WE ARE HERE!

After 9 months of worry, stress, fear and anxiety the moment we have been in pins and needles waiting for has finally arrived.  Steuart had his lung surgery on Thursday at Children's Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham.  We had an idea of what we were dealing with but were not 100% sure until the surgeon got in but now know exactly what it was.  He was diagnosed with a CCAM at 18 weeks gestation. At about 34 weeks the diagnosis was changed to a CCAM/ BPS hybrid as they found a feeder vessel from the Aorta to the mass.  The CT scan he had up here at about 3 months of age showed the mass still there, vessel still there but also showed a second vessel that hooked to the right lung.  They had never seen anything like that before.  They were under the impression that they were going to have to take the entire lower lobe of his left lung.  As it turns out the mass was not fully in his lung but was attached to his lung.  It was an extra lobar BPS.  They did not have to take as much of the lung because of this and were able to cut the blood supply to that vessel and cauterize it.  The second vessel as it turns out was not feeding a second mass- more good news.  Baby Steuart is doing well and is 5 months today.

The staff at Children's has been amazing.  We have had a wonderful experience here and although I am ready to be out of the hospital for a while, if we ever had to come back for Steuart or Hunter this is where I would want to be.

We have been on the special care floor since Thursday and may be moved to the surgical floor tomorrow which is a step down.  At this time they will likely remove his chest tube and then we should be able to come home on Monday.

I appreciate all of the support, thoughts, prayers, and kind words from everyone at this most stressful time.  I am very happy with the outcome and very glad to be able to put this behind us soon.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and thanks for checking on Steuart and the rest of us!

I've said it before and I will say it again.....a million times.....I LOVE MY OB TEAM!

"People pay the doctor for his trouble; for his kindness they still remain in his debt."  - Seneca

Many of you that keep up with my blog know of the issues that we have had concerning Steuart's medical issues.  Although his particular case could not have been prevented it was made much easier to get through by my primary OB team.  I say TEAM because every single one of them was crucial to getting me through my pregnancy.  And they remain a huge part of my postpartum care.  

When I moved to Mobile I was looking for a good "girly doctor".  Everyone told me to go to Helen Rogers.  They were right.  She is amazing and I just thought she was the sweetest doctor.  Then I became pregnant with Hunter and saw her more.  And her nurses.  They were a really nice group but just nice people I saw when I went in to the doctors office.  The few years in between we grew closer as I was in much, much more.  I never realized what an important role EVERYONE in that office plays until recently.  

Let's start with the first person you see when you check in.  Everytime I walk in that office she knows me by name.  Greets me with enthusiasm, asks how Hunter is doing and when I leave tells me to have a great week and she will see me next time.  That personal touch is important at a doctors office.  Especially when you are stressed and scared.  The next stop is the lab.  I have had the same lab tech there for years and she is GREAT.  You cannot even feel needles when she takes blood and she speaks while you are sitting there.  She doesn't seem annoyed to be there, she is always very friendly.  I hate needles and always have to look away and so she will engage me in conversation to pass the time while I am sitting there so I don't pay attention to the needle in my arm.  I'm convinced that Jennifer the ultrasound tech helped save Steuart and were it not for her we may not have had such a great outcome.  She is the one that initially found the mass on his lung at 18 weeks.  I also saw her just about weekly for the duration.  Leana and Jenny, my doctors nurses are beyond amazing.  They have been there ANYTIME for ANYTHING.  Seriously.  Anything.  And by anytime I mean I have had to contact them on holiday weekends and they were there.  And Dr. Helen I just adore.  She is the most caring doctor I have ever had.  She genuinely cares about my health and well being.  And I know that.  She is very popular and hard to get in with.  Sometimes the wait is long but it is so worth it.  That team has been through a lot with me.  Starting before Hunter.  They have been there when I was trying to get pregnant, through pregnancy loss and through a high risk pregnancy and were caring and attentive every step of the way.   You know you have a great group when they will call you to check on you just to make sure you are ok.  When they go out of their way on their day off to care for you or make sure you are able to get the medication you need.  Hunter adores them.  He asks if we can go see the "ring pop" doctor.  Every time he is in there with me the nurses will come get him and take him to get a ring pop in Dr. Helens office.  Then, after the appointment she will usually let him go in and pick out another one.  He loves it. 

I adore that team.  For the care that I have been given I will gladly wait two hours in the lobby to see them.  Especially since I have been the patient that has been the reason for the delay in the past.  You never know how important each role of the office is until you are in a situation like some of the ones we have been in and I cannot begin to articulate how much I love all of them.  

So..........if you are looking for a new doctor I HIGHLY recommend them.  They really go above and beyond the "job" and truly care about their patients.  I have seen the same people in that office for 7 years now.  I like the familiarity of it, it's like a family.  I am looking forward to going through menopause with them and the day the doctor retires I truly do not know what I will do.