I had my routine OB appointment scheduled for today. About a week ago I had felt the first kicks from our baby. Needless to say, I was very excited!! I had forgotten what those kicks had felt like. The kicks only lasted through the morning, then went away, but that didn't really concern me. However, over the course of the week, I did not feel the kicks anymore. The closer I got to today's appointment, the more anxious I became. I had this horrible feeling that something was wrong. The day before my appointment I went to the church and asked Father Rodriguez for a blessing and to remove this anxiety and nervousness.
When I showed up for my appointment with my OB, the nurse asked me the same questions, how I was feeling, was I feeling the baby move, etc... I told her I hadn't felt the baby move in almost a week and was feeling a lot of anxiety about it. She put me in the room that has the sono machine. Dr. Molland came in and asked me how I was doing; I immediately started crying. I just had this overwhelming feeling that something was wrong, and nothing he said was reassuring me. I just needed to see that everything was ok. He put the sono probe on me, and immediately I saw the baby's heartbeat. I was overjoyed and was silently thanking God! But then Dr. Molland pointed out to me there was very little amniotic fluid around the baby and he was going to arrange for me to see the perinatologist, Dr. Blanco that afternoon.
I was a work-in patient, so I had to wait a couple of hours before they called my name. The tech at Dr. Blanco's office performed the initial, in-depth sono. She made a comment to me that there was NO measurable amount of amniotic fluid. Instantly my heart sank. I immediately blurted out "can you put more in??" Dr. Blanco came in to repeat the scan & give me the "official report". He confirmed there was no amniotic fluid, and that the baby had multiple cysts on both kidneys. In addition, the ureters had not formed.
I was having trouble understanding why there was no fluid. Through out my first trimester all my sonograms had shown more than enough fluid, with my last sono being at 13 weeks. I was now 19 weeks 5 days. Dr. Blanco explained that up until 13 to 14 weeks, my body maintained the amniotic fluid; but after that the baby takes over. Apparently the amniotic fluid is made by the baby's kidneys, then it go through a process of replenshing and recycling to maintain the level. The baby learns to swallow the fluid and "breathe" the fluid, thereby allowing the lungs and internal organs to develop properly. Also, the baby moves all around in the fluid and the muscles develop normally. Since there is no fluid, none of that can happen.
Now for the really bad news... this is 100% fatal. Since none of the organs, especially the lungs can develop properly, nothing can be done at birth to save the baby, i.e. dialysis, organ transplant. Majority of these babys die in utero. If by chance I carry to term, and the baby is born alive, it will die very quickly (minutes to hours) from respiratory problems. The condition is called Potter's Syndrome.
The first 24 hours all I wanted to do was cry. I prayed to God to give me the strength to accept His will & to do what He asked of me. I literally gave it all to God. In return, he has placed such caring and loving people in my path to help me. Within 24 hours, 3 angels had come to my rescue.
The first was Danielle. She emailed me several web sites to look at. The first was to a girl in Utah by the name of Heidi. Unfortunately, Heidi had a baby with a very similar condition. She was able to give me so much information, especially from a personal point of view. She continues to be a source of comfort and information for me. Her web site is http://www.angelbabiesinfo.com/
Danielle also gave me a link to a free service offering infant berevement photography. www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/home There is one woman here in my area who provides this service. Basically, when our baby is born, she will come to the hospital and take pictures of our little angel. The photographer's name is Leah Moorefield. Her web site is http://www.lkmphotography.com/ and www.lkmphoto.com/blog Leah is the sweetest person. She has even offered me a complimentary maternity session so I can capture every moment with this baby! She even included Rick and the kids. Here are some of the pictures.
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