Today we had our appointment with the pediatric cardiologist. We had been waiting for what felt like forever (not really I know) and it was a relief to go. Luckily the time between when we should have had the appointment and today wasn't too bad for me. My mom was already here to go with us when we got the call last week so she stayed through until today. Having her here and helping me with projects around the house was wonderful. I also had other family and friends to help me take my mind off things. Having the weekend in between also helped because Adam and I had that time together and we not only relaxed, but also did some projects around the house as well as registered. Last week my counselor suggested doing something fun to celebrate this baby to keep from focusing on possible negativity and registering fit the bill. We didn't get to do that last time (we were going to the weekend I went to the hospital) and so it was something special and specific to this baby. We got a lot accomplished and it helped take my mind off things. Win win in my book.
We were in the appointment for at least 45 minutes with the tech and the doctor. It was nice to see that they were so thorough. The tech started the ultrasound and of course our daughter decided that was the best time to be a mover and a shaker. She's a fairly active baby, but not usually in the morning. Even though they needed her to be a bit more still it was nice to see her moving around (although it's kinda weird to see her move and feel her at the same time since she's still inside). She had me change position at one point to see if they could get a better angle and that helped. They didn't stop until they were able to see and hear everything they needed to. That was a relief as well. They didn't just say "Well she's moving too much, come back later."
Once they were through the doctor talked to us. She said as of right now our daughter has some heart defects, but does not have Tetralogy of Fallot (I'm going to call it Tet from here on out). Her aorta does overlap both ventricles like in Tet, but currently they estimate it's 20-30%, so on the lower side. An overlap of 50% would be much more concerning. She also has a hole between her ventricles, but again it's not as big as they would expect with Tet. Currently her pulmonary valve looks normal which is good and another reason she wouldn't diagnose Tet at this point. This also means she doesn't have the fourth problem with Tet, hypertrophy of the right ventricle. Good news thus far!
The doctor told us that because she is still growing and developing that it's possible things could still change so we're going back in 6 weeks so they can look again and make a more definitive diagnosis and plan. She said several things could happen at this point. First, we come back and everything is the same as it was today. As for the future it's a wait and see game. She might need surgery, or she might not. Second, we come back and things are better (specifically the hole closing). In that instance she probably wouldn't need surgery. Third, we come back and the pulmonary valve has stopped growing (so it basically looks the same as it did today) and then she would diagnose Tetralogy of Fallot. If that's the case then we'll talk more at that point about specifics for the future. We didn't talk about that today because it may not even be an issue.
So we're still in a bit of a wait and see mode (we should get used to this as parents right?) but overall I feel good and that we got good news today. It's amazing to me that even though they can see issues right now, that as she grows the issues could actually fix themselves. The human body is amazing and crazy. I'm focusing on the positive. It's much better news than we could have gotten. Plus, if in 6 weeks she does end up diagnosing Tet, it won't be the most severe because the placement of her aorta isn't as bad as it could be (and is easier to fix, 50% and over the hole add some difficulties). So regardless of what they see in 6 weeks it will all be OK in the end. I feel confident in that.
Overall we got good news with some more waiting, but at least we know we can rule out any worst case scenarios that may have been floating around in our heads. I feel better at any rate. Focusing on the positive has really helped (and staying busy) so I'll just continue to do that. I've already spent too much of this pregnancy worrying and thinking of negative things. It doesn't help or change anything and I've enjoyed life so much more since I really made an effort to change my outlook (seeing a counselor is also a big part of that). Of course I'll still have days that I'm anxious or do let the worry win, but they won't be the majority of days. We'll have our daughter and if she ends up needing some extra care, that's just fine. In the end all of us will be OK.
No comments:
Post a Comment