Fast Forwarding to Today
Sorry for the Delay:
I know that some of you have been waiting so patiently for another blog - I apologize that it has taken me this long to be able to sit and write. But now at 6:30am on a Saturday morning, a steaming cup of coffee next to me, and complete silence (which won't last long, no doubt) I have the time, the space, and the want to continue on with our story.
Where We Left Off:
So looking back, I left you with us, my husband and I, sitting in a genetics conference room deciding to find out if this condition was more then just the heart. Giving you the short version of the end of that appointment, come to find to out that medicine has come so far at an amnio is not necessary to find out if your baby has a genetic disorder. Now again, I can not talk to all disorders but for us, it was a simple blood draw and results came back in two weeks that everything was normal.
So where did that leave us? Well, with more doctor's appointments. I went for bi-weekly ultrasounds and cardiograms, on top of normal OB appointments. I'm pretty sure that I have heard my unborn child's heart beat more than I have heard my own or my other children's. Not that its a bad thing. But every time I hear it a doctor will tell me how strong it is - and it never ranges different then what a baby in the womb should be (130-160 beats per minute). So with that always being a constant throughout my pregnancy sometimes its been hard to accept his condition.
Where Do We Go From Here:
Well of course a lot of personal phone calls were made to family and friends to explain the situation. Everyone handles news like this differently and still with a confirmed diagnose behind us the way that some people handle it is not my cup of tea. But I have learned not to judge, you never know what that persons untold story is and whatever makes it easier for them to accept shocking and life altering news then so be it.
So after more doctor's appointments I was told by Dr. Cutler, Royal Oak Beaumont Pediatric Cardiologist, that we would be giving birth in Ann Arbor at the U of M hospital. That our son for sure would need to have the Norwood surgery and to do that U of M would be the place to be. She explained to me that her office would set up the first appointment and everything I needed as far as referrals. Now, being honest we have all dealt with the health care system and it is NEVER easy - however this was a amazing experience, within the same day of finding out that I would be giving birth in Ann Arbor, a U of M social worker had called me and advised me that she was setting up multiple appointments all on the same day to make it as easy as possible as she knew I didn't live close.
Our first visit to U of M was also amazing. Well maybe not the drive there . . . I say this to pick on my husband as we took side roads from Royal Oak to Ann Arbor, I have never been so frustrated on a car ride. But once we, my husband, my mother-in-law, and myself arrived all the appointments were set up for me, we had someone take us from appointment to appointment, and everyone in that building is SUPER nice. I left there feeling like we are in the right spot.
Now not everything was figured out in that one day in Ann Arbor, my primary doctor was still seeing me at Royal Oak Beaumont and we had another planned visit to Ann Arbor. We still had ultrasounds, cardiograms, and NSTs (non-stress tests). It was our second visit to Ann Arbor that we were able to get an inducement date, October 28th at 7pm. It was sort of a mix of emotions to know that my son would be here and we would jump start that process on the 28th, still to this day I don't really like the idea of knowing the date. On this visit we also got to meet with the surgeon who will be completing the Norwood surgery, Dr. Ohye. He explained that he had scheduled my son's surgery for October 31st as long as he is born sometime between the 28th and the 29th. To be honest, I really liked him, he was very straight up and honest with every aspect of what we were about to go through. From there, the social worker took us on a tour of the hospital and the different floors that we would be staying on. Now that was when all of this hit me. Seeing those babies hooked up to all different sort of machines, tubes, vents, and everything else and realizing that this was going to be my son hit me like a ton of bricks.
Since That Day:
I have had some time since that day to process through what we, my family, is going to go through. And honestly, we have some much love, patience, hope, and faith that this will not be an easy journey but it will be a journey that we all take together. And really knowing that it makes it easier.
Someone last night, actually,th pointed out how so much of this is the unknown for us. And that is absolutely true. There is so many directions, from birth for the rest of his life, that this could go but we just have to be there and support him and love him, and that is the only thing that I am sure on.
Peace, Love, and Cupcakes,
Jillian Whalin
No comments:
Post a Comment