Fetal Echo Cardiogram 25 Weeks Pregnant

I saw a Pediatric Cardiologist today. He did a special ultrasound on Aaron Matthew's heart.

Aaron Matthew was not in an ideal position to see the inside of his heart. He is sitting vertical in me with his head up, his feet down and facing my back. That would explain the kicking on my bladder and cervix.

Some good things that the Cardiologist said were good was that he could see the main artery and two veins in the heart and they looked "beautiful."

He did see an Atrioventricular Canal Defect (AV Defect), which is a hole in Aaron Matthew's heart that happened because his heart failed to develop completely.

The doctor showed me in this book this picture and he explained to me the ways that blood is supposed to pump in the heart.  Oxygen rich blood  is supposed to go through ventricles of the heart and empties out through the lungs and back into the chambers of heart again. (I think I have that right, but could be wrong.) He told me that there is supposed to be a separation between the chambers, but with Aaron Matthew's heart, there is no separation it is just a hole and the oxygen rich blood mixes with the other blood from that pumps back from his lungs to his heart.

He said Aaron Matthew is going to need open heart surgery to repair the problem. 

He explained that ideally, they would like to see a baby at least 6 pounds before they do surgery. He said he doesn't see why I would need a C-section, except if Aaron Matthew was in distress. Then he said I would have no choice. He told me that because of his heart defect, he might need oxygen after he's born until his surgery. He said Aaron Matthew will probably be weaker and more tired and it could be difficult to nurse him. He said breast milk is best and he doesn't want to discourage any mother from breast feeding their baby or bonding with them because that is best, but the baby will need a higher calorie intake due to breathing much faster than normal because of the heart defect.  He said that I should expect a NICU visit right after Aaron Matthew is born, but not for long. Just for monitoring for a few days if all is a typical AV Defect. He said that Aaron Matthew would be sent home on medication like lasix to keep his lungs from filling up with blood and other medications as well.

He said typically, baby's with this kind of heart defect recover well and have surgery around 4 to 6 months in age to repair the heart. He showed me what the diagram looks like to repair the heart.

He showed me again on a plastic model of a heart and was explaining to me how things work and all I could think of was "don't cry" as I started to cry. The voice of the doctor was being drowned out by my own thoughts to hold back tears. He stopped talking as I started to cry and the nurse handed me the box of tissues.

It's not easy to be told this news. But my faith and trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't make mistakes. He created, made and formed Aaron Matthew in my womb. He is fearfully and wonderfully made for the LORD's purpose. All for the glory of God. No matter what happens, it is because God allowed it and God will see us through. I am confident in that.

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him

Nahum 1:7