Our big scare...

As I have blogged about in previous posts, I have a cognitional heart defect and have been monitored more closely than normal during this pregnancy. I have been having echos done every trimester and they have looked good so far. Last week I had my 3rd trimester echo and then worked all weekend, feeling just fine. On Monday I got a call from my cardiologist who said the pressures in my heart were significantly higher and he recommended me being seen by a specialist at a bigger university hospital. I then talked with my OB who agreed. After talking with Tyler, we decided to go to Duke University which is about 3 hours away.

On Tuesday, My OB spent most of her morning on the phone trying to get in touch with a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor (MFM- basically a high risk OB). On Tuesday around lunch, she called and said she had spoken with the doctors and they wanted me to come down and get admitted as an inpatient that afternoon so I could meet with the whole team and they could run tests in a more timely manner than trying to get it done outpatient. If my pressures really were that high she said they were planning on delivering me early! After a small freak out moment, I gathered my composure and started getting my things together. I had no idea what to bring! Was I going to have a baby this week? in a few weeks? What kind of clothes do I need? Should I take baby stuff?By early afternoon Tyler was able to leave clinical early and we headed out. So many thoughts were running through my head! It is not good to be a ICU nurse and former nursery/NICU nurse married to a med student. We know way too much!

That evening we arrived at Duke and we were taken to the Labor and Delivery floor. We had a great nurse and doctors to come meet with us and talk about a plan. They gave me my first of 2 steroid shots that evening to help mature Audrey's lungs in case she had to be born soon. All of the staff was very reassuring and I felt like we were defiantly in the right place. I knew if anything happened they would be able to take care of Audrey and I.

The next morning I had a repeat echo done by a tech who specialized in doing them on adults with repaired congenital heart defects. He was so smart and did such a thorough job. He showed me things on the echo and explained exactly what he was looking for. Thankfully, my heart pressures were elevated but not nearly as high as they had originally thought. I also was able to have an ultrasound to check on Audrey. She is doing just fine, weighting at about 5 lbs and measuring about 2 weeks ahead in length. This was also a relief to hear. That afternoon a cardiologist that specializes in pulmonary hypertension (which is what my higher pressures are called) came by after looking at my echo. she said everything looked good to her and she was not worried about my higher pressures since I wasn't having any problems. She explained that she expected to see them higher because during pregnancy there is more blood volume being pumped through She said she would look at it again in the morning with some other cardiologist and would let us know if any further testing such as an MRI or cardiac cath was needed. She said both would be safe for the baby if they thought that is what I needed (though I had concerns). That night I received my second dose of steroids to help mature Audrey's lungs.

The next morning, as promised, the cardiologist came in and said she had reviewed my echo again with the other doctors and they were also not concerned (praise the Lord!). She also said that the plan of care for me would be no different with an MRI or Cath so they didn't think I needed either (hooray!). This is what the MFM docs were waiting on. After hearing from cardiology they came and talked with me about "the plan". They said they would let me go home (yay!) and have me see my OB this coming week. In 2 weeks I will come back to see them and have another echo just to make sure nothing drastic has changed with my heart. Then I will see my OB again the following week. The week of Feb 20th we will go back down to Duke and be induced around the 21st. I will be 36 weeks then and Audrey will be closer to term. I will be watched closely but they are going to let me labor and have her vaginally. If for some reason there are issues they will do a c-section. I will then go to ICU for at least 24 hours so they can monitor me more closely. The good news is as long as Audrey checks out ok she is allowed to come with me! We know we will be in good hands and cant wait to meet our little girl!


We are so thankful for all of the text and calls! It was such a whirlwind and there were so many unanswered questions we tried to keep things on the down low. We are so lucky to have such great friends who offered to do anything for us and took care of our 4 legged child while we were gone. We are blessed and Thankful...