I had a regular prenatal check-up with my OB here last Thursday. Baby's heart rate was good at 142, and my belly measured right where it should be (big :)) at just over 28 weeks at the time. We also had more appointments in St. Louis on Friday. I had another fetal ECHO as well as an ultrasound, and we had follow-ups with the pediatric cardiologist and high-risk OB after those. This was our first opportunity to meet with the cardiologist. She is wonderful! And I love the OB I've met with both times as well.
All appointments went well. As a result of the ECHO, our cardiologist had some new feedback for us regarding Baby Girl's heart. I had to process the information several times before I really "got" what she said, but this is a great explanation thanks to my hubby...
The fetal ECHO showed mitral stenosis and aortic atresia. That basically means the aorta is closed and some blood is flowing from the left atrium to the left ventricle and vice versa. Sometimes the blood will flow to the ventricle and pressure can build up causing the blood to start pushing through the walls of the heart. They call these channels or holes, sinusoids. Before Baby is born they are unable to determine the full impact of these sinusoids. After birth, once Baby is stabilized, they will perform an ECHO right away. An ECHO after Baby is born shows much more detail than an ECHO while Baby is in utero. If the ECHO appears to show significant sinusoids, the hospital will do a heart catheterization within the first few days of her life which will help provide the best diagnosis. If the heart cath confirms significant sinusoids, this could impact the type of surgery she’ll have. After the cath, the team would meet to determine the best plan of action. The cardiologist indicated that we will keep an eye on the sinusoids through additional fetal ECHOs in the coming weeks.
All appointments went well. As a result of the ECHO, our cardiologist had some new feedback for us regarding Baby Girl's heart. I had to process the information several times before I really "got" what she said, but this is a great explanation thanks to my hubby...
The fetal ECHO showed mitral stenosis and aortic atresia. That basically means the aorta is closed and some blood is flowing from the left atrium to the left ventricle and vice versa. Sometimes the blood will flow to the ventricle and pressure can build up causing the blood to start pushing through the walls of the heart. They call these channels or holes, sinusoids. Before Baby is born they are unable to determine the full impact of these sinusoids. After birth, once Baby is stabilized, they will perform an ECHO right away. An ECHO after Baby is born shows much more detail than an ECHO while Baby is in utero. If the ECHO appears to show significant sinusoids, the hospital will do a heart catheterization within the first few days of her life which will help provide the best diagnosis. If the heart cath confirms significant sinusoids, this could impact the type of surgery she’ll have. After the cath, the team would meet to determine the best plan of action. The cardiologist indicated that we will keep an eye on the sinusoids through additional fetal ECHOs in the coming weeks.
The OB indicated Baby Girl's growth looks good. They estimated her weight at 2 lbs. 9 oz., which is in the 25th percentile. She is very active. So much so that the sonographer had a hard time getting a good picture of Baby's sweet face this time. :) We also confirmed with the OB that I will likely be induced sometime between October 28-30. Our next appointments in St. Louis are in early September--another fetal ECHO, another ultrasound and a tour of labor and delivery. I have also been offered the opportunity to participate in two research studies regarding the correlation between strep throat and HLHS as well as a brain study of babies/kids with HLHS. So, we will be meeting with another nurse and doctor to further discuss those.
Praises and prayer requests...
- Praise that Baby's growth continues to look good.
- Praise that we have an awesome team of doctors and staff caring for us and our sweet babe. Everyone we've encountered has been wonderful.
- Praise that I finally got compression hose to wear to help with my varicose veins. I can't believe I'm saying that's a praise. They are extremely difficult to get on (think pantyhose times 20), and they are quite the fashion statement...and SO hot. But, they do help relieve the swelling and pain I've had with the veins. Yay!
- Pray for healing. We still believe God can heal our baby girl if He chooses to do so.
- Pray that those sinusoids I mentioned above do not become an issue.
- Pray for John and I as we formulate a plan for care for Ab and Em while we're gone for potentially 6-8 weeks and as we plan for where we will stay in St. Louis during that time. We are looking at hotel and apartment options. Once again, there's a lot to consider in all this planning. I can quickly become overwhelmed by it all. :/
Thank you again for your prayer support and encouragement!
God is good and nothing changes that!
Amy :)
