A Physical Update

I've had lots of people ask me about how I'm feeling physically and if the doctors know what caused Brooks' death. My body is feeling well. I'm all healed up and have been exercising for awhile now, I've even began running some. I'm holding on to my last 2 pounds of baby weight, which doesn't bother me too much, I just hate the nice loose skin on my tummy. Apparently it should tighten up over time, but I do wish it would hurry up=)

The doctor's reports have gone like this:

On October 14th I had my postpartum visit with the midwife group I saw during the pregnancy. All of my records had been sent over from the hospital, including the blood work from the 13 tubes they drew when I arrived at the hospital and the autopsy report. We met with Margaret(our favorite midwife of the group, but not who delivered me because she was out of town) and she was very kind and sympathetic. She looked everything over and told us Brooks was healthy, I was healthy and there was absolutely nothing found to give a definitive reason for his passing. I was relieved we were all healthy and I was okay with there not being a sure reason. I was so scared there was going to be something major wrong that we wouldn't be able to overcome and correct in any future pregnancies. I was happy Margaret said that wasn't the case.

I had called my old doctor whom I used to work for, Dr. Dyar, shortly after Brooks was born to inquire about any certain tests Denny and I should have done and he told me to bring him all the records as they came back. So the afternoon of the 14th I made copies of my chart and headed to Marietta with my friend Sarah for a lengthy consultation. He had different things to say than Margaret...

He read from my records I was negative for all the previous tests except for a positive test for a single mutation of MTHFR. If you test positive for 2 mutations of MTHFR then you definitely have it, but since I was only positive for 1 mutation it's like I halfway have it. MTHFR, also linked with Homocystinuria, is a blood clotting disorder that makes the blood clot too much. It could have possibly made my blood clot too thick and would not have allowed blood to pass through the cord and get to Brooks. However, there is no way to be certain that was the cause. MTHFR can also affect how efficiently your blood can uptake vitamins, such as folic acid. He advised me to begin taking extra B-12, B-6 and folic acid supplements in addition to my daily pre-natal vitamin. Dr. Dyar also told me the hospital did in fact miss several tests that needed to be run, so down I plopped into the lab chair and gave up 6 more tubes of blood. Those tests included a homocystine level, thyroid check, glucose screen, antibody screen, toxoplasma level, and hemoglobin level. Everything from that round of tests came back completely normal-even the homocystine level. Dyar was sure to let me know even though I had a normal homocystine level I'm still positive for the mutation of MTHFR and that pregnancy likely elevates the levels. This led him to believe I will need to be on a strong blood thinning medication if we achieve future pregnancies. While I was pregnant with Brooks I was told to take a baby aspirin, which is also a blood thinner, however the doctors tell you to discontinue the aspirin at 37 weeks because they don't want you to bleed out during delivery. There is no way to tell if I had remained on the baby aspirin if things might have ended up differently for us. The next step up from baby aspirin would mean taking Heparin shots daily throughout the entire pregnancy, but of course that comes with its own set of risks as well. The last thing Dr. Dyar wanted Denny and I to do was have our chromosomes checked. So yes, onto the lab we went again and they drew more blood to grow out our chromosomes for 2 weeks. After growing them, the chromosomes are thoroughly checked for abnormalities and examed to make sure ours do not clash or "butt heads." That test recently came back and all was normal! A chromosome problem would have meant serious issues for future pregnancies, because I'm not aware of any treatment plans for that.

Now I know I mentioned above how glad I was when all was pronounced healthy in Margaret's office and everything was labeled "an accident." But after visiting with Dr. Dyar I am thankful there was a likely cause found and there is something we can do to prevent it in the future. Heparin shots sound yucky and painful, but after researching online, they really seem to work well. Denny and I have been referred to a high risk ob(perinatologist), Dr. Korotkin, with whom we have a pre-conception consultation on this Friday (11/21). We do want to try and conceive again sometime next year so I'm excited to make a plan on what a future pregnancy would look like. It will ultimately be up to Dr. Korotkin if I will need Heparin. If(when!) we get pregnant for the 4th time, Dr. K will partner with my regular OB and watch the pregnancy extremely close. He has the technology and skill to conduct 4D ultrasounds where he can see details of the umbilical cord and the blood running through it. He has also mentioned I would have labor induced no later than 37 weeks(a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks, Brooks passed away at 39 weeks). Please pray for the appointment. I'd love to come out of Dr. K's office feeling hopeful and armed with an action plan.

Sorry for the long post! I've had so many questions on this topic so I wanted to take the time and explain it best I can. I will update after the appointment on Friday....

**One small update on the baby boy I've been asking everyone to lift up in prayer. He has been removed from all life support medications including the ventilator and feeding tube. His parents have been told he'll probably pass within 48 hours. A giant praise is their other 2 children have been removed from foster care and placed back in their home. C & M's aunt and uncle have moved from the Bahamas and into C & M's house to care for the kids. C & M have moved out, but can visit whenever they like as long as the aunt and uncle are present. It's not too late for a miracle-please please pray for healing of the baby! Also, we are still praying for the investigation to be dropped. They have had to hire their own medical team and multiple lawyers, so any fund raising ideas are much appreciated-just leave a comment! Thanks for praying=)

Bye for now!