January 22nd, 2014- The Unusual Uneventful

This was a very strange week.  Monday was MLK day, then we were out of school Tuesday and Wednesday due to 'snow'.  It worked out well for me, since I had my next appointment at MFM on Wednesday afternoon, so I didn't have to take time off work.

This appointment was unusual in that it was fairly uneventful.  We were taken back by our 'usual' sonogram tech and she performed the sonogram.  One thing that was interesting was she was able to get a frontal view of Ally's face.  As I was watching, Russell said exactly what I had been thinking- "She looks like Ben!"  Sometimes, even with everything that has been going on, the fact that in a few months we are going to have another BABY...it just doesn't seem real.  Often we will be out somewhere and I'll see people with babies and think "I'm going to have one of those!  A girl one!"  I think that sometimes in dealing with her diagnosis and all of the resulting testing and waiting Ally has sometimes taken on the form of merely a medical condition that we will have to handle more than a real live person who is bound to bless our lives and bring joy to our family no matter what.  Seeing that face, looking like our boys...just makes it a little more real.  The tech printed it for us to take home.  

The facial sonogram picture that we both thought looked like Ben!

After she finished we had a bit of waiting (as usual), during which I knitted, and then we were taken to our doctor's office along with our point nurse to discuss the findings.  

Most of the news was pretty good.  Ally's head is still measuring large, however it has not grown exponentially- it appears to still be only 2-3 weeks ahead of where it should be.  If it continues this way, there may be a chance that she will not require a shunt.  However, our doctor is not a neurologist, so that will be determined by the neurosurgeon.  We have a consultation with him/her (not sure which right now) early in February so that we can ask all of the questions we have about the hydrocephalus and shunting.  Also, depending on when I deliver, there is still the possibility of avoiding a c-section.  The 'deadest' deadline for delivery is 39 weeks (which is what I am hoping for), but depending on what they see closer to the end (and anything the testing I am still waiting on reveals), they may decide to deliver anytime between 37 and 39 weeks (either way it will be a scheduled delivery).  Again, we still have a ways to go before we will know any of this for sure, but we are still holding out hope for the best outcomes.

One new development that she noticed is that the ventricles in the back of the brain (where the gap is and the fluid is building) are starting to take on a funny shape.  This may be nothing, but it could be an indicator that Ally is missing part or all of the corpus collosum, which connects the two halves of the brain.  If this is the case, again it may not affect her at all, or it could affect some parts of development; just like the Dandy-Walker, we would have to wait and see what happens as a result.  

We are still waiting on the results of the amniocentesis SNP Array and we are in the process of trying to schedule a fetal MRI to get a better look at Ally's brain.  Our doctor doesn't think that either test will show anything significant (which would be good) but wants to be prepared should they give us any clues to Ally's condition and care she will need after her delivery.

This next week should be a fairly uneventful one- no doctor's appointments at all!- but the first week in February is jam-packed.  I am looking forward to a relatively calm week in our normal routine.

Again, we thank you for your prayers.  Please continue to pray for our possible home change.  Also, I have been having some anxiety regarding the later part of this year when I would head back to school.  Just thinking about resuming my usual teaching responsibilities (as of the beginning of the new semester my classes have been taken over by my sub, and I am helping other teachers in their classes- a great situation because it helps my work load and stress level and I don't have to worry about missing a lot of instructional time for appointments, and the students have some consistency through the end of the year) along with the thought of all my responsibilities with family and home, now larger with the addition of Ally is overwhelming me at times.  However, I am trying to focus on the here and now and let God take care of my future and that of our family.  He will give me the strength for each day, whatever comes- He promises that in His Word.