First I would like to thank each and every one of you for all your prayers and messages of concern. I have already mentioned to some that I was so moved by your thoughts and prayers. It is proof that despite all that goes on in the world with all the divisions that exist between people of different political and religious beliefs, that there is hope for the future if we all stick together and support one another. To have people I hardly know start prayer chains for Tommy and I speaks a thousand words. They don't get anything out of it. They are doing it because they genuinely care. Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
If you have sent me a personal message or email, and I have not gotten back to you, my apologies, it has been a roller coaster of a week, but I do read all your messages, they do not go unnoticed and they do lift my spirits!
Without boring you with all the details, lets just say that after spending most of this week on the phone with doctors on both sides of the country, forwarding on my medical records and getting another ultrasound yesterday to confirm the diagnosis, all hope is not lost. Although my babies are in an early stage of TTTS, and they are showing signs that things could progress quickly to a more severe level, for now (meaning this week), they are stable, and Tommy and I will not be forced to make the decision we were presented with on Tuesday. It has been made clear to us that this could change at any moment and we need to be prepared to act, and so we are. There is a doctor in Miami who is supposed to be one of the best. He is reviewing my records after every appt. and monitoring the situation from there. If after our appt next week or at any time in the coming weeks, the babies do get worse, we can fly there and he will preform the laser procedure to fix the problem. There are still many risks involved if that is needed but he assured me the chances are more like 60-70% all three babies would survive rather than the 10% chance given to us on Tuesday. In addition, my wonderful insurance will cover the cost of my travel and lodging if we have to do that. I am so lucky to have such great insurance! That being said there is no way that Tommy and I will be choosing to selectively terminate any of our babies. We could not have done it anyway, but now we have hope and other options. As far as that other doctor on Tuesday, I am trying to decide whether to file a formal complaint. What if some other poor couple given the same diagnosis makes some drastic decision based on what he says when it might not even be necessary. Its a very scary thought.
So for now, until I am told otherwise I am focusing on rest and nutrition. All I do is eat and I am never hungry. How can I be? Protiein. Protein. Protein. We are also planning to move forward as normal with all the planning. We have to have these fun things to focus on so we don't get caught up worrying about worse case scenarios and what ifs.
Given all of this I happy to announce that we are expecting 2 girls and 1 boy! Team Pink AND Team Blue! The girls are the twins and the boy is the singleton. They are already developing their own personalities. The boy is doing every thing he can to stay as far away from the girls as possible. At every ultrasound he has distanced himself further. He is always low key and just minding his own business. Baby B is the girl who is struggling right now in her development. She does not cause any problems but being the middle child at this point she is definitely getting pushed around a little by her siblings. I have a feeling though that once she gets stronger she will not take it anymore. Baby A is our other girl and the problem child. She is always hogging the camera and acts a bit like a drama queen. She is also always kicking her brother and sister in the face and out of the way. She will be trouble.
So, I guess all of your prayers are working but we still need them. Our babies are still sick and there is a chance they could get worse at any minute. We are choosing to focus on the positive but please don't stop praying for them as they cannot help them selves right now. I truly believe this all could end well if we don't give up on them and keep fighting for them.
One last thank you to all the people who got me in touch with the right doctors and experts who could help us make the right decision. Without your help, we might have made a terrible mistake and our babies would not have had the chance they do now!
Oh Kara, what a great testimony of how God provides hope! I will continue praying for the lil'ones!
ReplyDeleteGod is so good....continued prayers coming your way. Lots of love you cuz! Keep us posted! Love, Ellen
ReplyDeleteKara this is so fabulous! You've given me and my little men more reasons to smile! I love the different personalities too, I hadn't even thought about that! Praise the Lord!!!
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