Week 27 - Getting Closer

It is stunning when you step back from your life and reflect on how God has walked with you.  He has provided tons of people that are praying and supporting us.  He has provided above average medical care for Zachary.   He has also placed people in our lives with whom we can discuss our faith.  God is good!  Here is the most recent developments in our lives.  Thank you for praying for us!

We had appointments this week with Zachary’s cardiologist and our ultrasound doctor. 

-          From what we understand, the doctors have confirmed that little has changed in Zachary’s heart since the discovery @ 20 weeks.  He still will need 2-3 open heart surgeries within the first couple years of his life.  The timing of the surgeries depend on several factors: 

•      One important area that the doctors will look at when Zachary is born is the pressure delta between the right ventricle and the artery that goes to the lungs.  The delta needs to be high but not too high because the lung bed cannot handle the high blood pressure
•           If the pressure in the artery to the lungs is too high, they will insert a band around the artery to create mild pulmonary stenosis. 
•       If the pressure is too low they might add a shunt to help the blood flow properly to the lungs.

Next we visited the ultrasound doctor. 

-          I have an excess of amniotic fluid that is being built up.  The normal range is 5-25cm².  Currently I have 29.  This means nothing at the moment but they are going to require more ultrasounds (even more than before) to check the levels.  If I level off, the doctors will not intercede.

-          This is often an effect of the duodenal atresia that Zachary has since his stomach and small intestine is blocked and cannot process much. 

-          If the levels increase, the doctors will need to drain the excess fluid.  Typically they would drain 2-3 liters to the lower end of normal range.  This will be done in the hospital and will require an overnight stay. 

-          Also this means that I will need to rest as much as possible.  One of the most important reasons that they drain the amniotic fluid is so that the body doesn’t go into preterm labor.  The ultrasound doctor also stated that she is now thinking that we will have this baby around 37 weeks due to this finding.  That is 10 weeks away!!!

We are so thankful for all of the people praying for us.  It is almost overwhelming to think about how many people are praying for this baby.  Please continue to pray.  Here are some prayer requests that we have at this time. 

•          Pray that God would be glorified thru this all!
•          Pray for healing for this baby.  It is hard to look at some babies hooked up to 10 different machines helping to monitor and provide for the baby. 
•          Pray that I understand the importance of rest even with my two little ones at home.
•          Pray for the doctors and medical staff to use divine wisdom to make the very best decisions regarding this baby. 
•          Pray for Micah and Josiah that they will feel loved during this process as we focus our efforts on Zachary for the time being.