Day 14

I'm hesitant to give any updates, since whenever I do, things seem to rapidly change, but here's the latest.

After a beautiful stretch on Saturday and Sunday morning with minimal SVT/AF, Isaac had one of the worst afternoons/nights we've had so far. He spent well over 50% of the time in SVT from yesterday around 2pm until this morning. (Right now he is thumping along in the perfect 130s.)

The doctors came to see us this morning to discuss the new plan.
At this point they are considering increasing the sotalol, although it is not clear how much it is doing anything, and there is another medication, flecainide that also might be tried. Flecainide has more serious side effects for me, so they will be weighing the risks / benefits of medication or early delivery without cardioversion.

Right now it doesn't look like I will be going home until I deliver and the goal is to keep him in until 36 or 37 weeks. 37 weeks is considered full term, so it will minimize any risks of early delivery. If he is still breech it will definitely be a c-section, if not, it depends on lots of factors. I will be getting ultrasounds every other day to check for hydrops or increased low fluid.

After he is born he will go to the NICU. There is still a chance that the transition the heart makes at birth will regulate everything. If not, they will try medications to control his SVT and if not he will be transferred to Children's for an ablation.

U.S. News ranks Children's as one of the best hospitals in the nation for Cardiology and Heart Surgery. The Cardiovascular Surgery Department is recognized for "Integration of advanced electrophysiologic testing, arrhythmia ablation and surgery" with "outcomes among the best in the nation for catheter ablation of arrhythmias." So if Isaac ends up there, we will be in great hands!

I heard the term, "fetal heart disease" yesterday. I knew this was serious, but that description was a little shocking.

My dear friend wrote to me about the feeling of disconnection. Her husband has a very intense job in the military and she has gracefully handled some very difficult and sometimes sudden deployments.

Her words express my feelings perfectly...

When I read about you feeling "numb" it struck a chord. When my husband goes off on deployment I go numb too. It is survival, because allowing yourself to fully feel the place that you are in and all the emotions teeters on a breakdown that you don't know if you can recover from. Scared, sad, worried, anxious....and so much more. So, we go numb... feel and cry a little now and then like a little valve release... and keep moving forward. Being analytical almost. Focused on tasks or steps, doing things self-created to keep busy, watching shows that allow us to turn our minds off. It is normal and ok.