Monday, March 1, 2010

Our first day

Today began with an early start. Our first appointment was at 8:30 (7:30 our time), and we figured the hospital was a good 20 minutes from where we're staying. When we thought about morning rush hour traffic and the difficulty of going to a new hospital (with new parking garages, layouts, etc), we figured we should leave earlier and give ourselves plenty of time. We got out the door at about 7:45 eastern time and arrived around 8:15.

What a facility! The Fetal Care Center is part of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and it is a beautiful place. Bright colors, murals, and state of the art technology are *everywhere* there. But there's lots of sadness there, too. As we were walking to our first appointment, a mother carried her son - maybe 2 years old - who had no hair because of chemo and was wearing a mask over his nose and mouth to prevent the spread of germs. We smiled at him, and he waved good-bye when we went our separate ways. We saw lots of walkers, wheelchairs, amputations, and bald heads... and all of them belonged to children. Heartbreakingly sad, yet there were signs of hope and healing, too.

We waited in our room until about 8:45 before the receptionist came to tell us that the nurse midwife who would see us was still helping with a surgery. She (Karen) came into the room at around 9:30 and went over some personal and family health history with us until 10, when our ultrasound was scheduled. We made the 15 minute walk over to where the ultrasound would be - the place is HUGE... we were in 3 of the corridors, and each one felt about the size of a terminal in the airport. Anyway, we waited a while longer, then the tech (Connie) called us back. As far as we could tell, both twins still look healthy. Hearts were beating - theirs and ours, too - so that was a good sign.

Lisa got in for the MRI around 12:15 and had been fasting since 9, per the instructions. The nurses said that it would be about an hourlong procedure, so at around 1:30 I started to wonder what was happening. Finally, around 2 Lisa came out of the room, still in one piece. I was concerned that she had fainted or something - you need energy (food!) when you're carrying two babies. It turns out that our girls were just a bit wiggly, so they needed to have several attempts at some of the pictures.

We didn't quite get through all the things that Karen wanted to cover, so we headed back to her office. She sounded very encouraging to us, telling us, "You don't have any greater risk than a healthy person for the procedure" - which is to say, Lisa doesn't have major health risk factors. A good thing. =)

We just arrived back to the hotel room and had sandwiches for lunch. Lisa is taking a nap after a full day. We had hoped to run some errands and eat out tonight, but Karen told Lisa that she's not allowed to go shopping. =( "Modified bedrest" was the term that she used... so no shopping tonight. Maybe I'll pick up dinner and bring it back to the hotel. And we'll see if there are any good movies on the hotel cable.

Things to be thankful for:

  1. A good, full day of tests. We're thankful that - though they weren't right on schedule - three things are DONE. =) Every step counts.
  2. Good health for our kids. It's something you take for granted, but that ends when you see children in pain. To anyone who has had a seriously sick child: you deserve a medal for courage. Honestly.
  3. Opportunities to love people. We joked around with the nurses and technicians. We smiled and waved at kids. We asked how old kids were. Even when going through tough times, there's plenty of people who could use a smile.
  4. As far as we can tell, our girls continue to do well.

Things to pray for:
  1. Health for our girls. We found out that Twin A is measuring at 12 oz and twin B at 19 oz; 11 days ago, there were at 10 and 15 oz, so the gap is widening a bit. We want to help them while we can.
  2. Peace in our hearts as we think about the implications of modified - and potentially "full" - bedrest. I always LOVE thinking about Corrie Ten Boom's perspective on facing tough times. Her dad would always wait to give her the train ticket until they were at the train station - and never before. He said, "I'll give it to you when you need it." And that's how she saw God's grace, too. He gives it when we need it. If we get ourselves all worked up about how we're going to handle things down the road, it doesn't do any good. Instead, we just trust our Father... He will give it when we need it.
  3. We have an 8:30 (eastern time) appointment tomorrow morning for an Echo-Cardiogram for the twins. We pray that their hearts will look good and healthy... and strong enough that they can survive and thrive after the procedure.
  4. We have a 2:00 doctors' consultation tomorrow afternoon. It sounds like we'll meet the team of doctors that would perform the surgery, as well as find out what all these tests have said about the health of the twins and the likelihood of success with the procedure. We pray that they will know *exactly* what to do to help our girls flourish.
Thanks again for calling on our Heavenly Father with us!
~Jeff

4 comments:

Kim D. said...

Thanks for the update and the specific things to pray about. We are encouraged that Lisa is healthy and we continue to pray for the health of the girls. Love and prayers to you both.

Kim Darling

Crisc said...

Thank You for the update. I don't recall where you are from, but I do know they sent you to 1 of the BEST Hospitals. Update when you can and I will be thinking of you guys today

Jonathon said...

We're praying for you guys!

Christal deBoer said...

Great report Jeff! Thanks for keeping us all in the loop.