We found out this morning that tomorrow, Monday 6/14, is going to be the birthday of BGK. We do not yet know the exact timing but should know more exact details later today. I'll post more details later today when we know the specifics.
- Mark
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Almost 35 weeks...
Amazingly, Amanda will have made it to 35 weeks on Saturday. That's hard to believe when I think back to the circumstances surrounding the trip to the hospital four and a half weeks ago. Amanda hit the one month anniversary in the hospital this past Tuesday and is getting extremely stir-crazy in her cell. I continue trying to remind both her and the kids that her hospital stay is almost complete and they will get their Mom back although our trips will then be made to a different hospital. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we are so ready to move on to the next challenge but we also would love to isolate the challenges to be solely the heart and not complicate things with any others such as the lungs not being ready.
Everything has continued to hold steady the past few days. BGK's heartrate has been solid and beating primarly in normal rhythm and she continues to grow and progress greatly. We are always relieved to see that the the heart arrythmia has not caused any other negative effects that they can see. Although the doctors wont measure the baby's size any more often than every couple weeks, Amanda talked a tech into taking the measurements and BGK measured 5lb 7 oz. We continue trying to ask the doctors about the timeframes and some will not committ to any dates at all but others have told us that 36 weeks is definitely written in our files and discussed in the meetings. We're definitely hoping that holds true and this upcoming week will be Amanda's final one in that hospital room. We are going to try and push them for more details around those specifics this week.
Thank you all for the support.
- Mark
Everything has continued to hold steady the past few days. BGK's heartrate has been solid and beating primarly in normal rhythm and she continues to grow and progress greatly. We are always relieved to see that the the heart arrythmia has not caused any other negative effects that they can see. Although the doctors wont measure the baby's size any more often than every couple weeks, Amanda talked a tech into taking the measurements and BGK measured 5lb 7 oz. We continue trying to ask the doctors about the timeframes and some will not committ to any dates at all but others have told us that 36 weeks is definitely written in our files and discussed in the meetings. We're definitely hoping that holds true and this upcoming week will be Amanda's final one in that hospital room. We are going to try and push them for more details around those specifics this week.
Thank you all for the support.
- Mark
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
34 wks and 3 days
I'm sorry about the lack of updates the past few days. Our status has not really changed since my last post. On Wednesday and Thursday we saw a few blips of tachycardia for just a few seconds but not for very long at all. It wasn't enough to concern the doctors very much. The fluid levels continue to hold steady at around 8-9 cm and BGK is progressing well in size and all of the measurements.
In talking to the perinatologists they want us to make it to 36 weeks and go ahead and schedule to have her then. Saturday was the 34 week mark, so that means we finally have a finish line in sight to Amanda's hospital stay and can move on to our next challenges.
Just when we grasped the fact that there was only 2 more weeks, we went in for the Monday echo and got a little scare. The perinatologist saw more than a few seconds of tachycardia and got concerned enough to call a pediatric cardiologist to take a look. After some discussion they decided to stay the course and not take any action just yet.
Today Amanda got to leave the hospital for the first time in 28 days. We both went over to Egleston to meet with an electro-physiologist and see the CICU there. The hospital and facilities there were really nice and the doctor was extremely informative and helpful. We sat in his office and he answered question after question for an hour and a half. I thought the visit was very insightful and somewhat comforting.
Thank you all for the support.
- Mark
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
In talking to the perinatologists they want us to make it to 36 weeks and go ahead and schedule to have her then. Saturday was the 34 week mark, so that means we finally have a finish line in sight to Amanda's hospital stay and can move on to our next challenges.
Just when we grasped the fact that there was only 2 more weeks, we went in for the Monday echo and got a little scare. The perinatologist saw more than a few seconds of tachycardia and got concerned enough to call a pediatric cardiologist to take a look. After some discussion they decided to stay the course and not take any action just yet.
Today Amanda got to leave the hospital for the first time in 28 days. We both went over to Egleston to meet with an electro-physiologist and see the CICU there. The hospital and facilities there were really nice and the doctor was extremely informative and helpful. We sat in his office and he answered question after question for an hour and a half. I thought the visit was very insightful and somewhat comforting.
Thank you all for the support.
- Mark
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Friday, June 4, 2010
Friday Night by the Fountain
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
1 day away from 34 weeks
One of the initial goals that the nurse put up on the whiteboard on Amanda's room was to make it to 34 weeks. On Saturday we will hit that milestone and keep on going past it. If you would have asked us on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week when we thought we would have BGK we would have guessed it would be by this weekend. Now it appears that we'll make it at least into next week. It is such a conflicting feeling for us as we are so ready to be done with staying here away from Avery and Ryan and so ready to move onto the next steps but we also realize the next steps will be made easier by staying in here longer. The more time she stays inside then the better she'll be able to handle whatever is in store.
