Monday, June 24, 2013

HUGE Update on Kanaan!

I'm going to go ahead and try to update everyone on what's been going on in the last few weeks with Kanaan.

On 5/31/13 we went back to Springfield to check on Kanaan's fluid level. We were hoping that his fluid levels would be improved. However, they were still at a 1. Kanaan was looking good though. Dr T. said it was up to us when I would be admitted to the hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy. I was thinking we should come right away so that if he laid on the cord we could deliver him right away instead of him passing away before we knew. After Dr T we met with Dr. B the Neonatologist. He explained that since Kanaan's fluid is so low that his lungs would be less developed than other babies born at the same gestational age with regular fluid levels so his chance of survival were much less. He advised that based on our situation and Kanaan's chances of survival it would be better if we waited until we were 26 weeks to be admitted. If he were to be born before that he would most likely not survive at all. He said that even if we were able to make it full term his lungs may still not be developed enough to allow him to survive. He said that there is still a chance that he may not make it to 26 weeks. So we decided that June 18th when we would be 26 weeks we would be admitted for monitoring. Being admitted does not mean we would deliver him right away, but that he would be monitored so that if he did lay on the cord we would be able to deliver him right away so that he wouldn't be cut off from oxygen so long.

On 6/13/13 we had our last regular doctor appointment with Dr. K. We didn't get to have another ultrasound but she did do a NST (Non Stress Test) where they hook me up to 2 monitors, one to monitor if I'm having any contractions and one to monitor Kanaan's heart rate. He looked good on the NST and we were measuring 26 weeks even though we were only 25w2d. Which means Kanaan is still growing!

On 6/18/13 we were admitted to St. John's Hospital in Springfield. They hooked me up to the monitors and did all their blood draws and added an IV. The first day and night I was on continous monitoring. During the day he stayed on well, but once I tried to sleep he kept wiggling away and the nurses had to keep coming in to reposition the monitors. I maybe got 3 hours of combined sleep.

On 6/19/13 we had an ultrasound and Kanaan weighed 2lbs 3oz, which is still a bit ahead of his gestational age. Which is good, because the low fluid can cause growth problems, plus the bigger he is the better his chances are once he's born. He also had moved from breech (head up) to transverse (lying sideways) the doctor was surprised that he had enough fluid to change positions and said that was good. However, they couldn't find the kidneys in the ultrasound. The doctor wanted me to have an MRI. The concern was that since Kanaan was growing his kidneys should be growing as well. If he didn't have any kidneys on the MRI he wouldn't make it at all once he was born, if they were there and just small then his chances would be better. I was really nervous about the MRI, I had never had one and tend to get claustrophobic. Also I've always been sensitive to loud noises. Even though the MRI was scary I got through it ok.The doctor also said that since he looked so good on the monitor, (he hadn't compressed the cord at all) that we only need monitoring twice a day. I did ask if we could do it three times a day just for my sanity that everything is ok and she said that was fine.

On 6/20/13 the doctor came in to give the MRI results. Basically they found 1 abnormally shaped kidney instead of 2 regular ones. They said he has what is called horseshoe kidney, they said that it is fairly common and most people that have it don't even know it. Although the concern is that his may not be working properly because the fluid is so low. They said he has some function because there is some fluid in the bladder, and he does have a bit of amniotic fluid. They also said that his kidney is in the front of him instead of near the back where it should be. The location isn't much of a concern, just the function. We won't know how his kidney function is until he is born, they said if it is really low they could do dialysis on him and worse case he would need a kidney transplant. Also the main concern is still that once he is born his lungs may not have had enough fluid to develop his lungs.

Today 6/24/13 they did another ultrasound to check his fluid and he has moved back to breech, and his fluid is at 2.5cm!!!! That's still really low but better than 1 and they didn't actually tell me this until today but at my last ultrasound it was at 0. YAY for improvement!!! That's higher than it's been since we found out it was low.

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