The Week of the Trifecta
This week, we had 3 prenatal appointments: Urology, Fetal ECHO, and the Surgeon/PCICU introduction. On top of that was listing our home on Wednesday and showings this weekend (a more solid update on that later). So, needless to say, it's been a big one both emotionally and strategically.
First up, the urology appointment- as noted in a previous post, our urologist with the apt name, Dr. Weiner, went very well. Dilation, while more than average is not pronounced enough to raise concerns and testing after birth will confirm if any other actions need to be taken, but surgery is unlikely. So, all in all, we count our blessings on that front.
The Fetal ECHO on Thursday also went well. Fun fact: 24-25 week ECHOs are particularly helpful because the heart is bigger than earlier scans (so easier to see all sections) and baby's bones are not yet solid, so the picture is uninhibited by shadows. This is the most clear a scan we will likely have, so the news at this appointment is really important. The outcome was encouraging: while our son has HLHS (not a shock), his heart rate is strong and steady and his blood flow is ideal. As our doctor said, "a strong baby going into a surgery is a stronger baby coming out" and we left knowing that while our son has a huge challenge ahead of him, his fight will likely not be fought on multiple fronts.
Meeting our son's cardiac surgeon on Friday was surreal. Dr. Turek, the Chief of Duke's Pediatric Cardiac Surgery was both friendly and confident, eager to answer questions and clearly passionate about his work. We learned some amazing things about open heart surgery during our visit you may be interested to know: open heart surgeries tend to rely heavily on the heart/lung bypass and hypothermic conditions. While this works, it can create some concerns with organs (like the kidneys and brain), so this strategy, while generally successful, has some drawbacks. Dr. Turek's preferred method is called, "beating heart open heart surgery," which is different in a couple of ways: 1) eliminates the potential complications of having to restart a still heart and 2) instead of relying on induced hypothermia to prevent damage from lack of oxygen, this method allows oxygenated blood to get to sensitive organs like the brain and the kidneys at all times during the surgery, thus reducing the chances of ancillary complications and concerns about loss of brain and/or kidney function. Other modifications and their explanations were both fascinating and reassuring. According to Dr. Turek, he's done 5 of these surgeries since November and all children are doing well. While that statistic does not give us a golden ticket, it certainly left us feeling better about our son's first surgery.
If you go to Washington D.C. and plan to visit the holocaust museum, I would encourage you not to go first thing in the morning. It will absolutely ruin your day. That's not to say you shouldn't go- because I truly think everyone should treat that museum as a must. Instead, I suggest planning the holocaust museum for the end of your day so you can go back to your hotel, collapse on your bed/sofa, and eat Bonbons while watching feel-good Hallmark movies until your faith in humanity is restored. Likewise, I suggest not visiting the PCICU (Pediatric Cardiac ICU) in the first half of your day. Don't get me wrong, we needed to tour the PCICU- we will be there with our son for at least 28 days following his heart surgery, but it is not an easy tour. I will paint you a picture:
Before you actually walk past the rooms in PCICU, you walk down a hallway. On your left are photos, approximately 3'x 4' and they show smiling children holding black and white photos of themselves when they were in the PCICU. I would like to tell you that my eyes focused on the healthy, smiling children holding their photos and was further encouraged, the perfect capstone to a really solid week, but I have to admit that like any human, my attention was drawn to the proverbial train wreck of wires, tubes, and machines surrounding their tiny baby bodies, some with their chests still open. Needless to say, I broke. Unlike Logan, who frequently works in PCICU, I have been able to push this reality out of my head and focus instead on home selling/buying. Not so at that moment. Like an intervention, I was confronted with the reality of our future in visceral and inescapable terms. Our tour guide seemed both understanding and unsurprised and went to fetch some tissues. By the time she returned, I'd gotten myself back together, but the damage was done and the morning horror tour had officially commenced. The rest of the walk was less hard, but still shocking. We saw two babies, both very small, hooked up to machines and motionless (they were sedated for pain management and to assist with a speedier healing process- movement is not good for open wounds or stitches).
We did learn some things: Eliza will be able to visit her baby brother in PCICU so long as we're out of Flu season (quite likely since our due date is late May) and the hospital will provide a medical grade breast pump to use as needed while our son is in PCICU. So, remember when I was talking about one question getting answered only to have another takes its place in a previous post? Please see exhibit A: Medical grade pumps are important because they assist with increasing and maintaining milk supply- this will be especially difficult, because unlike our experience with Eliza, I will need to set my alarm every three hours (around the clock) to ensure I am pumping at the same rate our son would normally want to eat or else I risk drying out and losing my ability to breastfeed him. So, we have the finest surgeons the Southeast has to offer, but now we get to tackle the granular details of milk supply.
Part of me wishes we could have delayed the PCICU tour, but the pragmatic part realizes this is for the best. We are closing in on the final month of the 2nd Trimester. With the last leg right around the corner, now is the time to check the weather and batten down the hatches. We are not in the PCICU yet, but now we know what to expect and we can begin to prepare our minds, if not our hearts, for the storm to come.
