From the beginning.....

Here is the story of our "Tripp" or journey that we have been on for the last 5 1/2 months....

I found out I was pregnant on January 24, 2011.  I remember approaching John about it with an uneasy feeling.  I was excited but had already figured out my due date and it was October 1.  What's the big deal about that date most people would ask.  Well, it's the day of the Florida-Alabama game and we have season tickets.  All I could think about was "what is this going to do to our football season and traveling down for games?"  Never did I imagine that this "Tripp" would take us in many other directions and that football season and not going to games would seem like the least of my problems. 

Around week 6, I started to feel a little different and had a few issues but my dr. reassured me that what I was experiencing was completely normal and that every pregnancy is different.  I started to feel better and grew a little more excited everyday about this baby that would join our family.  We had our first OB appointment February 15 and got to see the heartbeat and our first picture to take home.  Everything looked great and so we thought we were on the road for a normal, healthy pregnancy.

May 11 was the day that we had been awaiting for a long time.  We took Kinsley with us to find out if she was going to have a baby sister or brother.  As I was lying on the table, the dr. came in to help the sonographer read the ultrasound.  He asked us if we wanted to know what we were having and he immediately said "it's definitely a boy, there is no denying it."  I looked over at John and he was grinning from ear to ear.  Then I heard "Whoa!"  Hope, the sonographer, and the Dr. began to talk and look even more.  I tried to motion for John to come over to me because I could not even get the words out of my mouth.  I started to feel light headed, my ears started to ring, and I broke out into a cold sweat.  I covered my eyes and could not look at the tv to even see the baby on there.  John could not hear any of this and didn't know anything was going on.  The dr. continued looking and asking Hope to go back to the brain to look.  He finally spoke up and said that the lateral ventricles were enlarged and that he wanted to refer me to Dr. Edwards.  Dr. Edwards is a specialist and I knew that this could mean the start of a long journey.  He mentioned to us that the condition we were possibly facing was called hydrocephalus.  He explained that he did not know much about this but that Dr. Edwards could do more extensive tests.  I thought that I would have a couole of days to take this in while we waited for an appointment with Dr. Edwards.  WRONG!  When I checked out, they told me that Dr. Edwards would see me at 8:00 tomorrow morning. 

The next morning, myself, John, and my sister Tiffany went to see Dr. Edwards to look at what we were possibly facing.  After the sonographer took about 100 pictures, the dr. came in.  He took a look and confirmed that the baby had Hydrocephalus and that it was possibly caused by aqueductal steniosis.  He placed the baby in the moderate to severe category.  He also suggested that we have an amniocentesis done to rule out other possible factors such as spina bifida, trisomy 13 or 18.  He said that he felt like the spine was ok but was only 90% sure because he could not see the entire thing.  Often times when there is hydrocephalus, there is also spina bifida.  So again, there I go thinking that we can think about the amnio and have a day or two to sleep on since it came with the risk of miscarriage.  WRONG again!  He left us alone for about 5 minutes and came back to hear our decision.  We agreed and within 5 minutes he was sticking that long needle into my abdomen.  So scary!  I then had to leave there and go have the RhoGam shot at my dr. because of my blood type.  I was also told to go home and do much of nothing for the next 48 hours.  So I did.  BORING!!!

I know this post is long but I just want you guys to know the steps we have taken to get where we are now.  We made a follow up appointment that same day to see Dr. Edwards again in 2 weeks and see of there was any change.  On Monday May 23, Jill, Dr. Edwards nurse, called me to give me the results of the amnio.  Aqueductal stenosis was the diagnosis and this was causing the hydrocephalus.  We met with Dr. Edwards on Wednesday May 25 to take another look.  The aquaducts were even more enlarged and measured 21 and 23 cm.  He moved us into the severe range.  Possibly the WORST day of my life.  I knew we had so many peeple all over the country praying for us and I just felt like the prayers had not helped anything.  I knew I needed them more than ever at that very moment but didn't know how much faith I had left.  Dr. Edwards said that he wanted us to meet with Dr. B. Maria, a pediatric neurologist, from MCG.  He travels from MCG to Albany once a month to see patients here and he would be able to see me June 9.  I wasn't satisfied so I called to see if we could meet with him earlier if we traveled to Augusta.  We finally got an appointment for June 1.

Myself, John and Tiffany headed out for our roadtrip to Augusta on May 31.  My dad met us there and we met with Dr. Maria.  When I got there to check in, the nurses kept getting confused that I was the 30 year old patient at the pediatric neurologists office!  When I was called back, they weighed me, checked blood pressure, checked my height, and even my head circumference!!!!!  I felt like Kinsley, my 4 year old!  Dr. Maria talked to us about hydrocephalus and what we could do right now to investigate a little more and maybe have more answers.  He joked with us, made us feel at ease, and had a great bedside manner.  My sister told him that she had been praying for God to send someone like that to us that could make us feel better and shed a little more light on what was going on.  Since he actually sees these kids after they are born and takes care of them he had a little more to offer.  Did I mention he was a UF graduate and a Gator fan?!?!  I knew we were in the right place.  He told us that he wanted us to go ahead and have the Fetal MRI that is usally done at 28 weeks to see if we could see the extent of brain development under the fluid.  I was only 21 weeks but it did not matter.  He told us to wait a few minutes while he made a few calls.  About 10 minutes later, he walked in to say that we had an appointement with Dr. Devoe tomorrow, the Dr. Edwards of Augusta, and a fetal MRI later TODAY!  God was there with us making all of this possible.  We ate lunch at P.F. Changs and headed back to the hospital for the MRI.  For the record, that was one of the worst things I have ever done and do not want to do that again!  I am extremely clausterphobic and that tunnel is so small!  After the MRI, we left Augusta and went to Covington to stay with the Grants, close family friends, and met up with some other friends to try and enjoy the night before we got the results.  We got up at 5:45 to head back for a filled day of tests and drs. in Augusta.  We met with Dr. Devoe, his sonographer, his nurse practinioner, and 2 medical students.  It was a bit overwhelming and I had a mild panic attack during the middle of my ultrasound.  He looked at all the organs and the spine in 3d.  Everything looked perfect and the only thing that we were still dealing with was hydrocephalus.  He did not get a good read from the MRI because Tripp was too busy kicking, running, and flopping around in there.  He said he saw what he wanted and expected from the few pictures that did come back clear enough and also from the ultrasound.  He said that since I delevered Kinsley at 35 weeks, he wanted to start me on progesterone shots weekly to help prevent preterm labor.  He also told me that I would deliver by c-section around 37 weeks at MCG.  I have to go to Augusta every 4 weeks to see Dr. Devoe as well as keep my current appointemets with my regualr OB here.  When Tripp is born and stable enough, a team of neurosurgeons will place a shunt into his brain to help drain the built up spinal fluid.  Hopefully any damage that has been done to the brain can be reversed and the brain will function as normal.  The baby and I will have to stay a while in Augusta.  He will be in the NICU/ICU and we will be at the Ronald McDonald house.  We go back June 27 to meet with labor and delivery, NICU/ICU, and the neurosurgeons.  I will also see Dr. Devoe again. 

Shots start today on June 14.  A nurse will come out weekly to give them to me.  Oh yeah, did  I mention above that Dr. Devoe met with us on June 2 on his day off?  He was leaving for vacation the next day and he wasn't even supposed to be there!!!  God is hard at work! 

Thanks for all of the prayers.  Please keep them coming!  I will update as often as I can.  This is all still new to me!