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It is an office visit that I will never forget. The ultrasound tech looked intently, way too long in the same spot. At the end, she said the doctor needed to come in and take a look. I immediately knew something was wrong. They both assured me that it may have been the baby’s position that was blocking a view of a part of the formed heart and that we would need to proceed at a high-risk clinic for a follow up. Deep inside I knew that it was more than positioning; a mother’s instinct is always on point. After a few long weeks, I went to see the high-risk OB/GYN and they confirmed my baby had a congenital heart defect, specifically tetralogy of fallot. They presented all the possible things that could be wrong and offered all the tests. Do you want to know if the baby has other deficits? I decided to get an amniocentesis that day. I just had to know what to prepare for. After another long three weeks, we received the call with the results, and they were 90% sure that our baby only had the congenital heart defect without any other deficits. That felt like a dream come true.
finn's story: living with the heart of a warrior by dana degan
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connexions
The rest of my pregnancy felt robotic, with in-depth scans confirming the heart defect every time, though otherwise healthy. We kept the gender of the baby a surprise, but we learned all we could about his specific condition, connected with other “heart warrior” families, and involved ourselves with the organization Baby Luck, a small specialized group of a larger organization called Camp Luck at Levine’s Children’s Hospital. We met other families going through the same struggles, but one thing we came to understand --- never compare your journey to someone else’s. It is never the same. I had a c-section with my first-born daughter and the doctors were on board to have a c-section with #2, as well. The cardiac team was in the room, ready and waiting to grab a blue baby if needed. When the doctor raised the baby up for us to
