Give Thanks...it's almost Thanksgiving

With just a few days until the holiday is upon us, I wanted to make an inspirational post to share some of the things I am thankful for this year. Some people may think...with everything going on, how can you be thankful? I can, and I am. I know that no matter how hard things feel, it could be worse. I may be going through some tough times physically and emotionally but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and this too shall pass.

I am very thankful for my husband who is strong when I need him (and I've needed him a lot lately.)

I am thankful for the love and support from family. It's times like this that I love being part of a large extended family because they're always checking in on me and praying for me and Baby.

I am thankful that Camryn is making progress no matter how slow it may seem. He's almost in a semiconscious state according to the doctors and even got to go on a trip outside yesterday! They said he had his eyes wide open taking in his surroundings. That was the first time he's been outside since his accident.

I am thankful that all the tests have come back about Baby and we know we are dealing with just an isolated duodenal atresia. No other abnormalities, no down syndrome or any of the other things they tested for. I would have loved my child either way but from a treatment standpoint, it makes things more simple and easy to treat.

I'm thankful for the knowledge of my doctors who were able to diagnose my cancer and know what the best plan of action to get me back to myself is. I'm thankful that the type of cancer I have isn't aggressive and that it's one of the more curable types.

I am thankful for this little life I feel kicking around inside me. My life has already changed so much because of it. I can't wait to meet the baby and find out if there is a little girl or boy in there (either way it's already just like me in some ways & like it's Daddy in others).

So, as you see...I really have plenty to be thankful for. I didn't even mention the basics of living (home, food, electricity) and still there is so much that I can find good in all the negativity. So, no matter what you have going on, just seek out the positives in your situation and don't dwell on the negatives. Doing so will only get you down.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy the good food, have some good laughs & make some good memories. I definitely plan to!

It's official...

Yesterday, Justin and I had a 12 hour trip total to Atlanta.

We had an MRI scheduled for 5:30 pm at Scottish Rite Children's Hospital (Check-in at 4:30) so they could look to confirm that Baby does have Duodenal Atresia...and also check for any other abnormalities.

Our trip started around 11 am. We left the house, headed over to my Mom's house to pick up some things to take to my step-dad. They came home this weekend to rest, regroup and start again. My Mom went back to work since she carries the insurance and will need some time off for me and Baby and Toby went back to Atlanta to stay on Sunday morning. He left all his clothes that Mom had washed (silly men! They don't think they need clean clothes.) so Justin and I stopped in to grab them so we could bring them to him. We had lunch at the Pizza Place in my hometown and headed on up to Atlanta. We arrived at the Shepherd Center to see Camryn around 3 so it was a pretty long trip up. We visited with them for about an hour. I am very glad I got to go see him. He's making progress, slow but steady and they have a ranking scale they use that says he's one point away from being in a semi-conscious state. (yay, Cam!) Each day he's able to do more than the previous day at therapy and it is so great to see and hear about the progress he's making. So, after our brief visit with him, we headed on over to the Children's hospital to get checked in and all. At around 5:30 they took me back to get me in the ugly hospital gown and talk to me about the procedure.

Let me just say, I hope I never, ever, ever have to have another MRI as long as I live. It was fine at first but about 10 minutes in, I literally had a panic attack. If they had not let Justin sit with me, I'm not sure what I would have done because my arms were all crossed over my chest and I was in a sheet like a burrito and I freaked OUT!!!!! I felt like I couldn't breathe. The baby was kicking. So, the tech stopped and I was able to put my hands up above my head and that felt so much better. I felt like I didn't have a huge brick on my chest anymore. Justin held my hands the rest of the procedure which was way better than the first half. I was so uncomfortable and my back was hurting very bad from the pressure of the baby and laying on the hard little gurney thing, (My back is still killing me today!) but I didn't feel so constricted and I could breath. Justin has no idea how much he helped me make it through those last few minutes in that machine.