Amanda's amniotic fluid levels have held up around the 8-9cm level the past couple of days. The doctors chose to cut back on one of the medications in case that was negatively affecting the fluid levels. The past couple days during our echocardiograms we have seen a couple blips of ventricular tachycardia that we had not seen in a couple of weeks. Although very short, it was alarming in that we had not seen since our first week here. As a result they have bumped the beta blockers dosage back up to what it was previously. We did not see any VT in today's echo and the fluid was at almost 9 so we're stuck here a little longer.
Some good news came from Amanda's cardiologist today. The monitoring of Amanda's heart has shown great results and has not had any bad effects from the medicines so he has cut out the nonstop monitoring wires she has had on since we arrived. This was a HUGE relief for her to get that off.
Tonight will be dinner and a movie here at the hospital for us with the kids. They are missing Mommy a ton and are very much looking forward to spending a good chunk of time with her today.
- Mark
Amanda's amniotic fluid levels have held up around the 8-9cm level the past couple of days. The doctors chose to cut back on one of the medications in case that was negatively affecting the fluid levels. The past couple days during our echocardiograms we have seen a couple blips of ventricular tachycardia that we had not seen in a couple of weeks. Although very short, it was alarming in that we had not seen since our first week here. As a result they have bumped the beta blockers dosage back up to what it was previously. We did not see any VT in today's echo and the fluid was at almost 9 so we're stuck here a little longer.
Some good news came from Amanda's cardiologist today. The monitoring of Amanda's heart has shown great results and has not had any bad effects from the medicines so he has cut out the nonstop monitoring wires she has had on since we arrived. This was a HUGE relief for her to get that off.
Tonight will be dinner and a movie here at the hospital for us with the kids. They are missing Mommy a ton and are very much looking forward to spending a good chunk of time with her today.
- Mark
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
33 Weeks 4 days
We were very anxious for the daily echo this morning. After yesterday's appointment we were particularly interested in two particular areas, the amniotic fluid level and also the plan that the pediatric cardiologists have mapped out for the birth.
We went in today kind of expecting to see that the fluid level had dropped lower once again but this time it held about the same, somewhere between 6 and 8 cm. That was a little bit of a relief and we are hoping it continues to stay up at least in that range. The longer we can hold out the better at this point and both us and the cardiologist were thinking that this could be the week with the way the fluid level was trending. We'll anxiously wait and see again tomorrow.
As far as the birth plan the pediatric cardiologists are mapping out, that was not a particularly enjoyable discussion. The reality of it all quickly returns when talking about these specifics. The doctors have decided that BGK should be taken over to Egleston shortly after birth to be there for care rather than staying here at Northside. That would prevent the transport having to take place during a crisis mode if one did occur. The plan will be for BGK to be in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) here at Northside after birth hopefully until Amanda is back up from her C-section. They could start the process of monitoring and stabilizing here and then after Amanda is awoken and she is able to see her, BGK will definitely be transported over to Egleston sometime shortly after. The big question will be whether she goes to the NICU or the CICU (Cardiac ICU) at Egleston and that wont be known until she is out and we see what the whole picture is with her heart, lungs, and everything else. It sounds like the logistics are going to be crazy with Amanda stuck at Northside recovering while BGK will be over at Egleston and I'll be all over the place trying to be with both and Avery and Ryan too.
We always ask the doctors a ton of questions everyday but so many are purely hypothetical and are unanswerable until we see how things turn out. There are just so many constant details to learn and soak up about the current pregnancy and also future possibilities.
- Mark
We went in today kind of expecting to see that the fluid level had dropped lower once again but this time it held about the same, somewhere between 6 and 8 cm. That was a little bit of a relief and we are hoping it continues to stay up at least in that range. The longer we can hold out the better at this point and both us and the cardiologist were thinking that this could be the week with the way the fluid level was trending. We'll anxiously wait and see again tomorrow.
