It's crazy to think that about a month ago we were worried that these babies would already be here by now! Today we reach a HUGE milestone!! The 28 week marks 90% viability with little to no brain damage should the babies decide to make their entrance! It also marks the start of the 3rd and final trimester. Hooray!
Today I am celebrating the small victories! The non stress test I took this morning looked great and I was able to get MFM to move my growth check ultrasound up from December 6th to next monday!! That is a difference of 3 weeks! I was stressing a bit when the doctor requested me back in 3 weeks but the front desk lady couldn't get me in for almost 6! When you are pregnant with twins and one of them a possible T-18 baby, you don't want to take many chances! My appointment with my OB was all good news too. There have been no additional cervical changes since my last check 2 weeks ago!! For now it appears they are going to stay put and continue to bake which is such a great feeling.
And the best news of all--
My OB was able to get me scheduled for a fetal echo for Adrian! I have been asking the perinatologists to schedule this for me and they just kept telling me it's not necessary since it won't change Adrian's diagnosis. I explained this to my OB and she understood why they would say that, but told me ultimately it should be my decision. She also reminded me that regardless of his diagnosis, it is also completely my decision when it comes to the care of Adrian once he is born. If we want to do comfort care with a few interventions like oxygen, food etc and see how it goes- that is our choice. If we want to have them do everything possible to keep him alive- that is also our choice. The diagnosis shouldn't matter. It's always nice to have a few people on your side when you are given such a hard prognosis. I had no idea she set up the appointment for the fetal echo until I talked with her nurse a few hours later, about trying to set up an appointment with Dr. John Carey. It was an amazing and exciting surprise. I am one that likes to be fully educated so that when I am making decisions, decisions that involve my child, I can feel somewhat confident that I did what was best. Knowing how his heart is working or issues he may have, is a HUGE deciding factor on how he will do once he is born- medical intervention or not.
My OB did try to get me an appointment with Dr. Carey but unfortunately it wasn't as easy. Dr. Carey is a geneticist at the U of U and one of the founders of SOFT (Support Organization For Trisomy). I was hoping to pick his brain about T-18 and possible outcomes for Adrian. Unfortunately he is a busy man and the first appointment I could get was in April. Obviously won't work LOL but at least we tried!
I am thankful to all the Trisomy 18 mommies I have met so far along the way. They have been a tremendous help and support through this crazy time. Thank you for all you guys do!
John Carey is great, but we see Dr. Viskochel also at Primary's and he is also very good. You may be able to get into him more quickly if you'd like to give it another shot.
ReplyDeleteAlso, great choice on the fetal echo...it was very affirming for our situation, and gave us great information.
I'm happy to hear things are going well.:)