First up, the urology appointment- as noted in a previous post, our urologist with the apt name, Dr. Weiner, went very well. Dilation, while more than average is not pronounced enough to raise concerns and testing after birth will confirm if any other actions need to be taken, but surgery is unlikely. So, all in all, we count our blessings on that front.
The Fetal ECHO on Thursday also went well. Fun fact: 24-25 week ECHOs are particularly helpful because the heart is bigger than earlier scans (so easier to see all sections) and baby's bones are not yet solid, so the picture is uninhibited by shadows. This is the most clear a scan we will likely have, so the news at this appointment is really important. The outcome was encouraging: while our son has HLHS (not a shock), his heart rate is strong and steady and his blood flow is ideal. As our doctor said, "a strong baby going into a surgery is a stronger baby coming out" and we left knowing that while our son has a huge challenge ahead of him, his fight will likely not be fought on multiple fronts.
Meeting our son's cardiac surgeon on Friday was surreal. Dr. Turek, the Chief of Duke's Pediatric Cardiac Surgery was both friendly and confident, eager to answer questions and clearly passionate about his work. We learned some amazing things about open heart surgery during our visit you may be interested to know: open heart surgeries tend to rely heavily on the heart/lung bypass and hypothermic conditions. While this works, it can create some concerns with organs (like the kidneys and brain), so this strategy, while generally successful, has some drawbacks. Dr. Turek's preferred method is called, "beating heart open heart surgery," which is different in a couple of ways: 1) eliminates the potential complications of having to restart a still heart and 2) instead of relying on induced hypothermia to prevent damage from lack of oxygen, this method allows oxygenated blood to get to sensitive organs like the brain and the kidneys at all times during the surgery, thus reducing the chances of ancillary complications and concerns about loss of brain and/or kidney function. Other modifications and their explanations were both fascinating and reassuring. According to Dr. Turek, he's done 5 of these surgeries since November and all children are doing well. While that statistic does not give us a golden ticket, it certainly left us feeling better about our son's first surgery.
If you go to Washington D.C. and plan to visit the holocaust museum, I would encourage you not to go first thing in the morning. It will absolutely ruin your day. That's not to say you shouldn't go- because I truly think everyone should treat that museum as a must. Instead, I suggest planning the holocaust museum for the end of your day so you can go back to your hotel, collapse on your bed/sofa, and eat Bonbons while watching feel-good Hallmark movies until your faith in humanity is restored. Likewise, I suggest not visiting the PCICU (Pediatric Cardiac ICU) in the first half of your day. Don't get me wrong, we needed to tour the PCICU- we will be there with our son for at least 28 days following his heart surgery, but it is not an easy tour. I will paint you a picture:
Before you actually walk past the rooms in PCICU, you walk down a hallway. On your left are photos, approximately 3'x 4' and they show smiling children holding black and white photos of themselves when they were in the PCICU. I would like to tell you that my eyes focused on the healthy, smiling children holding their photos and was further encouraged, the perfect capstone to a really solid week, but I have to admit that like any human, my attention was drawn to the proverbial train wreck of wires, tubes, and machines surrounding their tiny baby bodies, some with their chests still open. Needless to say, I broke. Unlike Logan, who frequently works in PCICU, I have been able to push this reality out of my head and focus instead on home selling/buying. Not so at that moment. Like an intervention, I was confronted with the reality of our future in visceral and inescapable terms. Our tour guide seemed both understanding and unsurprised and went to fetch some tissues. By the time she returned, I'd gotten myself back together, but the damage was done and the morning horror tour had officially commenced. The rest of the walk was less hard, but still shocking. We saw two babies, both very small, hooked up to machines and motionless (they were sedated for pain management and to assist with a speedier healing process- movement is not good for open wounds or stitches).
We did learn some things: Eliza will be able to visit her baby brother in PCICU so long as we're out of Flu season (quite likely since our due date is late May) and the hospital will provide a medical grade breast pump to use as needed while our son is in PCICU. So, remember when I was talking about one question getting answered only to have another takes its place in a previous post? Please see exhibit A: Medical grade pumps are important because they assist with increasing and maintaining milk supply- this will be especially difficult, because unlike our experience with Eliza, I will need to set my alarm every three hours (around the clock) to ensure I am pumping at the same rate our son would normally want to eat or else I risk drying out and losing my ability to breastfeed him. So, we have the finest surgeons the Southeast has to offer, but now we get to tackle the granular details of milk supply.
Part of me wishes we could have delayed the PCICU tour, but the pragmatic part realizes this is for the best. We are closing in on the final month of the 2nd Trimester. With the last leg right around the corner, now is the time to check the weather and batten down the hatches. We are not in the PCICU yet, but now we know what to expect and we can begin to prepare our minds, if not our hearts, for the storm to come.
Love y’all lots and praying!
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