On September 22nd, 2004, I found out I was 8 weeks pregnant with my son Joseph William. I am a type 2 Diabetic whose blood sugars were not controlled and was advised by my doctor in the past that I would not conceive until my disease was managed. After 5 years of trying, the happiest day came. My husband and I were going to be parents. I had to have special prenatal care so I would not lose my baby. I had a very rough pregnancy, besides the typical morning sickness and back pains. I had very high blood pressure, and low blood sugar through most of my pregnancy. But none the less, I was happy. I finally had the best gift a person could ever ask for. A sweet precious little angel who we would name Joseph.
At 20 weeks of my pregnancy, I was due for an ultra sound to find out the sex of my child and to see how well he was growing. As hoped and wished for, we were having a boy who seemed to be doing great as for as growth. All organs were there and everything intact. But one problem was discovered, and raised serious concern for the doctors.
The doctors discovered that my son's heart did not develop a Pulmonary Artery. This raised concern because heart defects such as what my son had sometimes meant a chromosomal defect such as Downs Syndrome. The option for abortion was presented to me. We had 3 weeks to make that decision. In the meantime, tests would be done to determine cause of the defect.
I was devastated that day. I didn't know what to make of the news I had learned. I cried and prayed that it was just something the doctor missed. That night, Children's Hospital called me and said they had an opening the next day for an echocardiogram (a special ultra sound used to study the fetuses heart). I took it.
During the echo, the tech looked over everything. She tried to get Joseph to move around so she could get better views of his heart, but he must have been so comfortable that he would not budge. An hour later she left the room and said the doctor would be in shortly.
When the doctor came in, he took us from the exam room and into a patient consult room where he told us what the echo found. Joseph did not have a Pulmonary Artery, He had a hole in the bottom chambers of his heart, and his heart was slightly enlarged. He also concluded that Joseph's heat was still too small to be completely sure, and that he said there might be a chance Joseph's Pulmonary was extremely small. If not, then they would need to do more tests to see if Joseph had any collaterals. He called the defect Pulmonary Atresia and Tetralogy of Fallot. We asked the doctor what could have caused this malformation, and he said that it was something that was already mapped out in the genes.
As my husband and I left the doctors office that day, each step stabbed our hearts with such pain. I could not help but cry the whole way home from the hospital. My husband and I spoke about the decision we still had to make, and both agreed that an amniocentesis would be the next step. The next day, I called the Perinatal doctor and told her that my husband and I would like to have the procedure done. The Amniocentesis.
We were lucky to be scheduled for that afternoon. The test was done quickly and went smoothly. In 3 days we would know if our baby had Downs Syndrome or Spinal Bifida. The wait was a killer. Deep down inside I could not bare aborting the one thing I tried so desperately having for many years. I needed to be honest with myself and my husband. Especially if I wanted to have a family with him. So that weekend, I told my husband how I felt. Regardless of what the amniocentesis said, I would go on to carry our son. I could not give up on him cause he deserved the chance to fight. I have had such a hard time conceiving and for this little guy to stick around for this long was a sign to me he had a very strong will to live. The decision was made! And a good one it was. We found out in the middle of the next week that the tests came back negative, and our little boy did not have Downs Syndrome.
I went thru the next 11 weeks of my pregnancy as usual. But with more rest and more tests. Joseph was holding up fine in the womb and so was I. Until I was 30 weeks pregnant. I went in for a routine ultra sound and the doctor discovered another problem...
The blood flow from my placenta to Joseph was low. The placenta was maturing quickly. This came from my diabetes and the high blood pressure I had throughout my pregnancy. I was admitted in the hospital on bed rest for the next 2 weeks. During that time, I was monitored carefully. Joseph's heart rate was watched closely to see how much stress he was under. His heart rate remained fine, but my amniotic fluid started dropping. By the end of the 2 weeks, the fluid had dropped low enough to cause major concern. The doctors made the decision to induce me the next day.
On March 17th, 2005, induction was started. I was in labor for 24 hours. I could not dilate past 4 cms. So the very next morning, I was taken into surgery. On March 18th, 2005, 6:31am, I gave birth to a feisty little boy by caesarian. He weighed 3lbs and 2 ozs and had the attitude of a bumble bee!
Joseph William was rushed off to the NICU at a nearby Children's hospital. The fight begins!
