We arrived in Ann Arbor around 6ish on Sunday night, and we had a great experience there from the very beginning. Our doctors and the surgery team had prepared the weekend nurses to be ready for us, to draw my preop labs right away when we got there (so there would be no delays on Monday morning for surgery) and even to put us up in a nice room with a full-size bed on the labor and delivery floor for Sunday night. Once we got settled in, they told us we were welcome to go wherever we wanted, so we went downtown to grab some dinner (and a beer for Nate) before we headed back... :) We got as much sleep as we could that night, but we were pretty anxious for Monday morning.
We checked in bright and early at 6am on Monday and we were brought to our room in preop holding on the L&D floor, where we got LOTS of attention from tons of different nurses, doctors, the CNS with the fetal surgery team, and others. We also met our doctor, a maternal fetal medicine specialist, who spent tons of time with us and was just wonderful in explaining exactly what was going on through the entire morning. We really appreciated this because our nerves (or, at least mine) were a little out of control, knowing that one or both babies could pass away during the surgery. After she had a chance to do a quick ultrasound to see what was going on with her own eyes (everything looked the same as it had the week before), we rolled down to the preop area on the 4th floor (the main surgery floor for the children's hospital). These ORs are bigger than the typical L&D OR (where they normally mostly do c-sections) and have more camera capabilities. This is where I met two of my anesthesiologists and some other people like the circulating OR nurses. After my IV was placed and fluids were running, I kissed Nate goodbye and they wheeled me to the OR, which, by the way, is a much scarier place when you're the patient! Lots of people were waiting for me and they all did such a great job taking care of the babies and me before and during surgery.
This is where I admit that having an epidural placed is not nearly as scary as I had made it out to be. My doctor talked to me about running, spinning, Holland, Dutch people, and tons of other things while the anesthesiologists worked hard to place the epidural, and before I knew it, it was in. Did I mention she was great?
A couple people (nurse friends) asked me what they give you for anesthesia and sedation when you're pregnant... the answer is, some really good stuff! Lidocaine, fentanyl, and propofol made me really sleepy, really numb (such a weird feeling), and allowed me to sleep through the entire surgery. The CNS who works with the fetal surgery team had gotten Nate's cell phone number before surgery and called him 3-4 times during the case to update him on what was going on. Nate then updated our parents and sisters, which was super nice since they weren't there with us. One cool thing about the surgery was that the camera was right in there next to the babies, so they took some cool pictures for us (unfortunately, we didn't get to see much more than feet.) I don't know anyone else who has a cool picture like this before their baby's born...
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Nate met us back up at the L&D prep/recovery area, and we met with the doc. She was thrilled at how the surgery had gone, and she informed us that she and the fetal surgeon had identified and cauterized 27 potentially problematic blood vessels, which is a lot! (Which probably explains why the surgery took about 3 hours as opposed to the expected 2). Once I could feel my legs, I was taken to my new room in the high risk OB area. I was monitored for contractions for probably the first 6ish hours, but I wasn't having anything more than minor contractions (irritability from the surgery).
A resident came in to do a quick ultrasound not too long after we got to our room, and we were just so thankful to be able to see two little hearts beating away on that screen! I'll spare you the incredibly boring details of the rest of our day/night yesterday; we both ended up getting about 7-8 hours of sleep last night which was more than we expected!
This morning we woke up and had another (more comprehensive) ultrasound. They looked at the babies' fluid levels, bladders, and blood flow, just like they have with our other ultrasounds. Everything looked stable, and Baby A had a normal amount of fluid around her (4.6cm) because they were able to drain some of the extra during surgery. Baby B's bladder is still invisible and she has very little fluid around her, but the doctors had all warned us that it would take some time (weeks as opposed to days) for things to normalize. Basically, we got the most positive news that we could for day 1 post-op, and we are so so so thankful! We met with the doctor again, who warned us to remain guarded, but who seemed very optimistic about the outcome of the surgery.
We will go back next week Wednesday for another ultrasound. Until then, and until further notice, I am on strict doctor's orders to restrict my activity as much as possible (she didn't call it "bedrest," but from what I gathered, it basically is.) No work, no cleaning, no shopping, minimal walking, etc. Since they made an incision in one of the amniotic membranes, it is weak and at a high risk for breaking and putting me into preterm labor.
We made it home by 2 today, and Nate has been taking care of things while I rest on the couch. I am incredibly sore (who knew a 1cm incision could hurt so much) and tired... I'm thankful we can rest together tonight and tomorrow before Nate goes back to work.
Thank you all again SO much for thinking about us and praying for us over the past 2 crazy weeks. We have made it past a major hurdle, but we are not out of the woods yet. Please continue to pray that our babies will tolerate the changes in blood flow, that I learn to take it easy over the next while, and that my water will not break.
Love,
The Vander Ploegs
Praying for you the 4 of you.
ReplyDeletePraise the Lord!! We continue to lift you all in our prayers...
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