Ultrasound...this is a long one

I had my 20 week ultrasound about a week and a half ago and the technician found fluid around the babies heart. They sent us away saying it is not common but it may just be a fluke(ya right I thought) anyway what else can they do to help you not worry. I appreciated all the prayers, it definitely helped me stay ahead of my thoughts most of the time. They sent me to a specialist a few days later and it was confirmed that our little guy has a severe congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. I will put a link at the bottom if anyone is interested in learning more details.

Basically he has 4 things wrong with his heart: 1.The heart has a wall that separates the chambers on its left side from those on its right side. The wall or septum prevents blood from mixing between the two sides of the heart. There is a hole in the part of the septum that separates the ventricles—the lower chambers of the heart. The hole allows oxygen‑rich blood to flow from the left ventricle into the right ventricle instead of flowing into the aorta, the main artery leading out to the body-2. There is a narrowing of the pulmonary valve and the passageway through which blood flows from the right ventricle to the pulmonary arteries. Normally, oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle flows through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary arteries and out to the lungs to pick up oxygen. In pulmonary stenosis, the heart has to work harder than normal to pump blood, and not enough blood can get to the lungs-3.The right ventricle thickens because the heart has to pump harder than it should to move blood through the narrowed pulmonary valve-4.This is a defect in the location of the aorta. In a healthy heart, the aorta is attached to the left ventricle, allowing only oxygen-rich blood to go to the body. In tetralogy of Fallot, the aorta is between the left and right ventricles, directly over the septum. As a result, oxygen‑poor blood from the right ventricle can flow directly into the aorta instead of into the pulmonary artery to the lungs. Basically not enough blood is able to reach the lungs and so oxygen poor blood is being pumped out to the rest of the body.

There are two different extremes one is called pink tet and the other blue tet. Blue tet is the more severe one, this is what our baby has. What this means is that he will be quite blue when he is delivered, meaning he is not getting the oxygen that he needs even now in the womb. Because of this he will be mentally slow and will require many services starting in infancy. We will head to Seattle to have a C-section when I am full term and then for 2-3 days they will evaluate him and then perform the first open heart surgery. The doctor feels he will need 2 if not 3 sugeries his first year of life.

I realize the road is not going to be easy. Sometimes it is overwhelming and I wonder how I can do this. A good friend reminded me that I won't be doing it alone that what I cannot do the Lord will be there to do the rest. I have already had experiences that have let me know without a doubt that He is aware of what I am feeling and He has succored me in many different ways.

We feel blessed to receive such a special little spirit into our home and feel so much love for him already...

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/tof/tof_what.html