Yesterday we met with the surgeon who will be working on Caiden's heart. His name is Dr. Mendeloff and he only does pediatric heart surgeries. Dr. Mendeloff explained exactly what they think Caiden's condition is and how the repair will work. As of right now, they believe his aorta is not wide enough to pump blood from the heart out to the body. Because of this, the left side of his heart has become too small. They think that once the aorta is repaired, the left side of his heart will enlarge itself and he will be able to function normally. They also noticed a problem with a valve in the right side of his heart. This may or may not need repair, but is relatively insignificant compared to the aorta issue.
As far as repair goes, they expect to do one of two surgeries. One would be a small incision through the back and would not be considered open heart surgery. The more likely surgery will be through the front of his body and will be open heart surgery. Because they will have to clamp off the blood flow to the heart, he will be hooked up to a machine that will act as though it is the heart during surgery (take the blue blood and change it to red blood then send it to the body).
The most interesting thing that we learned was exactly how they would enlarge his aorta. Dr. Mendloff said that they will cut a straight line through the aorta, then place a patch on it and sew it all together to enlarge the opening. The patch will be dead aortic tissue from a human so there is no chance of his body rejecting it. He said he has a freezer full of these patches in his surgical suite. Funny, because I have a freezer full of frozen pizza and leftovers, which is just a little different than a freezer full of dead human tissue......
I honestly can't remember everything we went over with the doctor, but my take-away was that he is in good hands and while this surgery is very serious, he said it falls somewhere in the middle of the road as far as heart surgery goes. I think that made Mike and I both feel better to know that we aren't the worst-case scenario.
Today we had our 38 week OB appointment with the new doctor. Her name is Dr. Rogers and she seems to be very nice. I guess we are going to get to know each other really well really fast...
They checked my cervix and I am still 1 cm dilated. We are going to be admitted to the hospital next Wednesday at 5 pm for cervical ripening, then will be induced on the morning of January 6th. Mike and I were both curious why they didn't want to just wait for me to go into labor (or wait until the full 40 week term). They explained that Caiden is at a higher risk of dying in utero, and as time goes on the amniotic fluid naturally declines. Because of this, they try to keep him in long enough to fully develop, but short enough to get him out before he is at a high risk of death. We now go to the OB two times a week vs. the regular one time a week because of this.
We also talked about the possibility of a c-section. The two high-risk OB's we have seen told me that I have a small pelvis, so there is a high probability that Caiden may not be able to make it through the pelvic opening. They would prefer me to deliver him naturally, but wanted me to be aware that it is likely to become an issue. If we do a c-section, I will be able to see him immediately after he is born, but will not be able to see him in the NICU for quite awhile. She said they may be able to wheel me by his room, but it would likely be hours before they would take me up there (I think she mentioned something like 12 hours). That was disappointing, but we have learned to be flexible and not get stuck on having things work one specific way. Ultimately, a lot of other moms have done the same thing and they made it though it, so I will too.
So it looks like we will have a baby by next Thursday! I am excited and scared at the same time. Part of me is ready for him to be here so we can get all of this over with, and part of me knows that once he is here everything will be different and that makes me nervous. I know the upcoming weeks are going to be stressful on us, but I'm very thankful that Mike and I are working as a team to get through this. Please keep praying for his health and probably for our mental health as well (at least mine for sure!). Even though we are feeling better about the surgery and recovery, it is still a very serious situation. We have both been doing better this week, but I know things will change once he is here and his little body is hooked up to so many machines. Will keep you all updated.
Here is a pic of my kankles. I can't wait for this to go away:
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