After the
experience I had with Tessa (vomiting every day up until my 27th
week) I vowed I would never get pregnant again.
Yet somehow I convinced myself that things would be or at least could be
different the second time around. Well,
the second pregnancy started out much like the first. I was sick, sick, sick. I was convinced I was having another girl
because of it. Our lives were pretty
crazy at the time. David was commuting
back and forth from Nebraska to Iowa for his job and we were getting ready to
soon start thinking about selling the house and moving. With all the “unknowns” in our future, I told
David that I wanted to find out the sex of baby #2. We had kept it a secret with Tessa and that
was so much fun and made the day of her birth even that much more
exciting! Yet, I wanted to know what it
was like each way (and my Type A personality needed to have something known in
her current life of chaos) so I convinced David to jump on the bandwagon with
me. We had the doctor write down the sex
on the ultrasound photos and took those photos (sealed) into a local
bakery. The owner whipped up some
surprise gender cupcakes for us to take to see our families and do a big
reveal. When we bit into the cupcakes,
we were greeted by sweet baby blue frosting.
I was surprised but couldn’t have been happier – we would now have one
of each!
 |
| One of the few photos of Baby Burns |
June, 2013 -
Week 28
David did not
have the luxury of attending many of my OB appointments. In fact, he missed the “big” 20 week
ultrasound. Due to his absence, and
since my OB was the best around, he did a full body anatomy ultrasound at my 28
week appointment when David could attend.
My OB went sight by sight and we were having a great time laughing and
joking around. Within an instant I
noticed that my doctor became quiet (which he never is) and kept scanning over
a particular section of my tummy. He
showed us what looked like a picture of a flying bird (I will never forget that
imagine) on the ultrasound machine. He
mentioned that he had some concern regarding Baby Burns’ kidney development and
wanted us to see a specialist right away.
We left the 28
week appointment and grabbed brunch before our hospital appointment with the
fetal specialist. After a series of routine
scans and images, we met with our specialist one on one. He let us know that Baby Burns’ right kidney
was not functioning properly. He was
unable to tell from imaging if it was due to an obstruction in the
ureters/kidney or if there was a developmental (congenital) abnormality. Regardless of the cause, fluids were not
draining properly and his kidney was becoming enlarged. This condition is called hydronephrosis. It occurs in about 1% of pregnancies and
typically goes away after the fetus has more time to grow and develop.
July, 2013 - Week
32
I had an
appointment with my specialist to get updated images. The results showed that the hydronephrosis in
the right kidney had not resolved. In
fact, it had worsened to be considered severe.
We were also told that the left kidney was showing enlargement. Baby Burns now had bilateral hydronephrosis
and the cause of the condition was still unknown. The nurse measured my amniotic fluid levels
and those were normal. This was very
good news. As you may know, the amniotic
fluid consists of the baby’s urine toward the end of the pregnancy and this is
what allows their lungs to develop.
Because my levels were normal, my doctors wanted me to continue carrying
the baby as long as possible. The damage
done to the baby’s kidneys at this point posed a lower risk than the idea of
taking the baby at such a young age.
August, 2013
- Week 35
It was our 3rd
wedding anniversary. David had the day
off for us to celebrate – so we spent the morning at the specialist (romantic
huh). The left kidney (which was just
recently showing hydronephrosis) was measuring closer to normal limits. The right kidney was still considered severe. We were told to be prepared that Baby Burns
may need surgery. Unfortunately, until
he arrives we didn’t know what we were dealing with. My amniotic fluid was checked again and was
measuring low. After all these appointments
and a million pictures of kidneys, all I wanted and begged the nurse for was a
photo of my baby. Because I had limited
fluid, the baby was pushed up against my abdominal wall and they couldn’t get
one. I was completely crushed. I would be watched even closer now since the
fluid level is so critical for development.
