Sarah got a little catnap while I typed in the last update. Between the extra rest and the big meal (especially the large strawberry shake) she really perked up for the impromptu appointment with the specialist. The change in her mood caught us both off guard. The specialist thought the cardiologist overreacted…
CANCELLED – BABY WARNING – Doctors have cancelled the Baby Warning issued earlier today. The cancellation came with no notice or explanation. A Baby Warning means that conditions are right for delivery. A Baby Watch means… move over – we’re on our way to the hospital!
This is the second time in as many weeks we’ve gone through this. The moral of the story – don’t see a doctor on Weds! Next week, we’re hiding out on Weds.
We tried defending the cardiologist. Her observations reflected a genuine concern for Sarah and Julie. Unless something had changed, Sarah may well have delivered that day.
After seeing the specialist, we ran back over to the hospital that gave Sarah the steroid shots the previous week. He expressed concerned about premature labor and suggested we get Sarah monitored for a while. We arrived around 4 pm hoping to get a reading on Julie’s status. This trip didn’t turn into an overnight stay, but really soured us for this particular hospital.
Since our old Ob-Gyn doctors had removed (or at least tried to remove) themselves from the case and the specialist hadn’t assigned us a new Ob-Gyn, we waited in a small exam room while the maternity nurses essentially forget about us over a shift change. After much patient waiting, I made several complaints and follow-ups with the head nurse. Eventually, the on-call doctor from Sarah’s clinic came by after completing her rounds. She eventually released Sarah, but only after she had a good long talk to…us.
First, she reminded us of the dangers of a drug her partner had prescribed to Sarah last week. This drug can mask labor pains. It helps mothers-to-be manage the discomfort of pre-mature labor pains, but with a cost. It also masks genuine labor pains so that the mother might not react when false labor turns into the real thing. The other doctor had also explained this, but she confirmed to us again of the dangers of missing normal warning signs.
She warned us that the situation had now become serious. I think she mistook my optimism for naiveté. I can understand her perception. She warned that Sarah might very well lose the baby or that Julie would not survive birth. The doctor told me to look up fetalis hydrops on the web. The cardiologist added this new diagnosis to the CCAM cyst we had faced for the previous two weeks.
Although I understood the implications of the CCAM, I hadn’t had time to process this new information. The doctor’s stern demeanor got my attention although I didn’t display a reaction in order to keep Sarah from panic. I sent out this update in keeping with the previous “theme”. My brother commented that I hadn’t lost my sense of humor…at least not publicly.