As far as the birth plan the pediatric cardiologists are mapping out, that was not a particularly enjoyable discussion. The reality of it all quickly returns when talking about these specifics. The doctors have decided that BGK should be taken over to Egleston shortly after birth to be there for care rather than staying here at Northside. That would prevent the transport having to take place during a crisis mode if one did occur. The plan will be for BGK to be in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) here at Northside after birth hopefully until Amanda is back up from her C-section. They could start the process of monitoring and stabilizing here and then after Amanda is awoken and she is able to see her, BGK will definitely be transported over to Egleston sometime shortly after. The big question will be whether she goes to the NICU or the CICU (Cardiac ICU) at Egleston and that wont be known until she is out and we see what the whole picture is with her heart, lungs, and everything else. It sounds like the logistics are going to be crazy with Amanda stuck at Northside recovering while BGK will be over at Egleston and I'll be all over the place trying to be with both and Avery and Ryan too.
We always ask the doctors a ton of questions everyday but so many are purely hypothetical and are unanswerable until we see how things turn out. There are just so many constant details to learn and soak up about the current pregnancy and also future possibilities.
- Mark
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Memorial Day Weekend
It was an uneventful Memorial Day weekend in the hospital. Amanda is still getting over the sting of not getting to go home on Friday and slowly embracing the fact that this is her home until BGK arrives. The good news that came out of Friday's session was that they gave Amanda 'walking priveleges' so she no longer has to be pushed in a wheelchair to the outside fountain or to McDonald's to get the kids a milkshake (those are really the ONLY two places to go). The 33 week mark passed on Saturday so the time is moving along quickly.
The weekend echos are not quite as scheduled. It generally occurs whenever the on-call perinatologist or cardiologist arrives and calls the patients down rather than the weekdays when we generally go down at 7:30 or 8:30 everyday. We did learn today that the reason we didn't get to go home this weekend was not because anything had regressed in BGK, but that the doctor just wasn't comfortable sending us home until everything was perfect. If he isn't comfortable about us being discharged for home then we shouldn't be either.
Results continue to be about the same for BGK's heart rate. She is still holding primarily in a sinus 1:1 rhythm. Within the past few days the doctors have started to more closely monitor the amniotic fluid level around the baby because its on the border of being low. The doctor's are thinking it is most likely due to the medications. They have said that they consider anything above 8cm to be normal and for the past few days Amanda has been teetering right around the bottom of that normal level at 8 or 9 cm. Amanda has been drinking quite a bit more water to try and help the cause but at today's echo the level had dipped down to 6cm, so below that normal range and officially in the 'Low' range. They decided to back off of the beta blockers slightly to see if this helps with the fluid level go back up and we'll be watching closely the next day or two. From talking to multiple doctors it sounds like the fluid dropping below the 5cm mark will = time to make a move. Things were moving along pretty smoothly so we hope this doesn't throw a new wrinkle into plans.
The pediatric cardiologist visited Amanda's room today and it sounds like they are making the gameday plans for who/what/where will happen when its time to have BGK. Whereas things were moving along slowly and relatively smoothly, it appears that this fluid level drop has somewhat alerted them to make sure everything will be in place and ready.
Once again, thank you to everyone for the support. We truly appreciate it.
- Mark
The weekend echos are not quite as scheduled. It generally occurs whenever the on-call perinatologist or cardiologist arrives and calls the patients down rather than the weekdays when we generally go down at 7:30 or 8:30 everyday. We did learn today that the reason we didn't get to go home this weekend was not because anything had regressed in BGK, but that the doctor just wasn't comfortable sending us home until everything was perfect. If he isn't comfortable about us being discharged for home then we shouldn't be either.
Results continue to be about the same for BGK's heart rate. She is still holding primarily in a sinus 1:1 rhythm. Within the past few days the doctors have started to more closely monitor the amniotic fluid level around the baby because its on the border of being low. The doctor's are thinking it is most likely due to the medications. They have said that they consider anything above 8cm to be normal and for the past few days Amanda has been teetering right around the bottom of that normal level at 8 or 9 cm. Amanda has been drinking quite a bit more water to try and help the cause but at today's echo the level had dipped down to 6cm, so below that normal range and officially in the 'Low' range. They decided to back off of the beta blockers slightly to see if this helps with the fluid level go back up and we'll be watching closely the next day or two. From talking to multiple doctors it sounds like the fluid dropping below the 5cm mark will = time to make a move. Things were moving along pretty smoothly so we hope this doesn't throw a new wrinkle into plans.
The pediatric cardiologist visited Amanda's room today and it sounds like they are making the gameday plans for who/what/where will happen when its time to have BGK. Whereas things were moving along slowly and relatively smoothly, it appears that this fluid level drop has somewhat alerted them to make sure everything will be in place and ready.
Once again, thank you to everyone for the support. We truly appreciate it.
- Mark
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)