Lots of Updates...
Surgery Update:
Surgery went well - I was slightly nervous about having surgery, nonetheless in my abdomen, while being pregnant. I think my procedure lasted less than 75 minutes. Upon waking up in recovery, I was in some pretty intense pain and then I had a very sharp/hard contraction. Overall, the nurses quickly got my pain under control and then they called for my OB's resident to come and check P's heartbeat (via Doppler). I was in recovery for quite some time and there were some strange birds in the recovery unit as well... at least I was entertained. After Dr. Jones (OB resident) came and checked out P, I was finally given the okay to be moved into a more private room (where I was reunited with my mom and we stayed until I was discharged).
Let me tell you one of the downfalls of a general anesthetic... when you're put to sleep, obviously your entire body goes to sleep... here's the kicker - I drank tons of water in the first recovery area and felt the urge to pee... well my bladder was still asleep. I sat in the bathroom for 10 minutes before I finally gave up. A little while later I decided to give it another try (since I had to pee in order to be discharged)... the teeniest amount came out after lots of convincing and begging my bladder to work (but hey, it was some progress, right?) The nurse brought me some graham crackers, more water and after another, very successful, bathroom attempt, I was finally free to go home to my sweet baby boy!
I've been going ever since I got home. I fed B dinner that night and I haven't stopped yet. On Friday, I got up and baked B's birthday cakes because my little man TURNED ONE! How did that happen? Where did the time go to? But I will honor my sweet baby's birthday with it's own separate post.
On Monday, after taking B to the pediatrician (more to come on that later), I had a follow-up appointment with my OB. He did an exam to check my cervical length to make sure I had no shortening occur. He asked me I had been cramping and I told him quite a bit. He told me to come back about 1 hour later because he wanted to do an ultrasound to get an actual measurement. All is well with my cervix (thankfully) and with P. I wasn't given an exact measurement but my doctor seemed pleased with the length. He told me if the cramping keeps up, to call them back. He is attributing the cramping to the possibility that I may have had a catheter during surgery or the amount of fluids they pushed through me... who knows... but the cramping, as of today, is still persisting. I actually stood up from the table a little while ago and my breath was taken away by some hard cramping and tightening. I had to slowly walk to the kitchen while waiting on it to subside. I am still cramping a good bit as of this morning.
Overall, my recovery is going well. I had to go see a surgery resident yesterday (my surgeon is out of town) because on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, I felt pulling to the right of my belly button. Wednesday morning, along with the pulling feeling, I felt a pop. So I called the nurse and she suggested for me to go in. The resident poked and prodded in my lowest incision to feel for a hernia and thankfully, I have no signs of one. They decided to run some blood work on me and everything looks good. I still feel pretty bruised on my abdomen - don't know if that's normal or not.
WHEW... did you make it through that? Be prepared for much more after this...
B:
Mr. B turned ONE on Friday (August 28). We had a tiny gathering to celebrate... but again, I am saving all of those details for an upcoming post.
On Saturday (last weekend), B was definitely not feeling well. He ran fever all weekend - the lowest was 101.2 and the highest was 101.7 - not too bad. But poor B was miserable - all he wanted to do was lay around, cuddle with his blanket and be held by his mommy and daddy. We, of course, completely obliged. I called the answering center for his pediatrician's office and within 30 minutes his pedi called us back {she is fabulous}. I told her what was going on and she said if his fever got any worse to call her back but if not, she wanted to see him Monday morning. Thankfully, his fever remained the same the rest of the weekend. Brice showed some improvement on Sunday - his demeanor was better. He actually crawled around and did some smiling and laughing. We took him to Smoothie King thinking he might eat a smoothie... that was a no-go.
Monday morning came bright and early and fever-free! My mom picked both of us up and off we went to the pediatrician's office. His ears and throat were clear and more importantly, his lungs were clear! I was so relieved to hear that. We went over a chunk of his lab work that as of the last time we had spoken was unavailable. This portion concerned his immunoglobulins. We have 5 different immunoglobulins: IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE and IgD. If you care to read more about what each particular one is responsible for, you can do so HERE.
