The Setup
We arrived at the Spectrum Health Downtown at 7:30pm Thursday (1/15/09) evening for the scheduled induction. Things were started with a dose of Cytotech every 4 hours. Things progressed slowly, and after 3 doses Kalani was barely 2cm. The physician decided it was time to get things moving and, rather spontaneously, broke her water. Pitocin followed and an epidural was ordered shortly after. With increasing frequency and strength of contractions, nausea and vomitting commenced. The normal for her. Around 2pm she measured 3cm and we locked down for what we thought would be a LONG day. With stronger contractions and the epidural tapering off, the Anesthesiologist was summoned to adjust the doseage.
The Arrival
With the nurse gone paging the Anesthesiologist, several strong contractions followed, all the while she continued with the vomitting. While having one particularly strong contraction, Kalani had a very forceful "heave." This was enough to do the trick, as she turned her head toward me with a shocked look. Cooper had arrived! With him delivered to mid-abdomen, I ran to the door and shouted for a nurse. Within seconds the room filled with people, and the delivery was completed. Cooper looked great and came out crying. We were basically in shock, but Kalani handled things wonderfully, as usual. She held him for a brief time and he was quickly cleaned up and brought up to the NICU. We learned his measurements later, as they weren't taken initially.
Time of Delivery: 4:09pm (16:09 on 1/16/09)
Weight: 4lbs-11oz.
Length: 17.3"
The Current
Cooper has Fanconi Anemia as explained in our blog after this was diagnosed awhile back. The physical traits of FA are still being confirmed, and the findings are still being analyzed. In trying to keep this brief, I'll outline what we know currently. Cooper was born without the radius bone in each of his arms. His thumbs on both hands are also absent. We anticipate meeting with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon to discuss possible treatment options for this condition. He was also born with an imperforate anus. This is a congenital malformation in which the rectum is basically a dead-end and there is no anus. This was the first priority to address, as his ability to feed is currently questionable, but would not be possible without an "exit" of some sort. In the next day, much will be determined by Cooper's ability to feed normally and his ability to "suck, swallow, and breathe" at the same time. The good news is that the imperforate anus condition has had excellent success with surgical repair. Surgery was performed this morning and a successful colostomy was achieved in order to carry stool out of the body. Cooper is recovering nicely from this. This is the first step toward the correction of his colon and rectum and it's connection to his bottom. This link below describes the process nicely.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002926.htm
Additionally, Cooper is lacking an ear canal in one ear. A head MRI will determine if an ear drum is present. He seems to have hearing in his other ear, but the canal is quite small. A hearing screening will help verify this, and a ENT will look at this more closely. His eyes are also very small. A pediatric ophthalmologist will examine him to determine if his vision is affected by this. An MRI will also need to be done to look more closely at inside his head, as there was some initial findings of some underdevelopment of a portion of his brain.
OK, some positive news now. First, he is pretty darn cute! His heart, kidneys and initial bloodwork all look normal. He is also able to breathe without assistance. These are also areas that can be affected by FA. We are thankful for this, as we have learned to find joy with each small victory and take things one step at a time.
Please continue to keep Cooper in your prayers, as well as strength for us as our family travels this uncertain road.
Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you: He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Psalm 55:22
RSS Feed