What a long day! Jeff, my mom and I all worked graveyard on the 4th of July, and got just a couple hours of sleep before heading down to Seattle to meet with some doctors from Children's Hospital. We started off with an ultrasound that lasted over an hour. The room we were in was SO warm and the lights were dim, we were all struggling to stay awake. It didn't help that the ultrasound tech wasn't very talkative, so we had no idea what we were seeing on the screen most of the time. The tech took all of Madeline's measurements to make sure she is growing and gaining weight. Which she is, so that is great news.
Next, we met with Edith Cheng, who is the Director of the Prenatal Genetics Program. She went over some basic information regarding Gastroschisis and what to expect with upcoming appointments, and what would happen in the event that I went in to labor early. Shortly in to our meeting, a pediatric surgeon joined us and went through a power point of what we can expect with pregnancy, labor, delivery, and surgery. He also explained different levels of Gastroschisis (simple and complex), and the different surgery options that will be considered. Basically, we won't know until Madeline gets here if she will need surgery right away or not. It all depends on how much of the bowel is outside the body and what condition it is in. The surgeon said that Madeline will most likely have to stay at Children's for 2 months, possibly up to 4 months, depending on how she responds to surgery and how quickly she learns to eat and gain weight.
Our next ultrasound will be at our OB's office in Bellingham in about 4 weeks, and they will take more measurements of Madeline, and then send them to UW and Children's. We will meet with doctors at the UW in late August for another ultrasound.
Overall, we learned a lot, but there are still so many unanswered questions that can't be answered until Madeline arrives. So we will continue to wait!
Hailey is finally feeling better, and we can't believe that she is turning 3 tomorrow! Where has the time gone? She is such an amazing little girl and she continues to surprise us each day with her knowledge and humor. Life is good!
2 comments:
Oh Kelsey, I had no idea about poor Madeline. Sending positive thoughts and prayers your way for her to be okay and not need surgery or need to stay there long! Keep us posted!!
Thanks Megan. We appreciate all the positive thoughts and prayers. We are confident Madeline will be getting the best care possible, and we are thankful this defect is correctable.
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