As if there wasn’t enough to be concerned about, we were told that the
current testing revealed that Baby Burns’ heart wasn’t functioning
properly. He was experiencing mitral
valve regurgitation. This is where the
blood is allowed to flow in two directions during the contraction. Some blood flows from the ventricle through
the aortic valve – as it should – and some blood flows back into the atrium. Neither David nor I could be speechless, but
immediately began asking questions. We
were riding a roller coaster of emotion but knew we needed to have all the
information so we could keep processing all that was happening. After we left the doctor, we went to my
favorite breakfast restaurant in Omaha hoping that the granola pancakes would
make us feel better. Even though they
were delicious we both cried heavy tears over our plates. There were so many unknowns at this
point. We were told to be prepared for
it all – and we did the best we could.
August, 2013
- Week 35 + 5 days
I went to see
my specialist for a quick check. There
had been no change, but we didn’t expect any since it had only been about a
week. They did measure the amniotic
fluid levels (still low but ok), checked the kidneys, and verified the heart
was still irregular. Even though nothing
had changed, I was so happy to not receive any more news.
August 16,
2013 – Day 1 of Week 36
Even though
it had only been two days since I saw the specialist, I saw my OB that Friday
as originally scheduled. I had asked if
it was necessary for me to see both in the same week, attempting to cancel, but
they wanted me to come in “just because.” I listened to them and my appointment started
out as all the others; sitting in the recliner hooked up to the fetal heart
monitor. The nurse struggled to find
baby’s heartbeat so after a few attempts she called another nurse in for
help. I didn’t think anything of this as
I know it can be difficult with those little ones moving around so much. Anyway, the second nurse failed at her attempt
and they left to grab a third partner to assist. When this happened, and I realized it had
nearly been 45 minutes, I began to feel nervous. My OB peeked in the room to see what all the
commotion was and immediately took me off the monitor and told me to come into
a procedure room with him. Using ultrasound
he scanned around my belly and then had me sit up. His first question to me was “Where’s David
today?” I told him he was in Iowa at
work and then his next words were “I don’t want you to freak out, but you need
to call David and tell him to come home.
Then you need to drive to the hospital.”
He told me to get dressed and ready to go. He was going to step out to call the hospital
and then would be back in to discuss more.
Sometime from Wednesday morning at my specialist appointment to this
appointment on Friday morning, I had lost what little amniotic fluid I
had. Baby Burns did not have a heartbeat
– or a readable heartbeat on their machines.
I called
David and all I could utter to him was that my appointment did not go well –
they can’t find a heartbeat – and I am leaving for the hospital. He said he would leave immediately and meet
me there as soon as he could (approximately 2 hours later).
I got into my
car and called my mom (who was watching Tessa at the time) and told her what
was going on. We decided it was best to
have her stay at home so I could get into the hospital quickly and then she
would bring Tessa later after we knew more details. After I hung up with her I called my dad. He met me at the hospital so I wouldn’t have
to be alone. I also managed to call my
sister and my brother to give them an update.
Have you heard that saying where in times of crisis, everyone will
gather? That is what happened for
me. Our families dropped what they were
doing and drove/flew to the hospital from states away.
I checked
myself in and went straight up to the maternity floor. It had been another hour since I was at my
OB. Time was getting away from us no
matter how fast everyone was working. It
seemed like an eternity but finally there was a heartbeat – it was faint and
sporadic, but it was there. I can’t even
express in words the emotions I felt and I really don’t think I had shown any
either. I was so numb to all that was
happening and all we had been through in those past few weeks.
Twelve hours
after I arrived for my OB appointment, Brady Samuel Burns arrived. I think back to how many times I tried to
cancel that appointment – God wanted me there that day.
I barely
remember seeing him, as the NICU team was right there to take him for tests,
but I could hear the sound of his cry. I
knew he was breathing and his heart was beating. Soon I was able to hold him, all five pounds
of him, but not for long.
 |
| Auntie Kim & Andrea Showing Tess Her Brother For The First Time. |
Brady stayed
in the NICU for five days. If any of you
mothers have had to endure this, you are very strong
because of it. Those were the most difficult days of my life
thus far. Having another child at home
who did not fully understand what was going on or why mommy wasn’t home each
night only added to the grief. Thank
goodness for family. I don’t know what
we would have done without them!
 |
| Keeping Warm |
 |
| Tess & Brady Looked A Lot Alike When They Were Born. |
While in the
NICU, Brady had many tests and scans done.
