hospital.

Thank you for all of your prayers and I will keep you posted on any new information!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

If you would like me to send you an email notice when I create a new blog post, please send me an email at doughertyjennifer@att.net.

I am sure that there is a better way to do this, but my skills in this area are VERY limited. Thanks!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Monday, April 5, 2010

We got the news on the complete amniocentesis results and everything looks good. That makes two pieces of good news in a row.

The baby is moving around a lot now. I don't have to sit still and concentrate to feel him. You would think this was my first pregnancy by how exciting it is!