i woke up one morning only a week after being seen for elevated blood pressure and was hemorrhaging. it was by far the most terrifying experience of my life, and can only thank God that my husband was actually laid off that week due to a nasty forecast of rain [he was with a construction company at that time.]
we immediately went into the hospital to get checked, but i cannot honestly say that at that point i had no idea we would be having d that day. i had been posting regularly on thebump.com and had done my fair share of pregnancy over-reading and just really thought i would be facing bed rest and a cerclage. when we got checked in, they did both an ultrasound and an internal exam and found that i was fully dilated and my bag of waters was exposed. the doctors decided that at that point our only option was delivery and we would
my water was broken and at that point i was already having some contractions, but they were not strong. shortly after, all signs of labor stopped, and d had flipped and in lehman's terms, buried himself up under my ribcage. because they were worried my bleeding was coming from a tear in the placenta, we really we not sure what type of damage we were looking at. we needed to get him out. we were taken for an emergency c-section shortly there after.
d was born at 10:56am, weighing 1lb 11oz, and was only 12in long. he actually cried when he came out, which they were not sure he would do. he was immediately intubated and prepared for transport to a hospital across town with NICU facilities that could care for a micro-preemie.
for posts from that day, and shortly there after, start [here]
d spent over 4 months in the hospital, at 4 different hospitals, and had major surgeries on both his heart and eyes through out that time period. he had a pda ligation [heart] at 3 weeks old and his first laser surgery at 3 months old [eyes].
at 32 weeks gestation, they started to detect a hint of ROP, or retinopathy of prematurity in his eyes. they decided to wait and watch. ROP isnt something that babies are born with, rather it is determined based on a whole slew of risk factors with preemies. being a micro-preemie under 2lbs, and spending over 7 weeks on oxygen pretty much sealed the deal for us. ROP happens when the oxygen exposure causes the blood vessels in the eyes to overgrow, and cause the retina to detach from the back of the eye. they are sometimes able to correct with laser surgery, but this did not work for us. we went on to have ventrectomies in both eyes a week later. basically they go in to remove any excess fluid [which in the eye, turns to jelly] and any scar tissue, as well as lay the retina back down and allow it to re-attach itself.
shortly after, d was discharged and finally able to come home, after 127 days in the hospital. we didn't have much change other than growing for about the first year. shortly after his first birthday, we started to notice a lot more scarring coming to the front of the eye, and it was appearing cloudy. turns out, the anatomy in the eye had started migrating forward and was rubbing on the cornea, and was causing it to scar over. the only way to stop the scarring and further migration was to remove the lens to allow for more room in the eye.
this means that d can only see large shapes and the difference between light/dark out of that eye. presently there isn't much that can be done for that, but there are options down the road that may give us some additional options.
other than general checkups, a focus on weight gain and a reluctant strain of ear infections that lead to tubes, d is just about caught up to other peers his age. we went through years of physical therapy and a year of occupational therapy to get there, but he worked so hard and we are so proud of his progress.
d is now in a local pre-school program and gets additional assistance with a visual therapist that will continue to work with d through out his entire school years. we will also teach d braille, even though we are not sure if he will read with that or large print. he is still a skinny little noodle, but he is growing tall and is just like other boys his age, he is full of energy!!
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