Cincinnati Children's Hospital

We are here. Here we are. Rick and I got here on Sun. afternoon after a pretty long day of traveling. No quick way to get to these parts via airplane, but all in all the trip went as scheduled and we got settled in.

Mon. we went to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, where I was scheduled for a physical with the nurse, a very detailed ultrasound, and a consultation with the panel of doctors and nurses that would be involved with the procedure. At the end of the discussion, we found that it really was a very complicated decision. The doctor that would perform the procedure felt more comfortable waiting a few days for me to at least be 16 weeks along. There was also the question of risk, where the one unsuccessful procedure they have had out of the 63 they have done was at 16 weeks pregnant. So by giving it a few more days, perhaps the complete panel of results from the amniocentesis would give some conclusive information, as well as having certain structures available from an approach perspective in the surgery process. We left more confused about our decision, but more informed about the risks. We had rescheduled the procedure for Thurs.

Today I got a call from the doctor that would perform the procedure. He said they've had meetings with a number of experts and that another Dr. wanted to do an ultrasound to see for himself. This Dr. is one of the directors of the department, and he felt there may be some more time, if not more options for us. We saw him today, and he believes that baby B may have a chance of survival at least for a few weeks, and maybe until birth or beyond. However, there are still a lot of factors that need to be determined, which means more testing. I have an MRI scheduled for the babies tomorrow, followed by an echo of the babies hearts. Fri. I will have another ultrasound to determine if the cystic hygroma and hydrops has increased. The ultrasound today did not show increase in either, so that's a good sign but not enough to sway the Dr. in one decision or another. The procedure was again put off until we get more results.

Tomorrow should be a long day, but possibly one that can provide some clarity. I am putting all my energy into the hope that both of these babies have the best possible chance at life. Thank you for all your hopes and prayers during this. I'll try to update this tomorrow or Fri. when I have more information.