So we are all set for our appointment in Cincinnati this coming Friday. We will do most of our testing at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. I don't know if that is where they will do the surgery or not. I will let you know the exact date and location of the surgery when we find out Friday.
We had a little scare today. I felt them move last night at dinner but I hadn't felt them move since. So today, by 2:00 p.m., I needed to know that they were o.k. I called my dr. and she wanted me to come in to the hospital and have an ultrasound done just to make sure they were o.k. They are o.k. She could definitely see the problems with the fluid levels and the size difference and she was glad we were going but she said we weren't in an emergency state. I felt good about that. The little one still has enough amniotic fluid to make it until then. The one was kicking the other in the face.
So we are now home with our peace of mind.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
There is a problem...
Hello to all our wonderful family and friends,
We had a trying day yesterday. I haven't talked to most of you and I hate to email you instead of calling but sometimes it's easier to do it this way.
I had an ultrasound yesterday. My blood pressure has been really good this week which is great news. Both babies were very active and very cute. There is a problem though that we have been watching progress. 2 ultrasounds ago, our twins were 3 and 4 oz. 1 ultrasound ago, they were 5 and 8 oz. Yesterday they were 8 and 14 oz. Twin B is almost double the size of Twin A. What they have is called Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome. This is where one baby is getting most if not all the nutrients and blood. I thought only the little one suffered through this, but actually they both do. The bigger one is getting too much blood going to it's heart and if not treated she could have heart failure. The good news is they both still have bladders which is saying they are still regulating the amniotic fluid. Now, the little one doesn't have much fluid. Which is another problem for both. The bigger baby has too much fluid. As this gets bigger, it could send me into pre-term labor. The little one is obviously not able to develop and grow right now.
So...they are sending me to a special hospital in Cincinnati next week. Next Friday, April 4th, I will have a full day of testing. This will include an MRI, Echocardiogram, an ultrasound and several consultations and then we will have a team meeting at the end with a board of doctors where we will decide at that time the next course of action. We are looking at laser surgery. They only do this in Wisconsin and Cincinnati. They will take an amniotic needle and go into the placenta and with a laser they will seperate the blood vessels that the twins share. Going into the uteras like this, there is always a risk for pre-term labor. So they will put me on Magnesium Sulfate to stop contractions. (I was on this with Alyssa to keep my blood pressure down - not pretty). But definitely worth it.
I talked with a wonderful lady last night (a friend of my sister, Angie, in St. Louis) and she had the surgery done a year ago with the same surgeon I will have. Her twin boys are now 7 months and have no complications. So she told me her success story which is always nice to hear. She walked me through what will happen while I'm there and explained in detail everything that I was wanting to know. So I definitely feel better. This thing can go really bad really fast, so I'm trying to take it easy this week until we go.
My girls are going to stay with their Grandparents while Mike and I are in Cinci. I've been told that I will probably remain in the hospital for a week to 2 weeks after the surgery and then remain on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy. So it will definitely be a trying time but it's temporary and is definitely worth it to save these two lives.
Please keep us in your prayers as the next few weeks progress. I will keep you updated probably through email.
Thanks for listening and we love you all!!!
Mike, Bethany, Alyssa, Loren and A and B (we will try to decide on names soon, I promise )
We had a trying day yesterday. I haven't talked to most of you and I hate to email you instead of calling but sometimes it's easier to do it this way.
I had an ultrasound yesterday. My blood pressure has been really good this week which is great news. Both babies were very active and very cute. There is a problem though that we have been watching progress. 2 ultrasounds ago, our twins were 3 and 4 oz. 1 ultrasound ago, they were 5 and 8 oz. Yesterday they were 8 and 14 oz. Twin B is almost double the size of Twin A. What they have is called Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome. This is where one baby is getting most if not all the nutrients and blood. I thought only the little one suffered through this, but actually they both do. The bigger one is getting too much blood going to it's heart and if not treated she could have heart failure. The good news is they both still have bladders which is saying they are still regulating the amniotic fluid. Now, the little one doesn't have much fluid. Which is another problem for both. The bigger baby has too much fluid. As this gets bigger, it could send me into pre-term labor. The little one is obviously not able to develop and grow right now.
So...they are sending me to a special hospital in Cincinnati next week. Next Friday, April 4th, I will have a full day of testing. This will include an MRI, Echocardiogram, an ultrasound and several consultations and then we will have a team meeting at the end with a board of doctors where we will decide at that time the next course of action. We are looking at laser surgery. They only do this in Wisconsin and Cincinnati. They will take an amniotic needle and go into the placenta and with a laser they will seperate the blood vessels that the twins share. Going into the uteras like this, there is always a risk for pre-term labor. So they will put me on Magnesium Sulfate to stop contractions. (I was on this with Alyssa to keep my blood pressure down - not pretty). But definitely worth it.
