This first “Julie Kristina Update” resulted from an ultrasound appointment that shouldn’t have happened.
Sarah’s doctors have a fairly standard schedule that they implement for their patients. This includes appointments at regular intervals and pre-determined tests for each appointment. Sometime afterwards, we learned that this appointment wasn’t part of the regular routine.
We might have scheduled this appointment after Julie failed to cooperate for a previous ultrasound, but we can’t remember. Otherwise, one of the people at the clinic may have gotten confused and scheduled Sarah for an extra ultrasound by mistake. Either way, neither we, nor the clinic staff, could remember why we had this appointment.
While appearing as a mistake to us, it became a divine appointment – setting into motion the hectic weeks leading to Julie’s birth. Thanks to a mistake, we learned of Julie’s condition early enough to prepare ourselves and give Julie her chance of survival.
We didn’t know any of this at the time which seems typical when God moves. Here is what we knew back then…
Hello Family and Friends,
I think most of you recall that Sarah is expecting our first child sometime around Mother’s Day. She is a girl and we will be naming her Julie Kristina.
We got some bad news this week from the ultrasound. Little Julie has a small cyst in her chest at her left lung. It’s not life threatening, but will be of concern for the next 11 weeks until her due date. The cyst has some fluid around it and has pushed the heart slightly towards one side. The concern is that the growth will interfere with normal blood flow and heart function. So far, there are no other complications and the doctors haven’t given Sarah any special instructions.
You can learn more about CCAMS from this website: http://fetus.ucsfmedicalcenter.org/ccam/ The videos on the site were very helpful.
We will be seeing a cardiologist tomorrow afternoon and the specialist again on Weds.
Please pray that the body will recognize and resolve the problem on its own (which is the case most of the time).
Sarah is still fighting continual nausea. Also, she will be taking a 3-hour blood sugar test Monday.
Thanks,
Andy and Sarah Horn
After the technician found the problem with Julie’s heart, the doctor at Sarah’s clinic made Sarah an appointment for a specialist in another clinic. We had just enough time for lunch between appointments.
Given the rush, I knew we faced something serious, but the specialist assured us that Julie’s condition was manageable. He setup a new schedule of appointments to monitor Julie and gave us an overview of his approach.
We came home late, exhausted, and a little worried. We focused on being grateful for an early diagnosis and expert care rather than what might happen. We chose to trust God’s character rather than accuse Him. This approach helped us remain calm throughout the next few months.
Who knew mistakes could be so beneficial?