December was filled with more appointments than I thought it would.
On Dec 8th I met with my regular ob for my monthly check up. Paul couldn't be there with me so I had my mom join me. (I've decided from now on, no appointment will be easy breezy) My OB is wonderful and we talked about the diagnosis and what this meant from here on out. We also talked about the travel plans Paul and I had up to the north. She was really against me being in the car that long and then stress it would put on me and therefore Shea. We went ahead and made an appointment for January for my glucose test, but with the knowledge that I would have to go to another OB at some point since she doesn't haven't privileges at CMC-Main (which could be a possibility)
Dec 18th Paul and I met with the pediatric cardiologist with fetal specialty. We had an echo cardiogram that lasted forever! Little man was so not cooperative! We were probably in there for an hour and half. About half way thru the tech took a break to talk to the doctor. I drank some water, relieved my bladder, and literally jiggled my tummy around trying to get Shea to change positions so we could get some images of his heart. When the tech came back, Shea had moved some and we got better images of his heart.
We officially do have the diagnosis of Tricuspid Atresia with VSD. Here are some links you can follow if you want to learn more about this defect:
The VSD is actually a really good thing. It means there is a hole in the heart between the right and left chambers of the heart. Without that hole the heart would be less than functional. And our hole is large, which is also good. It could mean that we will not need the first surgery at birth (BT shunt) As the hole gets smaller and starts to close, that's when we will need surgery. No one can predict when that will be. It could be a few weeks after birth or we may not even need it at all. Shea may be old enough to have the Glenn. It's safe to say, we have no idea when he will need surgery, and won't know until he arrives!
We met with cardiologist after the echo cardiogram. He was very impressed with the research we had done and the questions we had. He also thought staying here in Charlotte was a very good possibility for us. CMC-Main is where I would deliver and Levine's Children Hospital would be where Shea would chill out and have surgeries. The head surgeon is leaving but the 2nd in command and the new one coming in apparently are amazing. So much that our cardiologist said he would be 100% confident if it were his wife and son facing what we are. What does that mean? Now it means that Charlotte is back in the running for us. We haven't made a decision yet, but we are willing to consider Charlotte now.
(Side note: I have a college friend, who even though I haven't spoken with in years, that I reached out to immediately after our appointment. She is a child life specialist, has worked at CHOP and now works at Levine's. After lots of conversation with her, we agreed that Charlotte could be a serious possibility for us. )
On December 28th Paul and I went back to the fetal/maternal doctor. We love this doctor and were looking forward to seeing sweet Shea on the ultrasound. This was by far the best behaved Shea has been! The tech was able to get some great measurements. We have some sweet pictures of his foot too! Paul said that the feet were the best he had ever seen. (this from the man who hates feet!) We asked about a new OB and he recommended a practice that had been recommended to me by that college friend I mentioned earlier. I shared my concerns about having to meet with all the doctors (its a large practice) and he said I would meet with just one doctor because our situation is special. That definitely calmed my nerves some. We will continue to see the fetal/maternal doctor every month.
Looking ahead to January we have a bunch of things happening! We meet with my new OB this week. (I have come to the realization that I no longer care about who delivers my baby, just as long as Shea is taken care of right away.) I may or may not meet with my old OB to have my glucose test as well. That will be up to our new OB. (My guess is that he will have me cancel that appointment) On January 14th we will get to go to Levine's and have a tour. We also will be able to meet with some of the NICU team, neonatalogist and some other people too. We also meet with the fetal/maternal doctor close to the end of the month. (Whew! Busy month ahead of us!)
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