Mike and I were incredibly excited about this date. This was the day that we were going to find out if we were having a little girl or a little boy. Truth be told we were both hoping for a boy; Mike for what I'm assuming are the obvious reasons of him being a man himself and for myself, I felt like I would be better suited to have a boy the first time around.
We walked into the Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital at the University of Michigan, 9th floor and checked into our appointment, ready to see this ultrasound of our little one truly for the first time since our eight week appointment to hear a heartbeat. We were excited to see his/her face and little body growing.
Our appointment seemed relatively normal. The ultra-sound tech came to get us, I got all set up, and we began taking a look. Mike and I were getting pictures of the little feet, side profile, and the back. We looked away when she was looking at the gender so we could do a cute reveal later in the week for our wedding anniversary, and soon enough she said she would be right back in with the doctor.
We waited, not thinking too much of anything and were exited about seeing our little one. It was when the doctor came in and introduced herself that everything changed. As she walked in and shook our hands she informed us that she was a "high risk" OB, to which immediately I thought things I am not willing to repeat.
She told us that she wanted to take a look at a few things as well. We got back on the ultra-sound, she took a look at a few things, and then delivered the news. Our baby was diagnosed with Spina Bifida.
Spina Bifida "means “split spine.” Spina Bifida happens when a baby is in the womb and the spinal column does not close all of the way. " (http://www.spinabifidaassociation.org/site/c.evKRI7OXIoJ8H/b.8277225/k.5A79/What_is_Spina_Bifida.htm) Basically it means that when our baby was growing their back did not close up and the nerves in the spine were outside of the body rather than inside where the bones should be.
We had no idea what this meant for us or for our little one and our one hour appointment turned into a four hour appointment full of meeting different doctors, running tests, and meeting with a genetic counselor. We were given information as to what this meant as well as what can be done for our baby.
Although we planned on waiting to find out the gender it was at this time where Mike said he would rather know what we are having with the situation at hand. We asked when we saw the next doctor and were told that we would be having a baby BOY. This was truly the only good news we had heard that day. Immediately we were thrilled to know it was a boy but terrified for what this news meant for him and for us.
On this day we were asked questions as to our family past and history and given information on what Spina Bifida is, how it happens, and what our next steps could be. Turns out, there is nothing that you can do to prevent S.B. In fact, doctors still don't know what causes S.B. which was a bit reassuring considering the fact that all I was thinking was, 'What did I do?' Answer... nothing.
After four hours of information overload we went home. Mike went to work to have some sort of routine to his day and I sat at home and tried to take everything in. Of course our doctors told us to stay away from googling anything because they didn't want us to get scared of what could happen to our little boy. I did my best of not googling but instead went to the S.B. Association site to research as much as I could. (http://www.spinabifidaassociation.org/site/c.evKRI7OXIoJ8H/b.8028963/k.BE67/Home.htm )
Mike and I went to bed that night exhausted. We had no idea what was in store and what we were going to do. The next few weeks were intense. We talked to our families and emailed our friends about this news; which when you do get any kind of news it was easier for us to email rather then try to have the same conversation with a ton of people who wanted to ask the same questions. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends who supported us and still do in anyway that they can.
After multiple doctors appointments and ultra-sounds to continue to look at our little man we were given two options; one, we could continue with the pregnancy and I would have to go in every two weeks for an ultra-sound to check on how he was doing not just in growth with his body and nerves sitting outside of his spine but also with his brain. We discovered that our little boy had more fluid in his brain than an average baby and this was due to the nerves being pulled outside of his body and essentially pulling on his brain. This was our major concern. Having this happen to his could result in cognitive impairments and that was something we knew we could get though together but not something that we wanted our little boy to go through.
Option two; surgery. We received a lot of information about a new surgery that had been done at both Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. There had been a study where doctors actually completed a surgery on the baby in-utero to repair the nerves and put them back into the body. Not this would not just get rid of the Spinda Bifida; whatever damage is done, is done, but it would not make his circumstance worse as the pregnancy continues. This type of surgery is something that is always done to babies with S.B. AFTER they have been delivered but the results from this in-utero surgery had been so great that it was now an option and luckily we were at one of the five hospitals in the country that has the option to perform this type of surgery. (Check out the study here: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014379 .)
It was all up to us now. To read the information about the surgery and to determine what would be best for our son. However, it wasn't all just up to us to say yes or not to surgery, there was a criteria that both the baby and I had to go through to make sure we were good candidates for surgery and that was a process in itself. The next few weeks we went through the process to determine if we were candidates for surgery. Mike and I spoke as if I already was a candidate because with all of the information that we were given, it was clear to us that to give our little boy the best life we could surgery was the answer. I was fortunate enough to also talk to some mom's who have children with S.B. and what it was like for them and what it still is like for them and their children today. I am so grateful to those women and happy that I had the chance to make those connections and talk to them about their experiences and decide what I wanted to do for my child.