I talked with a wonderful lady last night (a friend of my sister, Angie, in St. Louis) and she had the surgery done a year ago with the same surgeon I will have. Her twin boys are now 7 months and have no complications. So she told me her success story which is always nice to hear. She walked me through what will happen while I'm there and explained in detail everything that I was wanting to know. So I definitely feel better. This thing can go really bad really fast, so I'm trying to take it easy this week until we go.
My girls are going to stay with their Grandparents while Mike and I are in Cinci. I've been told that I will probably remain in the hospital for a week to 2 weeks after the surgery and then remain on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy. So it will definitely be a trying time but it's temporary and is definitely worth it to save these two lives.
Please keep us in your prayers as the next few weeks progress. I will keep you updated probably through email.
Thanks for listening and we love you all!!!
Mike, Bethany, Alyssa, Loren and A and B (we will try to decide on names soon, I promise )
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
I'll try to make this short and sweet...
I'll try to make this short and sweet. Alyssa had her eye exam yesterday. She has been wearing the patch over her good eye anywhere between 2 and 6 hours a day for the last 8 weeks. By far, it has been the hardest thing we have had to do - more so than 5 surgeries. I don't wish it on anyone. We are trying to get that eye to work (to make the brain in that eye turn on). She is basically blind in that eye. So by patching it, I'm asking her to give up her eyesight for several hours. Anyhow...
So the verdict yesterday was that it has not improved at all. Her Dr. is going to see if she is a candidate for this surgery in Houston, TX. It is the only place they do it. We really don't know anything about it right now. So there is not much to share. I'm going to be calling next Monday to see what they found out. Mike and I were very frustrated yesterday because we were hopeing to see even the smallest amount of improvement. Especially for me because I'm the one at home battling this every day. Despite our frustration, we are not jumping into this idea of surgery quite yet.
There is much we want to know before we make this decision (If she is a candidate). What are the risks? Is it a sure thing? If not, what is our chances of it helping or fixing the problem? and on and on......
It is not like she is 85 and looking into this eye surgery. This is a 4 year old that has her whole life ahead of her and we want to make sure we are making the right decision.
So until then.........we continue to wear the patch. We are not giving up on this stubborn brain that has a perfectly good eye to work with. I'll keep you updated on this as it progresses.
Alyssa - loves to do arts and crafts. Her very favorite thing in the world. besides camping. She has been talking for the past month now on how she can't wait to go camping. She has already packed her bag a couple of times. She loves to laugh and play with her cousins!!!
Loren - is almost walking. She is very sweet and fun to be with. I can't believe she is almost 1. She is growing fast. Her and Alyssa love to play together. They stay up at night and just laugh and laugh (even though they are supposed to be sleeping). I'm anxious to see her with the next two!!
#3 and #4 - So we found out they are identical girls. We are excited!!! We go in for an ultrasound tomorrow to check their growth - make sure one is not stealing all the goods. My blood pressure has been up the last 3 appointments. If it is up tomorrow, I will be put on meds. I'm leaving both girls with friends so I'm praying it won't be up. I'll be 18 weeks Thursday - half way there.
So the verdict yesterday was that it has not improved at all. Her Dr. is going to see if she is a candidate for this surgery in Houston, TX. It is the only place they do it. We really don't know anything about it right now. So there is not much to share. I'm going to be calling next Monday to see what they found out. Mike and I were very frustrated yesterday because we were hopeing to see even the smallest amount of improvement. Especially for me because I'm the one at home battling this every day. Despite our frustration, we are not jumping into this idea of surgery quite yet.
There is much we want to know before we make this decision (If she is a candidate). What are the risks? Is it a sure thing? If not, what is our chances of it helping or fixing the problem? and on and on......
It is not like she is 85 and looking into this eye surgery. This is a 4 year old that has her whole life ahead of her and we want to make sure we are making the right decision.
So until then.........we continue to wear the patch. We are not giving up on this stubborn brain that has a perfectly good eye to work with. I'll keep you updated on this as it progresses.
Alyssa - loves to do arts and crafts. Her very favorite thing in the world. besides camping. She has been talking for the past month now on how she can't wait to go camping. She has already packed her bag a couple of times. She loves to laugh and play with her cousins!!!
Loren - is almost walking. She is very sweet and fun to be with. I can't believe she is almost 1. She is growing fast. Her and Alyssa love to play together. They stay up at night and just laugh and laugh (even though they are supposed to be sleeping). I'm anxious to see her with the next two!!
#3 and #4 - So we found out they are identical girls. We are excited!!! We go in for an ultrasound tomorrow to check their growth - make sure one is not stealing all the goods. My blood pressure has been up the last 3 appointments. If it is up tomorrow, I will be put on meds. I'm leaving both girls with friends so I'm praying it won't be up. I'll be 18 weeks Thursday - half way there.
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