Over the course of the next four months, I had to have twenty-seven ultrasounds. I was teaching English at a high school at the time, and missed over forty days that school year, due to the numerous trips to the doctors in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Muskogee. My administrators were very understanding and miraculously, I did not lose my job. My students were also exceptionally good that year.
Not only were all of the doctors concerned about my unborn baby and her heart condition, they were also very concerned about me, due to the fact that we had just discovered that I had Lupus. Apparently, Lupus and pregnancy do not mix. Pregnancy is stressful on the body in a "normal" pregnancy. In a woman with Lupus, pregnancy wreaks havoc on the body. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the antibodies that normally attack bad cells, bacteria, etc., work overtime, and also attack the good cells, bacteria, and sometimes one or more organs, especially, the kidneys, therefore, lowering your immune system. A person with Lupus is more suceptible to acquiring infections, i.e., colds, flu, various other illnesses that most people can fight off easily. It is not good to get any of these illnesses during pregnancy, because there are very few medication one can take to alleviate the symptoms. This in turn, adds stress to the unborn baby. I couldn't take any medications for the Lupus while pregnant. It seemed like every time I went to the doctor, I got more bad news. I rarely had an appointment where one of the doctors said, "Oh, everything is going great, everything looks good". Didn't happen. Every time I went, there was a new and worse development. More tests, more bloodwork, more ultrasounds, more echocardiograms, more of everything. Those last four months were extremely rough, with multiple complications.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
The news...
My mom had died of cancer when I was only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. She'd had a history of bleeding for a period of three or four weeks at a time. So, the first time it happened to me, I was alarmed. I had bled for eighteen days straight. In my mind, I thought, okay, this is it, here it comes. But, I made an appointment with a doctor in Tulsa immediately. When I went to this doctor, I found out that it was not cancer, but, instead, I was pregnant. I was tickled pink!! I wanted another baby. The doctor I had gone to broke it to me that he no longer delivered babies. So, then, I had to find a new ob-gyn. I asked around and decided to go with Dr. Tom Coburn, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which would be a little closer to home than going to a Tulsa doctor. I couldn't get in to see him right away, but, took the first available appointment. By the time I got to see him, I was almost four months along. I was pretty stressed that I hadn't had any pre-natal care for the first three months, but they assured me it would be okay.
When I first arrived at Dr. Coburn's office, the nurse began taking my vitals, and decided to see if she could hear a heartbeat, since I was almost four months along. I first found out that Morgan had a heart issue, the first time the nurse listened to her heart rate. She didn't tell me, I just knew. I could just tell by her reaction and her repeatedly counting the heartbeats. She left the room, went to talk to Dr. Coburn, and he then came in, examined me, and told me that since I was nearly four months along it might be a good idea to go ahead and get an ultrasound. He had the nurse call the hospital and arrange for me to go over for an ultrasound immediately. I went across the street to the hospital. They immediately took me to the ultrasound equipment and began the procedure. After the ultrasound technician did what he was supposed to do, he left the room and brought back three or four doctors. They all kept watching the screen and counting the beats as they watched their watches. I asked questions, lots of questions. I knew. But, they wouldn't tell me anything! I was SO infuriated!! They said they would send the video of the ultrasound to my doctor after the radiologist read it, then, my doctor would contact me with the results. I still kept questioning as they shushed me out the door. I asked if something was wrong with the heart. They still refused to tell me anything!! I knew. I went home and told Morgan's dad there was something wrong with the baby's heart.
The next day, my doctor called me and confirmed my suspicions. He told me that the baby had a full heart block, or Bradycardia. He also told me that there were four or five diseases, in the mother, that typically could cause this to happen. He wanted me to come back the next day for bloodwork, to test to see if I had one of these diseases. The only one I remembered hearing was Lupus. Several years earlier, a good friend of mine had told me, while my mom was dying of cancer, that I had Lupus. She had been diagnosed with Lupus, and recognized my symptoms. She told me I had several of the same symptoms she'd had. I disagreed and told her I didn't have it. I didn't know anything about it, and refused to believe that I had the some kind of disease. Well, lo and behold, that's what it actually turned out to be. Lupus. Seriously? This disease in me had caused my baby to have a full heart block. What a horrible revelation. I felt so bad that I had caused this to happen to my unborn baby. The doctor also explained that the baby would most likely have to have a pacemaker implanted soon after birth, maybe even immediately after birth.
My doctor also immediately referred me to a high-risk ob-gyn in Oklahoma City, as well as, an ultrasound specialist in Tulsa. Thus, began the long journey of traveling to three different doctors in three different cities. Almost every week I went to one of the three doctors taking care of me. My aunt Retha started going with me at some point soon after that. There were a few times I went by myself, but, most of the time, she accompanied me to every doctor's visit. Morgan's dad went with me, maybe twice. Thank goodness for my aunt Retha. I don't know what I'd have done without her. She was a lifesaver.
