We are pregnant with baby#3. We go in for our 8 week checkup and the doctor asks if we would like to test for CF carrier status in me. I'm not sure why we weren't tested with the first two, but we say "sure". No one in our families have ever had cystic fibrosis. In fact, neither one of us even know exactly what it is.
January, 2009
Time for the 12 week checkup. The doctor comes in and asked if the nurse told me about my bloodwork. I have no idea what he is talking about. He then tells me that I am a carrier of CF and that we need to test David immediately. It is highly unlikely he will also be a carrier, and the baby can only get CF if we both carry the gene. We immediately go down for bloodwork. A few days pass with no phone call. Meanwhile, I am reading everything I can about CF...just in case.
We are packing our bags preparing for our annual trip to Disney. I decide I should call before we leave so I can have my worries put to rest. The doctor leaves me a message after I leave for work. I know this cannot be good since he called me back. I will have to wait another day to hear.
The doctor calls my cell phone just as I get to work and delivers me the unimaginable news....David also carries this gene. In fact, he carries the exact same mutation as I do. Dr. Hyde rushed to get us an appointment with a perinatologist for genetic counseling before we leave for Florida in two days.
We attend an appointment at Johnston Willis where they do an ultrasound. We find out at 15 weeks that we are having another boy! Yay!!! I am so excited. The doctor comes in and briefly describes the disease. He told us nothing I had not already read and then offers us an amniocentesis to see if the baby has CF. We are told there is a 1 in 300 risk of miscarriage. We decline. Off to Florida we go!
February 2009
We go back to the perinatologist. This time we see Dr Christmas. He is fabulous! They want us to come back monthly. They are looking at the ultrasound for echogenic bowel. The ultrasounds are always good and he is a big baby! We decline every amnio, as it would not make a difference anyway.
I went to my family doctor and saw a child that was completely dependant on her mother and bound to a wheelchair. I watched as the mother lifted this adult child out of her chair and put her into their car. I thought about how this mother will always be doing this, or paying a nurse to do it. I fought back tears as I realized that if my baby has CF, it will be okay, and things could be so much worse.
That's me in the middle with the green shirt...my baby shower
June 2009
This pregnancy has been very different from the others. I am very uncomfortable and worried most of the time. The doctor plans to induce me on the 29th. I have been dilating for several weeks now, just as I did with the others.
June 24th: I am sitting in the kitchen talking to my mom. Suddenly, I cannot see her right eye. I ignore it at first, thinking, it must be my contact. It doesn't get better. Soon, I cannot see much at all. I call the doctor that is on call. She tells me to go to the ER, not Labor & Delivery, because she is worried it may be some type of clotting issue. A few moments later, it is gone. David and I decide to take my labor bag and go grab dinner in town. That way, if it comes back, I can go to the ER. While eating dinner at O'Charley's, it happens again. This time, I notice my peripheral vision on the left side is completely gone. Now, I start to worry about a stroke. We head to the ER.
In the ER, they actually gave me a private ER room. They cannot figure out what is going on, so they want to run a CT. I agree. They place an IV to collect blood. After the CT scan, they give me hydromorphone, as my head is starting to hurt. They call in a neurologist, but he cannot come to the ER. I guess he spoke to the ER doc on the phone and told them to admit me to labor and delivery.
In L&D, they give me butorphanol. I am officially unable to walk! The ob on call comes in and checks me. I am 4 cm, but that wasn't really a change from all week, so I'm not in labor. They tell me I will have a full workup the next day, so get some rest.
June 25th: David spent the night, but left early in the morning to get showered, let the dogs out, and see the boys. The neurologist orders an MRI. Wow, I am not claustrophobic, but I do not want to ever do that again! The doctor comes in later and says they do not see anything. I have not had another episode. During his exam, my vision starts to go. As I'm speaking, I start to see flashing zigzags. He says he believes they are migraines with auras. He orders two more types of MRIs, an echocardiogram, and bloodwork. The MRIs lasted about 45 minutes with me 9 months pregnant flat on my back. Not a fun experience! All is clear, so they decide to let my ob tell me what to do now.
Dr. Hyde comes in to check me and says since I'm not in labor, and he cannot induce me today, he cannot justify keeping me another night. I beg him to induce me. I have had such a fear for the last month that he would not be here to deliver this baby. I had this feeling I was going to go into labor this weekend, and he was not on call. He checked me again and I was dilated about 1/2 cm more, so he agreed to induce me the next morning. They give me Ambien to sleep and David spent the night again.
June 26th: The nurse wakes me up at 5:30 am so I can get a shower. They hook me up to the monitor, and I am already in labor with regular contractions! The anesthesiologist comes in to give me an epidural, and the nurse hooks up the oxytocin to speed things up. I feel great. My mom is at home with the boys and no family members are in the waiting room this time. I told everyone to stay home until we call. We do not know if this baby will need emergency surgery for meconium ileus. I told the nurse something felt different so she could check me. I was at 10cm. She calls for the doctor. He is stuck in surgery. Oh no! Not after all this. She disconnects the oxytocin so I can hold out. He walks in later just in time for me to push! I push three times, but no baby. This is unusual for me. Dr. Hyde looks at me and says , " Catherine, you know how to do this". I'm thinking, "I'm not doing anything different from the first two". All of a sudden, he says "McRoberts Maneuver!". The nurses flip me backwards and he uses a vacuum to help Philip. It turns out, Philip was stuck! He was a shoulder dystocia. Thank goodness Dr. Hyde was able to deliver him safely!
12:56pm - Philip is a healthy, 9lbs 9oz and 21" long! He is an excellent nurser and wide awake. We wait anxiously for his first bowel movement to see if he is blocked. Over the next couple of days he does so well, and everything appears normal. We still do not let anyone who smokes hold him without a gown, just in case he does have CF. They do his newborn screening tests, and we know we will have to wait.