His IgM is level is low; his IgA level and IgG levels are borderline low (for his age, the range for IgA is 12-75 and his is 15; for IgG, the range is 247-910 and he is 267). The pedi said if anything she expected to see his IgM level high because was in the middle of fighting pneumonia and it really concerned her that it came back low. She referred us to an immunologist. We will be seeing Dr. D on September 15 to figure out this whole situation. The levels he is deficient in have nothing to with allergies (food or airborne); his levels concern his ability to fight infection - bacterial and viral (but again you can read all about it at the link I posted). Our pedi also stated that this is the cause for him getting sick so often and taking so long to recover from each illness.
I've tried to research low immunoglobulin levels in general and more specifically, in children, and I don't get very far. Some of the articles I've read state that it's very rare and I've read (multiple times) the statistic of it occurring in children is 0.03%. I've also read that it can be something as minor as (and I use that term very loosely) him being sick often, because his body just can't defend itself, all the way to cancer. When my mom and I were reading the site that I referred you to above, the only thing that was consistent across the board for the three Ig's that he is deficient in, was leukemia. So do you see how frustrating this situation is? I enjoy reading and researching and I despise the fact that I cannot get anywhere. Daddy and I know that we cannot put even one of our eggs into any basket. We refuse, at the moment, to let our minds go down the road of cancer. We are very anxiously awaiting his appointment.
For now, we've become more strict with hand-washing, sanitizing, and disinfecting. We are also be very cautious around those who are sick/have been sick and those who have been around them. We have a 3-day rule in effect - if you've been sick or around someone that has been sick, we ask for a 3 day waiting period to occur before contact with B. We are avoiding large crowds, especially since the flu seems to be rampant here. We just cannot take any chances and we don't want to feel as though we could have avoided an illness. We certainly don't want to make B a bubble boy, but we are taking precautions for now.
I received paperwork from Dr. D's office detailing what to expect at the first appointment and the usual intake forms. Since he has an immunology issue, we can expect more blood work - at least I will be prepared this time (unlike last time). The only thing I am less than thrilled about is that we will have to wait a couple weeks for those results. I don't like waiting when it comes to health related issues. It brings me back to a time in mine and Daddy’s life - many, many years ago - when Daddy had a cancerous growth removed from his back. God was with us back then because the mass below the surface was incapsulated. His fantastic oncologist was able to remove everything below the surface without having to do a skin graft. But the waiting involved to hear that everything was removed seemed to last forever - it was two weeks to be exact. But I digress.
I despise waiting on health issues. I despise not being able to research what could potentially be wrong with B. I am scared that something could be (seriously) wrong with him. I am a huge ball of emotions sprinkled with pregnancy hormones. Like I told Daddy the other day, I am just taking it one day at a time and trying to keep my head above water. I am far from freaking out because (1) it's not warranted and even if it was, it would do no good; and (2) it would do no good.
I know that no matter what God has us wrapped tightly in his arms. He will take care of us... of B. He has been there before and will be there forever. Whatever he has in his plans for us, we are ready for (and let me tell you that's a hard statement coming from a control freak like myself).
PIERCE:
I am 23w 1d pregnant today! This little boy is a wild one! He is constantly kicking and moving. He continuously kicked one of my incisions for the first 3-4 days after surgery. I am pretty sure he is going to be a little firecracker once he exits my womb. I had an ultrasound 1 week post-op to confirm that my cervix had not shortened. His heartbeat was 156bpm. My cervix looks good. I go back to the doctor on September 16.
Daddy:
My husband is wonderful. He surprised me after surgery by getting home earlier than expected – He was in Atlanta for work! I know that he was less than thrilled about having to be away while I had surgery, but it was work related and no one else could go in his place. He spent all of last weekend taking care of me and B - he did anything and everything I asked of him. I am very blessed to have him as my husband.
Ok... I have more that I can say, but for now, I will stop. Look for another post in the coming days. I will be taking B to the pediatrician on Wednesday for his one-year checkup. I will probably do a birthday post and then another update post. I am hoping life calms down a little so that I can post more often. Take care and enjoy your Labor Day weekend!
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