For our first trip to Charleston, I thought we did fairly well - we didn't get lost even once! :) There are more one-way streets in Charleston than I have ever seen in one place before, but we found that it is a very friendly place, especially the people we met at the hospital.
Mommy and Rebekah's first trip to
Folley Beach! We didn't stay too long, but we did get a couple of pictures of Rebekah's first beach trip, and I got my feet wet. :) The water was actually nice, although as you can see from the picture, it was
very windy.
Rebekah's first smile for the "camera"!
Before we left for Charleston on Wednesday, I had a visit with Dr. Greig to measure my fluid and check Rebekah's growth. My fluid is still hanging out on the high side - it was 24 (8-25 is normal) on Wednesday and 20 on Thursday when it was checked by the doctors in Charleston. No problems with fluid this pregnancy!! :)
Rebekah continues to grow well. Overall, she is a small baby (then again, all of my children are fairly small!) - she is measuring in the 22nd percentile for overall growth. Her head, arms and legs are all about average and her abdomen is measuring about a week small. She is only in the 11th percentile for her abdominal growth, but her growth has been steady and has not dropped off, so the doctors are not at all concerned about it at this time. Rebekah is now 2 lbs. and 15 ozs.!!
Every technician commented on how much hair Rebekah has! It's the kind of bumpy-looking stuff on her head in the ultrasound pictures.
We arrived in Charleston around dinner time Wednesday and enjoyed dinner at Olive Garden (Mommy's favorite!!). We checked into our room around 7:00 and after getting settled, we spent about an hour walking in and around the hospital trying to familiarize ourselves with where we were going. The hotel we stayed in was very close to the hospital - only a 10 minute walk. The Ronald McDonald house is even closer - just two blocks and we were pleased to find that it is very well-lit at night.
We started Thursday morning with an 8:30 appointment at Pediatric Cardiology. The ultrasound technician (Probably she has a much fancier title than that, but I don't know what it is. Sorry, Karen!) had someone in that took priority over us, so we waited until a little after 9:00 to get in. Karen began the scan, and took around 150 pictures of various angles of Rebekah's heart. Rebekah certainly put on a show for us - rolls, turns, arching her back, making funny faces. We were having fun watching her! After the scan was done, we were told that Dr. Shirali (cardiologist) was called out and we could go wander the hospital (or check out the cafeteria!) for a while and come back to finish the visit. We had been in the cafeteria just looking around for less than 10 minutes when Karen and Donna (not sure what Donna's title is, either, but she is our contact at Ped. Cardiology and super helpful!) came to the cafeteria to find us. Turns out that our prenatal wellness appointment scheduled for 10:00 could not be bumped later because there were not going to be any available doctors during the afternoon. So, we were given directions to Prenatal Wellness and sent on our way!
I love baby toes!! :)
When we arrived at Prenatal Wellness, we were called back by yet another ultrasound tech, Melissa. Since this was the one and only chance for us to meet the doctors there, they wanted to do a complete ultrasound themselves before we deliver. Rebekah obliged and treated us to a few smiles and even waved her hand at us!
During the ultrasound, Melissa found a cyst on one of Rebekah's kidneys. Dr. Chang came in to discuss it with us, and reassured us that it was not anything of concern. It is something that will be checked further after Rebekah is born and may be monitored as she grows, but for now it is very insignificant.
After the ultrasound, we met with Dr. Goetzel to go over the plan for induction and review my previous delivery history. Dr. Goetzel was very pleased to see that I have never gone into pre-term labor, and we were very pleased that she is not a proponent of Cesarean sections! In fact, in Dr. Goetzel's words, I am a very low-risk for c-section! :) That made me very happy!
After our appointment at Prenatal Wellness, we headed back to the Children's Hospital and sneaked into the cafeteria for a quick lunch before we went back to the Cardiology department. Once we arrived back in Cardiology, we were able to meet with Dr. Shirali. First of all, Dr. Shirali confirmed that Rebekah does indeed have Truncus Arteriosus. After reviewing our records and the pictures and information from the scan that Karen did, Dr. Shirali also told us that they were unable to detect the branch of the Pulmonary Artery leading to Rebekah's right lung. Dr. Shirali believes that there is blood flow to the lung based on the fact that it is growing at the same rate as the left lung, but he is not sure where or how the blood is flowing to it. This will probably mean a more complicated heart surgery as the surgeons will have to trace the pulmonary artery and its branches to see exactly where the blood flow enters the right lung. It is possible that the artery will have to be moved, reattached in a new location, or replaced if it is not supplying adequate blood flow to the right lung after birth.
Dr.
Shirali also discussed with us the possibility that Rebekah may have
DiGeorge Syndrome, which we had briefly discussed with Dr. Lucas a few weeks ago.
DiGeorge Syndrome is not life threatening, but there are a few minor things that Dr.
Shirali felt that we needed to be aware of if Rebekah does, in fact, have
DiGeorge Syndrome.
DiGeorge Syndrome can cause cleft lip and/or palate (We know that Rebekah does not have cleft lip based on her pictures!), lack of calcium absorption (would require calcium supplements and vitamin D supplements), low immune system (This would be outgrown as she gets older, but may require extra precautions early on and possibly delay some vaccinations.), speech delays, learning disabilities, some facial differences, and mid-line heart defects.
Usually all of these symptoms are not found in any one person with
DiGeorge; this is just a list of
possibilities that
may occur in a person with
DiGeorge Syndrome. They all occur with a range of severity from mild to very severe. Because of Rebekah's
Truncus, her cord blood will be tested for
DiGeorge after birth. To read more about
DiGeorge Syndrome, you can check out the information from the Mayo Clinic website
here. (Just don't get too overwhelmed reading it all!)
Sweet little face!
All in all, we had a very good experience in Charleston and feel like Rebekah will have a terrific team of doctors and nurses taking care of her. We are looking forward to Rebekah's birth day and getting to meet her and hold her. :)
Nancy
P. S. Anyone want to join us in Charleston July 10th?? :)
