We first met with the pediatric cardiologist this afternoon, who took a more detailed look at the baby's heart. She confirmed that the heart is enlarged and still has fluid around it. While structurally it looked okay (all 4 chambers were there), she did say that one of the valves to the heart was leaking - she explained it to us by saying that it was almost like a back flow. She also said that the baby's chest was very compressed - probably because the excess fluid in the abdomen and chest are pushing everything up to where the heart is. She had a hard time seeing the lungs and some of the features of the heart because of the way everything in the chest was compressed. She did make clear that the heart is in distress.
Next we met with Dr.Yost (specialist like Dr. McGee) who started the Level II Sonogram. She looked at everything again and took lots of measurements. She saw the same issues with the bowels, fluid and heart that we saw two weeks ago. She also thought there was something off with the brain. The measurements show that the baby's development is about 3 weeks behind - almost a month. When we asked what the most concerning problem was, we expected to hear that it was the heart or fluid.....to her it was that the baby was almost a month behind in development.
She wanted to have the baby tested for "viral" issues right away, and they took my blood and sent off the rest of the amnio fluid for what is called a "Torch Panel Test". This panel of testing will screen for infectious diseases that can cause problems with the baby if the mother contracts them during pregnancy, such as:
Toxoplasmosis, CMV (Cytomegalovirus), Parovirus, HSV (Herpes Simplex Virus), etc.
With all the symptoms presented, this doctor was leaning towards CMV because of the small size of the baby - in medical terms the "intrauterine growth restrictions".
She made it clear to us that the baby is very sick, and that it is a whole body problem - not just one symptom causing all of the problems. There is still a definite possibility that the baby will not survive, and if he does, it will not be without complications.
We are supposed to have these tests results back by Tuesday afternoon, and we already have an appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning. And of course there is the possibility that these results will all come back negative as well, and we still don't know what is causing the issues. It could still be a syndrome that we can't test for.
There are not many treatment options at this point, especially since we do not know what is causing the problems. She said that this is something that has been happening for a long while - not just the last few weeks and that a lot of damage has already been done.
One current treatment option is to try to drain some of the fluid from the baby. That can help to alleviate some of the pressure that the fluid buildup is causing, but it does not come without risks of course. And there is always the possibility that the fluid could just build back up within a day or two. That will be an option that we discuss with them next week.
He is still breech and in the same position as two weeks ago, however his hands and legs were quite active during both sonograms. Both of the doctors made a surprised comment about how active he was.
Please continue to pray for the health of our little boy, for the doctors to figure this out, for the decisions we will have to continue to make, and for the strength for us to get through this. We appreciate all of your love and support and will continue to update you with what we learn.
Still praying for you!
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