When I first arrived at Dr. Coburn's office, the nurse began taking my vitals, and decided to see if she could hear a heartbeat, since I was almost four months along. I first found out that Morgan had a heart issue, the first time the nurse listened to her heart rate. She didn't tell me, I just knew. I could just tell by her reaction and her repeatedly counting the heartbeats. She left the room, went to talk to Dr. Coburn, and he then came in, examined me, and told me that since I was nearly four months along it might be a good idea to go ahead and get an ultrasound. He had the nurse call the hospital and arrange for me to go over for an ultrasound immediately. I went across the street to the hospital. They immediately took me to the ultrasound equipment and began the procedure. After the ultrasound technician did what he was supposed to do, he left the room and brought back three or four doctors. They all kept watching the screen and counting the beats as they watched their watches. I asked questions, lots of questions. I knew. But, they wouldn't tell me anything! I was SO infuriated!! They said they would send the video of the ultrasound to my doctor after the radiologist read it, then, my doctor would contact me with the results. I still kept questioning as they shushed me out the door. I asked if something was wrong with the heart. They still refused to tell me anything!! I knew. I went home and told Morgan's dad there was something wrong with the baby's heart.
The next day, my doctor called me and confirmed my suspicions. He told me that the baby had a full heart block, or Bradycardia. He also told me that there were four or five diseases, in the mother, that typically could cause this to happen. He wanted me to come back the next day for bloodwork, to test to see if I had one of these diseases. The only one I remembered hearing was Lupus. Several years earlier, a good friend of mine had told me, while my mom was dying of cancer, that I had Lupus. She had been diagnosed with Lupus, and recognized my symptoms. She told me I had several of the same symptoms she'd had. I disagreed and told her I didn't have it. I didn't know anything about it, and refused to believe that I had the some kind of disease. Well, lo and behold, that's what it actually turned out to be. Lupus. Seriously? This disease in me had caused my baby to have a full heart block. What a horrible revelation. I felt so bad that I had caused this to happen to my unborn baby. The doctor also explained that the baby would most likely have to have a pacemaker implanted soon after birth, maybe even immediately after birth.
My doctor also immediately referred me to a high-risk ob-gyn in Oklahoma City, as well as, an ultrasound specialist in Tulsa. Thus, began the long journey of traveling to three different doctors in three different cities. Almost every week I went to one of the three doctors taking care of me. My aunt Retha started going with me at some point soon after that. There were a few times I went by myself, but, most of the time, she accompanied me to every doctor's visit. Morgan's dad went with me, maybe twice. Thank goodness for my aunt Retha. I don't know what I'd have done without her. She was a lifesaver.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Format...
Okay, here is how this is going to work... I plan to try to write as much as I can in chronological order, from the moment I found out she had Bradycardia, up until today. However, at times, I will sprinkle in tidbits of information about her life as it's happening at the present time. I always hated books and movies written in this mode, but, I feel it's necessary in this case, to get the full picture of who Morgan is, has been, and who she is becoming.
As I said earlier, I haven't asked her if I could do this (because I know for a fact, she'd say an emphatic "NO!"), but, I would like to write as much as I can before I show it to her, then, present it to her as a gift. A history of her life. Some of the stories I'm sure she already knows, some she doesn't or may not remember. I want her and everyone else to know of all the struggles she's had throughout her life, yet, at the same time, I want her to know how strong and stubborn she's always been. If it weren't for her strength and stubborness (is that a word?), I have no doubt that she would not have made it this far. She is now eighteen years old.
As I said earlier, I haven't asked her if I could do this (because I know for a fact, she'd say an emphatic "NO!"), but, I would like to write as much as I can before I show it to her, then, present it to her as a gift. A history of her life. Some of the stories I'm sure she already knows, some she doesn't or may not remember. I want her and everyone else to know of all the struggles she's had throughout her life, yet, at the same time, I want her to know how strong and stubborn she's always been. If it weren't for her strength and stubborness (is that a word?), I have no doubt that she would not have made it this far. She is now eighteen years old.
First post
This is something I should have done years ago. I should have been recording all the things my daughter has gone through all these years. I guess it's never too late though. So here goes...
I haven't asked her if I could do this, but, I just feel like it needs to be written down.
First of all, let me just say that Morgan is one of the strongest, toughest, most amazing persons I have ever known. Because of her strength, she has never been one to give up or let anyone tell her she's not able to do something, because of her heart. She has survived more medical issues in her short eighteen years, than most people do in a lifetime. She had her first surgery, a pacemaker implantation, at the age of eleven days after birth. She has had four subsequent surgeries since then.
I haven't asked her if I could do this, but, I just feel like it needs to be written down.
First of all, let me just say that Morgan is one of the strongest, toughest, most amazing persons I have ever known. Because of her strength, she has never been one to give up or let anyone tell her she's not able to do something, because of her heart. She has survived more medical issues in her short eighteen years, than most people do in a lifetime. She had her first surgery, a pacemaker implantation, at the age of eleven days after birth. She has had four subsequent surgeries since then.
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