First, the update. Dr. Lacy (Ryleigh’s cardiologist, not one
her surgeons, but she will see Dr. Lacey after surgery for monthly follow ups
until she is an adult) stated that Ryleigh's heart muscle is squeezing nicely
has good rhythm and appears to be very strong, this indicates that she's not a
candidate for a heart transplant (YAH) and will likely not have to venture down
that road, wonderful news! She did mention that there is some thickening going
on at the truncal vessel, this can lead to stenosis. Her current truncal vessel,
that did not split, will become her Aorta value, and the other vessel, that should
be there but isn’t, will be made by the doctors using a conduit and valve. Stenosis is important to watch.
Aortic valve stenosis — or aortic stenosis — occurs when the
heart's aortic valve narrows. This narrowing prevents the valve from opening
fully, which obstructs blood flow from your heart into your aorta and onward to
the rest of your body. When the aortic valve is obstructed, your heart needs to
work harder to pump blood to your body. Eventually, this extra work limits the
amount of blood it can pump and may weaken your heart muscle, leading to
symptoms, such as fatigue and dizziness. If you have severe aortic valve
stenosis, you'll usually need surgery to replace the valve. Left untreated,
aortic valve stenosis can lead to serious heart problems.
It will not change the outcome of her having to need surgery
upon birth, but it could affect how quickly she gets her surgery and potential
future complications, which at this point she will be scheduled for her first
OHS between five and 14 days post birth.
Other than that this checkup was very successful. We go back
in five weeks to have another assessment and to schedule her appointment with
the cardiac team that will be performing her surgery (we get to meet them!) and
at that time we will also tour the NICU and PICU facilities at Wolfson
Children's Hospital so we will know where she will be taken shortly after birth.
She told us that when Ryleigh has her surgery they have to
stop the heart in order to conduct the procedure, she will be on life support
for the duration of the surgery and then they start it back up. In addition,
Dr. Lacy stated that the abdominal cavity is so small in babies as it is, that
leaving the chest open is a requirement of the facility for 48 to 72 hours to
accommodate swelling that is very typical in babies with heart surgery, this
kind of scared me because I asked will we be able to see her heart beating
through this opening and she said there will be a piece of plastic that covers
the opening so we won’t see it. Still it's good to know what to expect when we
go see her – no surprises for me!
She also stated that Ryleigh should be able to maintain a
normal vaccine schedule as any other typical child, even getting the live
vaccines. She did say for six weeks post discharge from the hospital we will
need to keep Riley isolated from anything and everything when we come home.
That pretty much means no visitors until she is strong enough and has had her
vaccines. Definitely no sick people around her, so cooking and ordering in will
be our life until our sweet girl is ready to go to her first dinner date. So if
you don’t live in our house, you ain’t coming in!
When she is born they will perform a series of blood tests (many
genetic) to determine if there are any genetic dispositions that she will have,
and one of these is called a FISH test for the DiGeorge and Velocardiofacial
Syndrome (VCFS), which we know she doesn’t have VCFS because there are no signs
of a palate issues like cleft palate or facial deformities. Approximately 90%
of patients with DiGeorge syndrome or VCFS will have a positive FISH test.
DiGeorge anomaly
(DGA) is a congenital immunodeficiency characterized by abnormal facies; congenital
heart defects; hypoparathyroidism with hypocalcemia; cognitive, behavioral, and
psychiatric problems; and increased susceptibility to infections. Pathological
hallmarks include conotruncal abnormalities and absence or hypoplasia of thymus
and parathyroid glands. Although this condition is commonly known as DiGeorge
syndrome, the term DiGeorge anomaly is more appropriate. The constellation of
defects is not a syndrome resulting from a single cause, but rather the failure
of an embryological field to develop normally.
Over time, it has become apparent that DiGeorge syndrome and
VCFS overlap in many ways. This includes many of the large number of other
problems that children with these diagnoses may encounter. In addition, we now
know that the disorders overlap in being caused by chromosome 22q11 deletions
and that both syndromes can be observed within one family (for example, a
mother with VCFS may have a child with DiGeorge syndrome).
As for when we bring her along what to expect. Dr. Lacey told
us that she'll be like any other normal baby except she will have just had open
heart surgery. Well that's not comforting to me, but she said that as far as
holding her, we use the scooping method and feeding her through a bottle to
make sure that she's getting all of the nutrition she needs and that the nurses
before discharge will go over all special kind of treatments and medication dispenses
with us.
Craig did ask about a feeding tube, which can be common in
babies that have prolonged periods in the hospital with tubing going in and out
of their nose and throat, because they don't develop the sucking skills that
normal babies are born with, she said as long as Ryleigh is eating well upon
discharge she will not be given a surgical feeding tube. We won't know more
about that until we see how she does with all the tubes come out.
That’s pretty much the skinny of it. We have a few more appts coming up in the next
two weeks, waiting on the MRI scan of her brain, and we got for our 3D u/s
soon, so excited to see her!!!
Love, hope, and encouragement have lit an eternal flame in
our hearts that our baby will be all that we had initially hoped for and in her
own imperfect perfect way will fill our souls with the nectar of unconditional love,
life, and laughter.
Be well friends and live each moment you have with those that
fill your lives.