When I sat up, I was so dizzy. It took several minutes for me to feel normal. I assume, because they had me flat on my back for so long. They took me back to the room to get my clothes on and sent me on my way. The tech did say when she first started the machine, she got a picture of Baby with it's hands up over it's ears like it was trying to block out the sound. She said it made her feel bad. So we got out of the hospital around 7 and headed back home. We stopped for dinner and ended up pulling in the driveway around 11 pm. Whew! What a day!

Today, I talked to the geneticist at my MFM office and she said they already had the results and it does confirm what Dr. H suspected, that it is in fact, Duodenal Atresia...but on the bright side...they don't see any other abnormalities. We have an appointment on December 11th with a pediatric surgeon in Atlanta for a consultation and will probably be meeting with someone at the Maternal Fetal Specialists office too if they can arrange to meet us the same day, we're just waiting to hear from them. The definite plan is to deliver at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, we just need to meet with a team to determine the logistics.

Crazy whirlwind life!

Well...it's mid-November already. Pregnancy has really flown by. Next week, I will be in my 3rd trimester. I have been so busy with all my doctor's appointments and all the crazy going on in my life. I have written posts several times wanting to update on everything....but before I can post, my phone acts up and deletes everything I've typed.

So, here we try again. I haven't worked since August. The more time that passes, the more complicated my pregnancy gets. It seems like my family just can't catch a break! First, we got my cancer diagnosis. Then, I started having the issues with my blood nu pressure and had to go on medication to control it. Meanwhile, pregnancy is chugging along and I get so worn out easily from the combination of pregnancy and cancer. Some days I just have no energy whatsoever.

Then, while everything seems to finally be getting routine..the extra appointments, the weakness and lack of energy hasn't been quite as overpowering as before..our family got news that my stepbrother, Camryn had been in a car accident and the prognosis wasn't looking too good. Well, we're now 21 days post accident and Cam still hasn't emerged from his coma but things are starting to happen and hopefully he will wake up soon. He's in a rehabilitation center that specializes in brain injury and they have been working with him daily. Yesterday, he even opened his eyes a little & tried to give a thumbs up at the request of the physical therapist! That is so huge! I am worrying & praying for his recovery daily.

We went for my monthly growth scan on Monday, Veteran's Day. During all our other ultrasounds, baby has looked great...even if a little uncooperative. This time, however they noticed that I have now developed polyhydramnios...or have too much amniotic fluid. The doctor came in and looked again and is concerned that the baby has an intestinal defect called duodenal atresia or DA.

While, most people wouldn't even know what this condition is...I knew right away. See, I was born 27 years ago with DA. DA is commonly found in babies with down syndrome (DS) and our doctor offered us the chance to do the amniocentesis to determine if the baby would have DS. We declined. We did however opt for another screening test to look at the risk. We had done earlier screening that came back low risk but that test was only with 88% accuracy. The new one is 99% accuracy. We're waiting on those results. The doctor did say that the baby shows no other typical signs seen in babies with DS. So, it may be stupid of me it I'm not so worried about that. If the baby does arrive and have DS, that's a bridge we'll cross when we get there.

I am really going to try to update my blog with info as much as I can now because there aren't a lot of reading materials of parents going through this. Right now, I am scheduled for a fetal MRI on Tuesday at Scottish Rite in Atlanta to confirm the diagnosis and also look for any other abnormalities. Then, I will see both my regular OB & MFM on the 27th. I am now going to the MFM every two weeks to monitor the amniotic fluid levels because it can cause preterm labor and since baby will need to be born in Atlanta where they are equipped to handle the DA surgery, we don't want labor to start unexpectedly. We are probably 3 hours from the hospital in Atlanta where I would need to deliver. We will be getting a whole team of doctors to meet with in Atlanta including a pediatric surgeon who will do the surgery on the baby. So, there will be lots to update on. Stay tuned for the updates, I will try to keep them shorter from here on out.