4.08.2010

Second ultrasound to double check...

So like I said a few posts back, when I went to the doctor and we talked about the first ultrasound, they found something wrong with her heart. So he sent me in to have a second ultrasound to double check things. Well I just went a few days ago and I guess I'm not worried. The doctor there said she wasn't, so I'm trying not to be.
So we get there and the tech takes us back to the room and makes sure the notes she has are correct and that there is something on the heat. I say that's why we're here, so tell me something good, please! She told us she will basically do the same thing as the first ultrasound just a little more in depth and focus mostly on the heart.
She starts with the heart and is looking at it at every angle possible. I really like how much time she put into looking at the issue. It made me feel like I was with someone who really cared and knew what she was doing and looking for. It was really awesome too because we had our own big screen to watch what she was doing so we didn't have to try to look at her monitor. She would slow it down, and zoom in, then zoom out, and zoom in again at a different angle. We saw the heartbeat in a graph (whatever that's called haha). Then she zoomed in and started explaining to us what she was seeing. So she slowed down the video and told us to watch a specific part. She showed us that is the spot where they found the hypoechogenic spot and said that it was connecting all the way so it's nothing to really worry about. Then she moved on to all of the other things to look at, like the gender shot, profile, feet, organs etc... She said that everything looks great. It was really fun to watch her try to get a shot of the legs/feet. The little girl wouldn't stop moving. She would move just a little bit then pause just long enough to make us think she was done then spaz and move again lol. We were cracking up. Finally she did stop long enough to get a cute shot of her feet both together. Then she finished everything and said the doctor would be in to do her own ultrasound and check out the heart again.
The doctor came in and said that all of the images the tech got were great and that everything looks good so far. There were a few blurry images she wanted to check out herself and then make it to the heart. So she took her time also and looked at everything in as many angles as she could. Then she made it to the heart and zoomed in and zoomed out and then back in and looked at all different angles again. I loved that they were really paying attention and trying to figure this out! So finally she started to explain everything to us. She said that when there is a spot on the heart like that usually it points to Down Syndrome. I freak out immediately of course and I ask if my baby is ok. She said that if there were more abnormalities in any other organ, particularly the heart, she would be a little concerned. But she said that everything else looked just fine. The shape of the heart, the beat, the other organs, the face... everything was perfect except that one little spot. So then she comes to her conclusion and says that it is a calcium deposite between the muscle. She zooms in on it for us again to let us look while she is explaining everything. She said that the muscle to open and close the valve is functioning fine even though that is there. Once a calcium deposit is somewhere it's there forever. I freaked out about that too. I asked if it would affect her heart in any way, or her activities. She said not at all. Thank goodness! She said that they find something like this in about 5%-6% of perfectly normal healthy pregnancies and babies. I'm still thinking that a small amount, but she thinks I'm in that small percentage. She said that it is kind of like a scar. The heart somehow was injured in some way when she was developing and the calcium is what comes to fix it, then it just stays ther like a scar. But it won't affect anything in any way. The doctor said that she isn't worried in any way and doesn't see anything else abnormal or alarming that worries her, and tried to reassure us that we don't need to be worried anymore either. Then she left to make her notes to send to my doctor and we were good to go.
But of course I'm still a little worried. I keep trying to tell myself that they found nothing wrong. But I'm still worried. Maybe it's just the maternal instincts coming out, who knows. But that's the most up to date I have on my baby... beside that she was really active today. It's so fun to feel her move. OH!!! I almost forgot, it was the coolest, strangest thing to watch the ultrasound and see her move and feel it at the same time!!! Oh it was crazy. It's like, hey I'm not just watching a movie, this is actually happening!

2 comments:

  1. Elise--I enjoy reading your blog and keeping up-to-date on "Toodles". I'm so excited for you and Dan to be having this precious little one!

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  2. She'll be perfect. I'm excited for you both!

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