Cardiologist appointment

First of all, today is the 24 week mark, yeah! 5 weeks ago, when I was admitted into the hospital losing amniotic fluid, the doctors didn't think I could make it to his point. Well, we have, and hope to make it a lot farther... We were also told the results from genetic testing done on the amniotic fluid taken out after the laser surgery came back normal :)

Yesterday we had an appt. with Dr. Lewin, a cardiologist at Children's hospital. Dr. Walker has been seeing possible heart issues in the babies and referred us there to be evaluated. We were somewhat prepared for what he might find, but the reality of it all was still hard to take. In the ultrasound room were 2 techs, one scanning and one observing, Dr. Lewin, and a nurse. They all watched the screen intently for over an hour. They all left the room and we waited for Dr. Lewin to come back and deliver the news.

He was very solemn and started out by telling us we have already been through so much, what he was going to say would be hard to take. My heart sank. He started off with the more positive news. Both babies' leaky tricuspid valves caused by a thickened flap, which is unexplainable, may or may not persist after birth. Dr. Lewin feels, however, that it may not be problematic. All other heart functions for Baby A are normal :) Baby B is another story. Since she is the ex-recipient, she was likely to have heart problems caused by the stress of blood/oxygen overload during TTTS. She has a condition called Pulminary valve stenosis (valve is thick and narrowed, causing fast, turbulent flow across), and a thickened right ventricle muscle (caused by overworking from the blood flow). Since it is still early in the pregnancy, there is a chance that this condition could worsen and cause Pulminary atresia, which is no blood flow across the valve. We will not know what the outcome will be until she is born, but there are procedures for both scenarios. I am scheduled for a follow up Echo July 25 to check their progress...pray for no change!

After our appt. was all done, the nurse offered to give us a tour of the NICU and other facilities there. Tom loaded me up in a wheelchair and the fun began. Up to this point, I have been pretty strong about all this. I have been able to talk about things and take them in stride, but I was obviously not prepared for the reality that would hit me when we saw the facility. The NICU is great...they have rooms that house one or two babies at a time and some have sleeper couches in them. There is tons of equipment, sensors, tubes, etc. that hook up to the little ones. Since this is the cardiac wing, it is a much higher level NICU. Then we went through the recovery unit where there are kids from birth to 20 with various conditions. The nurse explained all the great things they offer for families....sleeper rooms for parents, laundry, waiting room, large indoor/outdoor play area for the siblings, and use of their pool. At least if we have to have Baby B there for a while, we can all be comfortable :)

Unfortunately, and fortunately, Baby A will not be at Children's. Since I will be delivering at either Swedish or Evergreen, she will stay in their NICU if needed. I guess this is a great thing, it means she will just be there as a preemie and not need any surgical procedure. It is hard to think that I will only get to be close to one of my babies, but the facilities at Evergreen are equally family friendly.

So, now the big decision. Evergreen or Swedish? We have another appt. on Monday to discuss when I will go in....until then....think healthy heart thoughts.

I will end this with a little lighter note. When we came home and picked up the mail, Tom started counting again....13 envelopes from our insurance company this time! These babies are going to be the most expensive little cuties, ever! Again, thank goodness for double coverage!!! By the time this is all over, we will have enough statements to wallpaper 3 rooms of our house :)