Saturday, April 30, 2011

Our beginning

This pregnancy has been rocky since the moment we found out I was pregnant. We found out I was pregnant after Christmas and soon after found out that I had a small hemorrhage. I was put on pelvic rest for the first five months of my pregnancy which meant no lifting anything over ten pounds which included Cole. It also meant that I no longer had to do chores. Thanks Greg! We have had many ultrasounds since finding out and have many pictures of our baby.
At week 19, Greg and I went to the OB appointment and we found out that we were having another little boy. Greg was super excited that it was another little boy! During the ultrasound, the doctor told us that he would like for us to have another ultrasound at our next appointment to get a better picture of the heart because it was not clear. He felt confident that everything was fine but needed that next ultrasound to be sure. He had me a little worried. At 23 weeks, I went back to the OB and had my ultrasound. The ultrasound tech made no indication that anything was wrong during my ultrasound and stated that she had gotten everything that she needed. The OB came in and stated that the baby still was not cooperating well and that he wanted to send me over to the Perinatal, Dr. Wheeler to get a Level 3 ultrasound done to ensure everything was okay. I was able to get in the next day and took my mom along with me since Greg was completing a final. Little did I know that during this ultrasound that we would find out that our baby has CDH, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. I instantly knew what this was because I had attended a benefit for a friend of mine, whose child was also born with this four years earlier. Never in a million years did I think that I too would be carrying a baby with this same condition.
CDH occurs in approximately 1 in every 2500 births. The cause of CDH is not yet known. A baby's diaphragm is formed in the first trimester of pregnancy and controls the lungs' ability to inhale and exhale. CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to form or to close totally and an opening allows abdominal organs into the chest cavity. This inhibits lung growth.  Currently the only organ indicated that is "up" is baby's stomach which is by the heart.
Every baby diagnosed with CDH is different. Survival rates depend on the types and numbers of organs involved in the herniation and the amount of lung tissue available. There are many surgical procedures and complications that may or may not occur with each individual. There is no reliable indicator to predict if a baby will do well or not. Babies with no diaphragm and little lung sometimes do well, while babies with 2 full lungs can sometimes do poorly.
We currently have appointments set for Riley on May 9th and University of Michigan on May 12th. We have a jam-packed day for both locations. I will be getting an MRI and Echo done which will help to give the doctors a better feel of what we are in store for after he is born. We will decide after these appointments where our baby has the best chance of survival.
We want to ask for lots of prayer and support during this time. 

1 comment:

Jessica said...

Leslie...please know that our thoughts and prayers will be with you, Greg and Cole during this entire journey. Do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything at all we can do to help, as we know this will be a challenging time. We love you and we are confident you and baby will make it through this with flying colors!