This morning was the meeting with Dr Jenkins, the neonatalogist, at Methodist Germantown. I was nervous going in, but Dr Jenkins is similar in demeanor to Dr Schneider in that he is a good balance of matter-of-fact-ness and compassion. He even told us that he's never had someone get mad at him for telling them their baby was going to die and then that not happening. For that reason, he said, he doesn't sugar coat things. There really wasn't much that I hadn't already prepared myself for that he had to say, so no sugar coating was necessary.
The only new information we really got was that he would prefer to try and wait until 29 weeks because of a decrease in complications at that point. He said as long as we're doing this electively and Penny is up to weight, that 29 weeks is best. If something else happens that would cause us to take them earlier that we would need to do that of course. Normally, 50% of babies who show the reverse or absent diastolic flow that Penny has do not survive 2 weeks after diagnosis. They found Penny's 10 weeks ago and I can guarantee you that she's alive and kicking today. It's a continuing of the thickening of her heart and other signs of congestive heart failure that would cause them to be born any earlier than 29 weeks. It's still a possibility that we could go back to Dr Schneider on monday and find that Penny has passed away. I just have to keep believing that it's a miracle that she's survived this long and that our little fighter has at least 2 and a half more weeks in her! Once she's here we can get her what she needs and I believe she'll be just fine.
The facilities at Methodist's new Women's and Children's Pavilion are just amazing. There are huge windows in every room. The nurses station for each pod (group of 4 rooms) are right outside the door. The staff seemed really friendly and in just the few minutes we saw them there they really showed a love for the little babies they care for. If the girls can't stay in my womb, then this is the medical womb I want them in!
In regards to the insurance issue, The MCS policy is that i have to show up once every 15 days to keep from having to go back on family medical leave! SO, after the girls are born and as soon as I'm healed enough, I'll be working once a week, or potentially half days a couple times a week to maintain my insurance and also to help cover some of our bills and expenses. Praise the Lord for showing us this little feature of the MCS family medical leave system!
A few people have asked about why we're seeing so many doctors and what they're all for, so I'll explain. My regular OB is Dr Martin. She's the doctor to make sure I'm ok. Dr Schneider is the maternal fetal specialist, so he's the babies' doctor until they're born. Dr Jenkins is the neonatalogist (one of them) so he'll take care of them after they're born. Make sense? Our next appointment will be Monday with Dr Schneider and then Tuesday with Dr Martin. I'm sure you'll hear from us then.
Until then, please pray most of all for Penny's survival, second for both of their continued growth, and third for Jonathan and I as we prepare for what I'm sure will be the most life changing thing we've ever experienced. Pray that we will both turn to God with our fears and anxieties and that His peace that passes understanding will not leave us. Your prayers are so precious to us. Thank you very very much from the bottom of all four of our hearts!
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