The Normal looking heart is to the left, and Zoe's is on the right. As you can see, she has some weird anomalies to her heart. Again, everything can be fixable other then fixing the anatomy of her heart (they will not re-route her vein or take out the extra vein since it works for her).
Yesterday I emailed our fetal cardiologist at Children's, Dr. Gotteiner, about going to see Dr. Cuneo and what they found. I had asked her why they believed Zoe didn't have the Coartaction of the Aorta, but Dr. Cuneo thinks she does have it. Dr. Gotteiner said this: "A coarctation is a very difficult thing to confirm in utero as there is a second artery (ductus arteriosus) that enters the aortic arch right where a coarctation develops)". So with that, I know that they will continue to watch out for this, as this is a very important and necessary surgery to have during Zoe's first week of life.
I called and spoke to Dr. Talbot through Children's yesterday afternoon. I had explained what has been found on Zoe's heart and the possible "double bubble". He is organizing us to have a consultation and tour of the NICU Floor to meet with the Neonatologists and C-V Surgeons about what will happen with Zoe after birth. That way we can get a better feel of what we're really in for and to know and meet the team of doctors that will be handling our sweet girl.
I've been googling like crazy since we got the "double bubble" ultrasound picture. It seems to go hand-in-hand with Down Syndrome as well as Heterotaxy. I'm so fearful that our little girl is going to be special needs on top of having all these complicated heart defects. But in my heart, I don't feel like she will have Down Syndrome. Mike, on the other hand, does feel like she has it. I guess we'll find out more tomorrow at my OB full growth scan to see if there are any other markers that pop up for Down Syndrome. I do feel like I need to do the amino for my own piece of mind. I don't want to be worrying about the possibility of Down Syndrome for the last 11 weeks, when I can find out whether or not she has it sooner. My grieving process can start more so then immediately after birth. I probably will only have a few hours with her before she's whisked away, so if I can have some definitive answers before hand, I think it's best for my sanity.
Wish us luck for tomorrow's scan. I'm hopeful that everything else is going ok and she's growing properly.
Love your drawing I can tell it was made with love by a great mom trying to wrap her head around all this. Our family has been thinking and praying for Zoe. Wishing you a holiday season filled with lots of wonderful gifts from god!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing so great! I remember when Megan drew her picture (or had a drawing by someone) of baby Cohen's heart.
ReplyDeleteAlways remember you were CHOSEN to be this sweet baby's parents because you are strong enough and capable enough. God must have a lot of faith in you two.
I was with you on wanting to do the amnio when Mason had his DS scare in utero. I needed to KNOW so that I could be prepared. I was worried that if I didn't know and he WAS born with DS it would put a bit of a dark cloud over the first few minutes of his life as we all came to terms with the fact that our son had DS. And I just didn't want that. I wanted to be able to learn about Downs and prepare myself and grieve it and then move into acceptance before he was born. Thankfully none of the markers for DS showed on our big ultrasound at the pedi cardiologist so we decided we had enough proof that he was ok. But follow your gut on the amnio. Yes there are risks but I'm sure you are in touch with the very best doctors who will take excellent care of you and your sweet baby. Still praying for yall!