After several long hours of monitoring my doctor thought it would be wise to continue monitoring through the night and to consult with a maternal fetal medical doctor in Columbus. She also added that is Henry "decel-ed" 3x into the 80's that they would go ahead and do an emergency c-section that night. Enter sheer panic! My thoughts flooded from "...but we're not ready for the baby! What exactly do you think is wrong with his heart? The baby book told us to pack our stinkin' hospital bags last week and here we are at the hospital without a bag! Are we meeting Henry tonight?" I had not called our families to update them on our stint in labor and delivery because I only thought we'd be there a few hours but with even the hint of a looming c-section D and I started to make phone calls. Finally I made D a list of things to get from home for a "pseudo hospital bag"and ordered dinner from the cafeteria (they had not allowed me to eat for 6 hours at this point because we didn't know if I would be delivering or not).
We settled in for an excruciatingly long night. Hospital beds are not comfortable, alarm bells and fetal heart monitors kept us occupied, and we were down right worried. The entire experience was surreal.
In the morning (5/2) we were discharged and appointments were made for a fetal eco-cardiogram and consult in Columbus. We left the hospital with few answers and no "plans" for how to proceed.
God love my poor husband went to work and I spent the day in a stupor trying to nap and wash baby clothes so that we would be somewhat ready if Henry had to be delivered early. My precious friend H2 came over unsolicited with chicken nuggets and ice cream to distract me while we got baby things together.
Thursday (5/3) morning came quickly, as D and I were exhausted and mildly stressed (remember on top of all this baby drama we are also in the middle of construction on the outside and inside of our house). We loaded our car with everything we would need should we be bringing home a baby early...diaper bag, mom's hospital bag, dad's hospital bag, car seat...the works.
Once we got to Columbus we did what any expecting couple in our situation would do...we had Chick fil a for lunch and then headed to the hospital!
We had a fetal eco cardiogram first and then met with a pediatric cardiologist. The ultrasound tech was very knowledgeable and spotted Henry's problem immediately. Within the same breath as spotting the problem she reassured us that Henry would be ok, for which we were extremely grateful. We finished the eco cardiogram and then waited for the cardiologist.
Dr. Wilson, the pediatric cardiologist diagnosed Henry with Premature Atrial Contractions or PAC. Essentially Henry's heart has an electrical misfire at causes premature or extra beats in the upper chambers of his heart or atria. These extra beats throw off the rhythm of his heart and can cause the lower chambers of his heart to "stumble" when it is their turn to beat resulting in an arrhythmia. More than likely little H will out grow this condition during childhood BUT if he does not it should not interfere with his overall health and well-being.
For the remainder of my pregnancy (which is only 3 weeks!) I will be visiting the doctor 2-3x per week to monitor Henry's heart rhythms. There is a slight concern that the extra beats could cause Henry's heart to go into a too fast regular or irregular rhythm. In that case we would deliver him (at this point he is ready, just fattening up) and he would be given medication to regulate his heartbeat.
After Henry is born we will continue to monitor his heart with another eco cardiogram and a few other non-invasive tests. Our family doctor will be working with Dr. Wilson in Columbus to ensure that Henry is well cared for.
While D and I are completely reassured that Henry is healthy and going to be ok, I can't help but worry just a bit about his little heart. It is painful for me to listen to his irregular rhythm several times a week on the monitors because it just sounds like he is working extra hard. However I am so relieved that prognosis is excellent and that while it sounds awful on the monitors Henry's heart is ok.
SO....you will all have to forgive me for not returning phone calls and for late baby shower thank you notes. It has been an extremely long few weeks at casa de Sullivan and my heart and mind have been elsewhere. : )
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