Monday, March 7, 2011

Ultrasound #5 & Consultation

Jason and I went downtown today to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for another echo ultrasound and a consultation with a surgeon.  The ultrasound was pretty quick and straightforward.  The technician told me that Logan is head-down (yay!) and that the bulge I've been feeling on the right side of my stomach is his behind.  She then spent the rest of the time taking pictures of his heart.  Logan was pretty active the whole time.  He had the hiccups when she started and he spent the rest of the appointment kicking and turning :).  The technician was still able to get all the pictures she needed, though, and when she was done we met with Dr. Mahle.  He said that the results were consistent with what the cardiologist found at our last ultrasound.  Logan still has L Transposition and VSD (the hole in his heart).  He didn't really give us any other information, though.

After the ultrasound, a woman took us on a tour of the cardiology wing - the ICU and Step-Down area, which is where we'll be staying when Logan has his surgery.  We'll have a room with a tv, vcr (yay!), dvd player (whoa technology!), fold-out bed, and shower.  Honestly, I'm just glad that they offer an area for us to stay so that we can be right there with Logan while he's recovering... even if we won't have much to do :).  While we toured the ICU, we got to see a baby that had surgery this morning.  She was still under anesthesia, but we got to see all the tubes and wires that Logan will be hooked up to.  It was sad to see, but I'm sure it'll be much harder when it's my own baby :(. 

After the tour, we met with Dr. Kirshbom, who is the Assistant Chief of the cardiology department.  He just talked with us about Logan's heart and the different options we'll have.  Unless God performs a miracle, Logan will have to have surgery.  It could be as simple as fixing the hole in his heart, which is a pretty common defect and procedure.  However, in Logan's case, it could be much more serious of an operation.  The doctor said that they may need to do a "double switch" procedure, which would basically put the ventricles of his heart back to where they are supposed to be and also realign the major arteries so that everything works properly.  There are risks with both surgeries, but there are also benefits to both of them.  It sounds like if we don't have the "double switch" surgery, Logan will probably have more heart problems when he reaches his 20's and 30's.

While we were talking to Dr. Kirshbom, he told us that Logan's heart condition is pretty rare.  He said that CHOA only does the "double switch" operation about 3-4 times each year.  It sounds like they do it more than any other hospital in the country, though, which is slightly reassuring.  He also said that the children who have had the operation seem to be doing very well, although they have only been doing it in Atlanta for the past 10-12 years, so it's still fairly early gauge the results.

Anyway, he gave us a lot of good information and answered a lot of our questions, but basically told us that we won't know which direction to go in until Logan is born.  Once he's here, they will do an echo on his heart, which will make things easier to see than when he's in the womb.  He said that I shouldn't have any problems with going full-term and delivering vaginally, which is what I want.  He also said that Logan should be able to wait a few months (or more) before requiring surgery.  It will most likely need to be done sometime between 5-18 months, though.

So basically, everything is up in the air right now.  We'll probably need to go back in another month to check his heart again, but we won't know much until after he's born.  I guess right now we need to pray that things will be clear so that we can make the right decision.  We would appreciate your continued prayers for his heart, health, and guidance for us.  Thanks for reading and I'll try to keep everyone updated :).

3 comments:

  1. I'm still praying for you guys! You have such strength. I can't imagine how difficult this is to face, but we can all tell that you're leaning hard on God. What a testimony.

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  2. prayers for baby logan are coming from me and all of ccf @ uga. i love you guys!

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  3. Prayers for Baby Logan and Mommy and Daddy!

    I had a friend's baby that was born with hypo-plastic left heart syndrome and I spent time with them in the NICU after his little surgery. It's amazing what the Doctors can do, but we never forget (It's a constant reminder) that God is the Great Physician and He is the Giver of Life.

    Believing for a miracle before he's born! :)

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