It was 28th April 2O1O & we were getting ready for our 2O weeks scan. this of course should of been the most exciting time in my pregnancy by far! but it was very far from that.....
We arrived at Pontefract General Hospital for our scan & I was taken into the ultrasound room, me & my husband both exstatic with excitement! the lady applied the cold gel to my expanding belly & began the scan. After about 2O minutes of the lady staring at the screen & not saying anything she called in a colleague & they had a word in the corner, by this point I began to panic! The lady then came back over to us & explained that there was something wrong with our babies lung but also asked of we would like to know the sex, we were told we where having a baby boy.... Our Joelybum :)
but then as if to "add salt to the wound" I was asked if I would ever consider termination! My blood ran cold & I burst into tears.. from here on the nurses at Pntefract basically just sat in the fence & we where told nothing until we where transfered to LGI (Leeds General Infirmiry) for a further scan, 3 days later! all we could think was, "what's going to happen to our baby"? but when we got to the Fetal Assesment Unit at LGI the staff were so much different, so much more supportive compared to the doctors & nurses at the previous hospital.
We where taken into another ultrasound room & it was there that she explained our baby had a rare condition called CCAM (Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation) but it wasn't a definate death sentence for our baby.
I was given another scan so that they could check on the ccam & we where also told that our son had congenital bowel so both me & my husband had to have blood tests to see if either of us where carriers of the CF gene. (Cystic Fibrosis) 2 weeks later our results came back that neither of us where carriers, what a relief! We where also told that from this point I would be given an ultrasound scan every 2 weeks so they could keep a close eye on our baby & to also monitor him for Hydrops. (fluid that builds in the internal organs)
The weeks passed in a blurr of worry, fustration, guilt & stress. Finally at my 37 weeks scan I was told that I would be brought in for a sweep at 39 weeks & then if that didn't work I would be induced on my due date, 11.O9.2O1O... As we expected the sweep didnt work, my baby was far to comfortable! so on sunday 12th september 2O1O I found myself on LGI delivery suit being induced. My emotions where all over the place, but deep down all I could think was "please god, let my baby be born breathing & crying" After a very long 36 hours of labour, 1 hour & half of pushing & a failed forceps I was taken for an emergency c-section & our beautiful baby entered the world.... kicking & screaming! :)
We didnt get to long with him as he was rushed off for xrays & then taken to special care whilst I was taken back to recovery. I was reunited with my son again on the transitional ward 5 hours after I had given birth.
4 months later, my son saw his consultant Mr Crabbe for the first time & we where told that his ccam was so small that he should be fine & could live a healthy life without needing surgery unless the ccam started to cause problems. This was in Janurary 2O11. after this appointment Joel had chest-infection after chest-infection, when we saw his consultant again in July 2O11 he decided on sending our son for a CT scan to get a more detailed look. The CT scan was preformed on 31st August 2O11 & on 21st October 2O11 we where told our son needed surgery to remove his ccam & that it would be 14th November 2O11. The following weeks that lead up to his surgery where horrible! On 13th November 2O11 we went to LGI for Joel's surgery, he went down to theatre at 8.3Oam on 14th November 2O11 & he came back at 3.3Opm - 5 & half hours of pure hell. The recovery process was slow & heartbreaking to watch my little boy go through, but after O7 days in hospital we got the news that we could take our boy home... the best news id heard in a very long time :)
He is now nearly O6 months post-op & is a completely different child.. Our beautiful little lamb has shown me & his daddy just how strong he truly is & he has come through it all. i'm so glad now that I followed my heart & believed in my child & didn't decide on a termination, because even though we have been through hell, we have such a beautiful, happy & healthy little boy to show for it.
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