Welcome

May 15 Email Update

Hi Friends,

I would like to ask you all to say a prayer for my sister Claire. As most (or all) of you know, she has been having a very difficult time with her pregnancy. Today she was admitted to the Northside High Risk Labor & Delivery unit, for the duration of her pregnancy.

To summarize, at her regular 20 week ultrasound, the doctors found a blockage in the baby's ureter. This caused the bladder and kidneys to suffer some damage, but the specialists were able to perform a miraculous procedure during which they inserted a shunt into the baby's bladder, so that his bladder could drain directly into the amniotic sack. Claire had a number of amnio's during that time, and the procedure itself involved several amnio-type needles, placing her at higher risk for complications.

There is a good chance that the baby will have some level of kidney damage, but the details won't be know until he is born. He also has some minor clubbing of his feet, due to the fact that he was "all scrunched up in there" with so little fluid for some time. And, yes, that is the technical term for it!

She has been monitored at least once a week since then. The baby (boy!) has looked great, and the shunt has continued to function perfectly, to the doctor's delight.

On Monday, at her regular check-up with the perinatologist, they discovered that her amniotic fluid was low... she went in this morning for a re-check, and was admitted to the hospital when they found that there was almost no amniotic fluid at all.

She will be in the hospital for the rest of the pregnancy, which is of course where she belongs, and where she is getting top-notch care. She is on IV antibiotics to combat the possibility of infection, and will be allowed to leave her bed for only short moments each day.

Tonight, while my mother and I had gone to get her some yummy dinner (her hospital option was beef stew) she had a scare with the baby's heartbeat dropping quite low. The nurses were able to position her to get the heartrate back up again, but warned her that if that were to happen again and last any longer at all, she would be rushed to a c-section within minutes. It, of course, scared her quite a bit.

She is 25 weeks and two days right now... the "magic" number we keep hearing is that they want her to get to 28 weeks, at which the survival rate jumps to almost 90%. But, we are thankful for every day that her sweet baby boy can grow and get stronger inside of her.

Claire has an enormous support system, but even some of the strongest women & friends that I know- who have gone through a similar situation- have struggled. Her little girl, Lydie, is almost 22 months now. With any luck, she will stabilize and be able to have Lydie visit on a regular basis.

Also, one of my dear friend's little sisters is her nurse tonight! That was a wonderful surprise and such a comfort to us all as we left her, with all of us in emotional upheaval. (Thanks, Ya!)

Please take a moment tonight to say a prayer for her, and send a happy thought her way. And be thankful for your family, and your health- something we all take for granted way too often :)

Love to you all,
Kathie