At our 19 week scan with our second baby, myself Owen and Ollie were given tickets to a roller coaster ride. All we knew was that it was the biggest, scariest and meanest roller coaster we had ever been on and there were conditions; we couldn't get off, the ticket was non redeemable and there was no way of knowing whether we'd ever reach the end.
Our babe was diagnosed with a Congenital Diaphramatic Hernia (CDH). This meant that our baby had a whole in his diaphram and his bowel had moved up through the hole and had taken up residence in his chest cavity which would stop his lungs from developing properly and as a result of little room, his heart had shifted slightly to one side of his chest which could also effect how it develops and functions. Our baby would need to be ventilated straight after birth and would need surgery once stable.
And so we were immersed into a world of decisions, tests and countless hospital appointments and commited the modern day crime of searching for information on google. We fell onto what my husband calls a google induced psychosis where we were faced with horrific numbers, stories and what we now realise was out of date information.
We were given the option to terminate and sent for an amniosintisis test (big needle into my tummy to test the amniotic fluid) to look for any further abnormalities. After seeing our little growing baby boy grabbing the needle as it invaded his home and having the results come back negative we made the decision to continue with the pregnancy and give this little guy a fighting chance.It was a relief once we made the decision, as knowing such an important decision was on our shoulders was almost too much to bear.
And so it began....weekly hospital visits and weekly ultrasounds to check the growth and to monitor to see if any other organs had moved up through the hole into his chest cavity. I was sent for an MRI scan and the baby was given an Echo scan of his heart to check how it was functioning. We had a meeting with the surgeon who would be operating on our baby once he was here and we were given a tour of the NICU ward where babe would spend the first part of his journey once he had arrived. However nobody could tell us how big the hole was, or how our baby's lungs would function once he was here. We were told that our baby had a 50/50 chance of surviving, and there was no way of knowing which way things would go, or whether there would be any longterm issues until baby was here. And so myself and Owen could do nothing but fall into a fog and wait and to try and stay positive.
Days felt like weeks and weeks felt like months, but with the support of family and friends we got through it and took each day at a time. And so here we are, a week before my planned C section. Finally we will get to meet our baby and to take part in this journey together, whichever way it takes us..
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