Bringing you up to speed

October 29, 2007 we are scheduled to go to Ann Arbor in the evening and have Beth’s labor induced.

As many of you know, we had a series of appointments at U of M on September 27th. Another ECHO was done (ultrasound of the baby’s heart) when we first arrived. The cardiologist, Dr. Gomez-Fifer, told us that the Coarctation of the Aorta was a definite problem that would have to be repaired with surgery and that the VSD (hole between the ventricles) would also need to be fixed. We were told the same thing at our first appointment a month ago. Both fixes are considered major heart surgery with the possibility of more surgeries needed later in life. However, there is a 98% success rate for these surgeries.

The one unknown condition from the first appointment was whether or not our baby did indeed have a condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome – a very serious condition in which the heart is rebuilt through a series of three surgeries in the first two years of life. The cardiologist told us that it was still too soon to know.

We met with Dr. Hirsch later in the morning. She will be the surgeon operating on our baby. She agreed with Dr. Gomez-Fifer that our baby’s condition seems too borderline to determine whether it needs the HLHS surgeries. She told us that after the baby is born it will have an ECHO within the first 6-12 hours. After the ECHO is preformed, a team of cardiologists and surgeons will go over the results and make the decision.

We also met with an OB, a genetic counselor, a social worker and got a tour of the high-risk labor and delivery area. We also had a full ultrasound done – they estimate that the baby is currently 5lbs 9oz!

We asked the surgeon if there was anything we should be doing between now and the birth to prepare ourselves and our home for our baby. Her two suggestions were that Beth gets as much rest as possible and that she makes as big of a baby as possible – she recommended pizza, pasta and milkshakes (for those of you that know Beth, she will be substituting the milkshakes with chocolate cake!). She said that bigger babies seem to handle surgery better.

We continue to ask for your prayers. They are what have gotten us through these past couple of months, and the only way we will make it through the upcoming months. We pray every day for miracles, for our baby’s heart to be healed. We pray that we are able to bring a healthy baby home with us by Thanksgiving. Please join us in these prayers.

We thank you again for your prayers and support and wanted to let you know that we pray for all of you every day as well. You have all been a blessing and we truly appreciate you all.