Mike and I discussed and decided that I would do anything I could to find out if baby and I could be a candidate for surgery, and so our adventure began. It was officially July 2nd, 2014.
We walked into the Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital at the University of Michigan, 9th floor and checked into our appointment, ready to see this ultrasound of our little one truly for the first time since our eight week appointment to hear a heartbeat. We were excited to see his/her face and little body growing.
Our appointment seemed relatively normal. The ultra-sound tech came to get us, I got all set up, and we began taking a look. Mike and I were getting pictures of the little feet, side profile, and the back. We looked away when she was looking at the gender so we could do a cute reveal later in the week for our wedding anniversary, and soon enough she said she would be right back in with the doctor.
We waited, not thinking too much of anything and were exited about seeing our little one. It was when the doctor came in and introduced herself that everything changed. As she walked in and shook our hands she informed us that she was a "high risk" OB, to which immediately I thought things I am not willing to repeat.
She told us that she wanted to take a look at a few things as well. We got back on the ultra-sound, she took a look at a few things, and then delivered the news. Our baby was diagnosed with Spina Bifida.
Spina Bifida "means “split spine.” Spina Bifida happens when a baby is in the womb and the spinal column does not close all of the way. " (http://www.spinabifidaassociation.org/site/c.evKRI7OXIoJ8H/b.8277225/k.5A79/What_is_Spina_Bifida.htm) Basically it means that when our baby was growing their back did not close up and the nerves in the spine were outside of the body rather than inside where the bones should be.
We had no idea what this meant for us or for our little one and our one hour appointment turned into a four hour appointment full of meeting different doctors, running tests, and meeting with a genetic counselor. We were given information as to what this meant as well as what can be done for our baby.
Although we planned on waiting to find out the gender it was at this time where Mike said he would rather know what we are having with the situation at hand. We asked when we saw the next doctor and were told that we would be having a baby BOY. This was truly the only good news we had heard that day. Immediately we were thrilled to know it was a boy but terrified for what this news meant for him and for us.
On this day we were asked questions as to our family past and history and given information on what Spina Bifida is, how it happens, and what our next steps could be. Turns out, there is nothing that you can do to prevent S.B. In fact, doctors still don't know what causes S.B. which was a bit reassuring considering the fact that all I was thinking was, 'What did I do?' Answer... nothing.
After four hours of information overload we went home. Mike went to work to have some sort of routine to his day and I sat at home and tried to take everything in. Of course our doctors told us to stay away from googling anything because they didn't want us to get scared of what could happen to our little boy. I did my best of not googling but instead went to the S.B. Association site to research as much as I could. (http://www.spinabifidaassociation.org/site/c.evKRI7OXIoJ8H/b.8028963/k.BE67/Home.htm )
Mike and I went to bed that night exhausted. We had no idea what was in store and what we were going to do. The next few weeks were intense. We talked to our families and emailed our friends about this news; which when you do get any kind of news it was easier for us to email rather then try to have the same conversation with a ton of people who wanted to ask the same questions. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends who supported us and still do in anyway that they can.
After multiple doctors appointments and ultra-sounds to continue to look at our little man we were given two options; one, we could continue with the pregnancy and I would have to go in every two weeks for an ultra-sound to check on how he was doing not just in growth with his body and nerves sitting outside of his spine but also with his brain. We discovered that our little boy had more fluid in his brain than an average baby and this was due to the nerves being pulled outside of his body and essentially pulling on his brain. This was our major concern. Having this happen to his could result in cognitive impairments and that was something we knew we could get though together but not something that we wanted our little boy to go through.
Option two; surgery. We received a lot of information about a new surgery that had been done at both Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. There had been a study where doctors actually completed a surgery on the baby in-utero to repair the nerves and put them back into the body. Not this would not just get rid of the Spinda Bifida; whatever damage is done, is done, but it would not make his circumstance worse as the pregnancy continues. This type of surgery is something that is always done to babies with S.B. AFTER they have been delivered but the results from this in-utero surgery had been so great that it was now an option and luckily we were at one of the five hospitals in the country that has the option to perform this type of surgery. (Check out the study here: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014379 .)
It was all up to us now. To read the information about the surgery and to determine what would be best for our son. However, it wasn't all just up to us to say yes or not to surgery, there was a criteria that both the baby and I had to go through to make sure we were good candidates for surgery and that was a process in itself. The next few weeks we went through the process to determine if we were candidates for surgery. Mike and I spoke as if I already was a candidate because with all of the information that we were given, it was clear to us that to give our little boy the best life we could surgery was the answer. I was fortunate enough to also talk to some mom's who have children with S.B. and what it was like for them and what it still is like for them and their children today. I am so grateful to those women and happy that I had the chance to make those connections and talk to them about their experiences and decide what I wanted to do for my child.
Mike and I discussed and decided that I would do anything I could to find out if baby and I could be a candidate for surgery, and so our adventure began. It was officially July 2nd, 2014.
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