His heart was beating but there was an arrhythmia. His kidney scans were somewhat inconclusive
due to his small size. We were
discharged knowing there would be continuous follow-up.
 |
| Going Home - Look At Those Skinny Legs |
October, 2013
– Week 2
We took Brady
for an eight week check-up. He was just
shy of 10 pounds and was 21 inches long.
He was measuring in the 3rd and 5th percentiles. My doctor was ecstatic that he made it on the
charts! With good growth, he was now
able to have his follow-up testing done.
October, 2013
- Week 3
A week later I
returned to Children’s Hospital for an EKG and renal ultrasound. Brady’s EKG came back normal! No arrhythmia, faulty valves, or regurgitation
- at least not enough to cause him an issue.
God is good! On the other hand,
both kidneys were still holding fluid and were dilated to the moderate-severe
category. His ureters were also dilated. Now that Brady had grown, the doctors wanted
to do a special test called a VCUG – Voiding Cystourethrogram - to see if he
had reflux. This occurs when the valve
in his bladder isn’t working properly causing the urine to push back up. If reflux was causing the issue, they would grade
the severity on a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the most severe.
We were able
to schedule Brady’s VCUG for the following day.
It was just him and I for this test as I knew I would need to be back in
the procedure room with him. They
strapped down his chest, arms, and legs to the table (very awful for a parent
to see) so he couldn’t move at all. He
stared up at me with those big brown eyes and I just kept smiling to let him know
he was safe. Dye was injected through a
catheter and a series of images were taken to follow the flow. This procedure took over an hour and after
lots of uncontrollable crying from Brady, I was able to hold him and get him
dressed. We left the hospital and met
mom and Tessa for lunch.
I went for a
walk that afternoon and received a call from the doctor (there were too many at
this point to keep track). This test
confirmed that Brady has VUR – Vesicoureteral Reflux. One kidney was graded a 4 and the other a 5.
October, 2013
- Week 4
After a fun
Sunday of Trick-or-Treating with the kids at the outdoor mall, we returned home
for dinner. I noticed Brady was
warm. He had a fever. It continued to increase over the next couple
of hours. We called the pediatrician for
advice and later that night David was driving Brady to the ER. The fever was not coming down and all the
initial tests came back normal. Then
David called to tell me they were doing a spinal tap. I completely lost my mind. I continued to stay at home with Tessa while
she slept but in the wee hours of the morning I went to the hospital and left
Tess with my folks. Brady was admitted
to the fourth floor with a severe kidney infection, a hospital acquired infection
from his VCUG the week prior.
 |
| We Watched A Lot Of Mickey Mouse In Those Early Mornings |
We spent
five days in the hospital. Luckily they
had a playroom nearby for siblings and a library to check out books and
DVDs. That helped me keep Tessa
entertained as David had to be at work during most of this. We were discharged on October 30th
– just in time for Halloween.
December,
2013
Now that the
doctors knew the cause of Brady’s hydronephrosis and had graded the severity of
the reflux, it was time to see how much damage his kidneys had endured. This would be done with a DMSA scan. I don’t know a ton about this so I will copy
info from literature we were given to describe it. “A DMSA scan is a radionuclide scan that uses
dimercaptosuccinic acid in assessing the renal morphology and structure of the
kidneys. It is the most reliable test
for diagnosing acute pyelonephritis.
DMSA in injected intravenously, and uptake by the kidney is measured two
to four hours later.” Needless to say we
were at the hospital for a full day again.
We received a lot of information on Brady’s kidneys after this test.
Where are
things now?
When we moved
we transferred our care to local specialists.
Brady meets with a pediatric urologist here in Des Moines. He is very proactive, informative, but
sometimes too blunt for me (“You would never know your son is so sick when you
look at him.” Thanks doc). There isn’t a pediatric nephrologist in
town. We contemplated continuing our
care with the specialist in Omaha but decided to take a different approach and
have been meeting with one in Iowa City.
We will take
Brady to Iowa City soon to have another VCUG.
Hopefully it will show that his reflux is improving, his hydronephrosis
is minimized, AND hopefully we avoid a hospital stay like last time!
1 Samuel 1:27
I prayed for this child and the LORD
has granted me what I asked of him.
No comments:
Post a Comment