Well, I have been MIA for quite some time now, both in my blog and in general. We have had a lot going on that has occupied every spare moment of mine since July.
When I last posted Hunter and I had just completed our tour of the mid Atlantic. Although that was hectic it was the calm before the storm.
The day after we returned from Maryland I had my anatomy scan with my OB/GYN. For those of you that are not familiar, that is a detailed ultra sound usually done between 18-20 weeks to make sure everything is as it should be: brain development, spinal cord, limbs, 4 chamber heart, etc. We had mine and when I spoke to the doctor she told me that they had found something abnormal, a shadow next to his heart. They made an appointment for me to go to the Regional Perinatal Center at Sacred Heart in Pensacola, FL for a more detailed ultrasound with the specialists there. The next week we went and they diagnosed the baby with a CCAM. It's a pretty rare thing, occurring in only about 25-35,000 pregnancies. Basically it is mass of non functioning lung tissue. The doctor explained what could happen- both extremes, good and bad and told us how this usually plays out. If things were to get bad then we would fly up to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for an in utero procedure to remove the mass. And best case it would just go away and we wouldn't have to have any intervention. The most likely case is we deliver in NICU hospital and then the baby has surgery.
Over the next few weeks the mass grew to be pretty large in his little body. At one point his heart was completely displaced- pushed all the way to the corner of the opposite wall and had significant pressure on it. The mass was also so large that it was taking up about 70% of his chest. Luckily we did not have major issues with heart function. He was a little fighter and had a strong heartbeat even though his tiny heart had so much stress. I was going to Pensacola weekly at this point for ultra sounds and fetal echo and going to my primary OB every other week. At about 28-29 weeks the mass had continued to grow and at this point fluid was building around his heart. This can be extremely dangerous so I was admitted to L&D in Pensacola to start a course of steroids with the hopes that the mass growth would plateau and the fluid would disappear. The next week the steroids had helped as the mass had not grown and there was less fluid. At this point they made the decision to have us deliver at UAB. They have the highest level NICU in the region and a very specialized team of doctors in Maternal and Fetal Medicine. So off to UAB we went to meet with a team of about 9 including the pediatric surgeon from Children's of Birmingham that would be performing surgery after birth. From this point we made a few trips to UAB, I was still weekly in Pensacola until 34 weeks and now weekly with my OB for non stress tests, biophysical profiles and to check in. I was spending about 12+ hours in doctors offices weekly. At our last appointment at UAB they decided we would deliver around 37 weeks as to not go into labor in Mobile and after he arrived they would check him out and at that point would determine the immediate need for surgery or if we could wait. They also found a feeder vessel to the mass which changed the diagnosis to a Bronchopulmonary Sequestration or a BPS/ CCAM hybrid. Either way, they are both rare pulmonary anomalies and both require the same surgery. The surgeon will have to remove the lower lobe of the lung to make sure that the tissue around the mass does not turn malignant as well. If the mass is not taken out it can become malignant.
The last few weeks of my pregnancy I was on bedrest mainly because I was in a considerable amount of pain and could not even really walk or sit up too long. They set our delivery date for just after the thanksgiving holiday and we tried our best to spend some time as a family of three before his arrival. Of course until the flu hit. Then we spent the last week and holiday in bed with fevers and sinus infections.
On November 27 at 10:10 am my little miracle baby arrived. Randolph Steuart Dabbs made his entrance via c section weighing in at 6 lbs 12 ounces and came out screaming. That is the best sound in the world for a parent of one of these babies. They took him to the NICU and daddy went with him while I went to recovery. He had some tests run, had a chest x ray and was monitored for a few hours before he was able to come to my room. Because I was feeling well enough and Steuart looked good we were able to leave a day early after a second X-ray was done. He was well enough to come home without immediate surgery.
We will return to Birmingham in January for an appointment with the surgeon at Children's. At this time he will have his CT Scan and we will know more about next steps.
I LOVE being pregnant but this one with all of its complications and stress is a complete blur. I spent the first 16 weeks sick and some time in the hospital for severe dehydration and then as soon as I felt better we were hit with a freight train of stress and worry. Not to mention the horrible battles with insurance over "medical necessity" and " in network doctors." This wasn't something that was public knowledge because we had no idea what kind of outcome we would have until he arrived. I can say that we have the best friends on the planet. They did not hesitate to offer up help and support. Between helping with Hunter when I had appointments and even keeping him when we went to have the baby to just keeping me sane in general, they have been a blessing. Our family has been great. My mother was able to come down for two weeks to help with Hunter and help me, our parents were there for his birth and my sister Ashley even offered to leave Italy and come over if I needed the help. It took a lot- A WHOLE LOT- to get him here but he arrived and is doing great.
Here is to hoping for a positive outcome for my little fighter. I thank god every day for getting my tiny brunette miracle here safely. I am truly blessed with my little family of four.
