Ryan was here ...



My not-so-sweet nothings, mostly comprised of my feelings at losing my two-day-old son, Ryan David, to congenital heart defects, and to celebrate the arrival of Ryan's healthy little sister, Megan Elizabeth, and hopefully welcome another little miracle into our brood in July 2010.


Friday, January 11, 2008

Sheer, unadulterated joy

Yesterday's big ultrasound went fabulously.

We were feeling a little worried at first, since the tech was so abrupt with us, but once she returned with Dr. S. and he spent much more time going over our little one, our fears quickly diminished.

Going into this appointment, our biggest fear was that there would be a repeat of a heart defect. With no explanation as to why it happened to Ryan, it wasn't easy for us to shelve that concern and assume that it couldn't happen again.

Since Dr. S. is familiar with the nature of Ryan's defects, he was very careful to check - and double check - those areas in Gummy Bear's heart. We could clearly see two functioning and nearly equal ventricles; only Ryan's right ventricle was formed and functional. Next Dr. S. checked the aortic arch, to ensure there was no blockage and that the blood was flowing freely. And, it was. He was also able to make out the atria, so this little one seemingly has a perfect little heart. The only view he couldn't get - Gummy was being quite lazy and wouldn't move - was that of the ductal arch. But, with having a fetal echo on Tuesday, Dr. S. wasn't too concerned since everything else looked so good.

I'm still a little anxious about Tuesday's appointment, but the amount of reassurance we received yesterday was amazing. Relief doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.

Oh, and it looks like Ryan's getting a little sister. Or, at least that's where we should place our bets.

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