Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Pediatric Cardiologist Appt. #3

Out of all three appointments, this one was the fastest by far.

Since Dr. Buehner's nurse had said they seemed to think I was just hitting 34 weeks, I had a few points to bring up with them.

Firstly, I let the assistant know that I was nearing my 37th week and about to get off my pre-term labor medication.  Secondly, I reminded her that while it was no problem to come back, this was my third appointment.  My first appointment was a few weeks after my 27th week, and the last appointment I had was at 34 weeks.  I wondered if they had just forgotten -- or if there was something serious happening and no one had wanted to tell me.

Apparently they'd hired a new nurse who got my timetable wrong.  Regardless though -- the Omaha Children's Hospital doctor asked Dr. Spangler (the pediatric cardiologist) if he'd do one more echocardiogram to (1) make sure that Bella's heart was strong enough to even endure surgery; (2) see how small one of her chambers were (if too small, this could mean immediate surgery after birth); (3) look at how certain hair-like "things" had developed; whether they had grown into the septum of the heart, crossed over all into one chamber (not good) or if they were as should be -- in their own chambers. 

So... we have no idea really about how bad her heart condition could be.  Dr. Spangler is sending off his notes and this echo to the Omaha surgeon and we'll see from there.  As soon as Bella is born (if we don't hear from them before then) Dr. Spangler will immediately be called in to do an echo on her.  He'll then send that for direct feedback to the Omaha surgeon.  If all goes as originally planned (wait for heart failure to kick in so she can go to surgery), then we will have weekly appointments with Dr. Spangler so we can avoid complete failure and anything "bad".


Honestly, I can't wait for this all to be over with.  There will be so many more known factors once she is born that it won't be so wishy-washy.  We will know things.  We will know the condition of her heart; when to expect to have to go to Omaha; if our baby girl will be okay.  Things like that are important to me right now, and I wish I could know these things.  For now I am trusting in God.  From the precise moment of her conception He has planned out her life.  He has given her a soul stronger than anyone's I'll ever know in order to deal with what she's been dealt.  God will take care of her - in and out of the womb.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” - Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

You may think I'm crazy, but it's the most comforting thing in the world to me.  Just to know that God made her from the very moment she was conceived; that He had everything all planned out.  She is very much His creation, and I am just a vessel for her to enter this world.  Before even being born, she's teaching me so much about a God I want to teach her about.

2 comments:

Jael said...

It is wonderful to have a God who is bigger than any problem we can possibly encounter. *hugs* I really, really hope and pray that Bella's heart problem will not be too severe and that she'll pull through all this with flying colours.

Brittany said...

I hope so too! Thank you for continuing to pray for lil' Bella. And it is amazing to have a God bigger than any problem we'll ever encounter. It's very comforting... I don't know really how I'd handle it without Him!