Thursday, March 24, 2011

Journey of Mason: Our Trip to Anchorage...Amino? or no Amino? '

Journey of Mason: Our Trip to Anchorage...Amino? or no Amino? ': " Finally got our orders to go to Anchorage! Mike got to go with, What a RELIEF! Ahhh the nerves, the worries..."

Our Trip to Anchorage...Amino? or no Amino? '

       Finally got our orders to go to Anchorage! Mike got to go with, What a RELIEF!  Ahhh the nerves, the worries, sleepless nights, thoughts of all the "What ifs?" replays of the doctor appointments and what each doctor had told me. Lots of Anxiety. When I was first told about Mason possibly having down syndrome I read stuff like this Many children with Down syndrome are also born with heart, intestine, ear, or breathing problems. These health conditions often lead to other problems, such as airway (respiratory) infections or hearing loss. Alzheimer disease, seizure disorders, bone, muscle, nerve, and joint problems, mental retardation, development delay the list goes on. The last thing I was worried about was his looks. I was concerned and feared  about his health and If he would survive after having him. 
      In Anchorage sitting in the waiting room waiting,my heart was pounding, I was breaking out in red blotches,  squeezing my husbands hand, and taking deep breaths. To say the least I was freaked. My husband a little worried himself kept reassuring me that everything will be fine.
       Women and their husbands would come out to the lobby with smiles and 3D ultrasound pictures. I was trying to stay positive but had my doubts I would be walking into the waiting room the same way. 
      We were called back to a room to talk to a geneticist. We talked about if there was any health issues in our families,  We went through how many brothers and sisters we both had, if they had kids and how old, talked about our parents health, grandparents health and so on... everything was normal and healthy. 
      We continued to talk and she asked what the doctors said. Mike and I told her everything. She said Masons thickness wasn't to concerning the numbers were above average but nothing toooo alarming. Hmmm that was news to us as we have been told differently. She said normal was 6mm in the second Trimester, and under 3 in the first Trimester. Masons neck was measured in the second trimester at 19 weeks and measured 8.5 but the doctor told us they were looking for Mason to be under 3 mm. So we were told wrong by the doctor at Bassett. Not sure who to believe at this point. 
      She said by looking at the notes from the ultra sound tech she wasn't too worried about the out come of down syndrome. Feeling a little more at ease I was ready to go in and get a 3D done to look for certain signs of downs. Our doctor had a labor emergency and she had to leave for the day. UGH! Let the suspense carry on.
 So we came back the next morning, but feeling comfortable not so worried ready to get this appointment over with. I laid back got all gooped up and watched the big screen, holding my husbands hand. Listening to the doctor say big words then good at the end of her sentence I said " I don't know what those big words mean but I know what good is." lol. We continued looking and everything checked out normal. The first thing we noticed was the way he laid in my womb. He was arched almost to a upside down C and his neck was almost touching his back. The doctor pointed out right there is where they got the measurements wrong bc of the way he held his neck back. Mike and I joked about a chiropractor after he is born because he looked sooo uncomfortable. The doctor got us some good pictures to take home, and gave us a dvd of Masons ultrasound because we had to reschedule. The doctor told us a 3D doesn't confirm if he has a chromosome defect and we could still get one if we wanted to know 100 percent. Mike wasn't up for me getting an amino done from the start and I was convinced enough we had a healthy nugget that we passed on the amino. As we were walking out of the room the geneticist asked how everything went, the nurse gave me a hug out of excitement, we all celebrated. Lots of smiles coming out of the office! wooo hooooo!! 
      Lots of excitement and relief but a little anger towards the doctors back home. I got my ultrasound done at 19 weeks, and am now 29 weeks pregnant. That is 10 weeks of worries 70 DAYS of  fears, blog addiction, talking about downs, tears, sleepless nights, not enjoying my pregnancy at all bc I was scared of loss. Which I experienced the year before and just a stream of  emotions. but What can you do?
      Mike and I were prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. 

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Journey of Mason: It is March 9th 2011. A month has gone by since m...

Journey of Mason: It is March 9th 2011.
A month has gone by since m...
: "It is March 9th 2011. A month has gone by since my last blog. Being a military wife and getting my orders to fly to Anchorage is a process ..."
It is March 9th 2011.
A month has gone by since my last blog. Being a military wife and getting my orders to fly to Anchorage is a process aparently. Normally when I dont get a phone call when they say I am going to, I call them and call them ANNNND CALL THEM. But since my husband was in California for training I was going to wait for them to call me and not push the whole "going alone" thing bc it is important to both me and my husband for him to be there.
Yesterday I had my checkup. I told the doctor Mike was in NTC last appointment when the other doctor went over my Ultra sound findings and asked her to catch him up on everything.
 She started by asking " What is your understanding on what a thickened neck means?"  At this point I felt like I was at school as she looked at me and waited for my answer. I told her it was a major sign of down syndrome. She said I was correct. haha If she only knew the hours I spent researching Downs, reading blogs about parents who have kids with Downs and the many questions I have asked my prior doctor she would probably feel silly.
My last doctor went over the jist of everything and didnt give me a whole lot of details. She said he showed 3 major signs of Downs and she wanted me to get an amino done with in the next week or so. 
This doctor was open to all our questions, told us a few stories, went over my ultra sound results word for word, and gave us facts about Downs.  Everything she said was still very concerning but somehow I felt at ease. I didnt know if it was bc I had my husband there holding my hand and I wasnt alone, or how comforting the doctor was or if I was over the shock of hearing the possibilities and ready to face the music.
      She told us Masons thicknesss was measured at 8.5mm and normal is up to 3.0mm and pushing it but still acceptable is 3.5mm. She told us his measurements were very abnormal and concerning. She also informed us that Masons nose appears normal. Not your typical downsyndrome nose, but at the end of that sentence she said not all Down syndrome babies have a small button nose, it would be normal to have a normal nose. She told us Mason was in the lower 30 percent for his Height and Weight. He was measuring small. We have a 5 yr old and he always measured very big. Being born at 9lbs 3 oz and 21 and half inches long, so it was definately something new to hear.
       She continued to read there was no signs of Heart defects but not always can they be found so early. I asked her by looking at all the information if she was concerned about a high chance of downsyndrome. She said yes. she said the ultra sound tech who read my ultrasound is good at his job and has not been wrong. When he thinks it is down syndrome it has turned out he was right. Mike asked since the thickness of the neck was the only Major concern is there anyway that Mason could be normal. The doctor took a breath and said " no"  The measurment for the neck is so high and abnormal there is something not right.
We talked about the things the doctor in Anchorage would look at. He would look at the feet, hands, ears, eyes, heart, liver, and brain as they would show more pointing to Down syndrome. As of now Mason is small but healthy.But the heart would be looked at more in a bigger better picture. As 50 percent of Downs babies have a heart defect. The only way to be diagnosed for Downs is to have an amino done. Which is still up in the air. Mike says " umm no" and Im okay with it as I think it would help me get prepared.
We heard Masons heart, and left the doctors office. On the car ride home we talked about our conversation with the doctor. We were relieved to hear medically, so far Mason is okay and that was the only Major concern we as parents had. The doctor called Anchorage and they should be calling me to set up an appointment by tomorrow. Mike will be able to go with me and I am sooooo Thankful as he makes me feel comfort and strong.
The night before a doctors appointment and the night of, I cant ever sleep I practically live on the computer doing research, and reading blogs and praying for strength and comfort. I accept what the good lord gives me but I certainly feel the lord and I are on different pages of what I can handle. lol