Here's the latest on Ruthie:
We checked in to the hospital on Monday. We had the procedure done on Tuesday. First of all, the procedure they did must have been fairly new because we had a room full of doctors, residents, nurses, etc. All wanting to get a glimpse of little Ruthie. Our little girl is already causing a fuss! There was a mass on her lung filled with fluid that was putting a ton of pressure on her little heart causing some signs of high stress. Her heart was under so much stress that it caused her to swell/retain fluid. Using a giant hollow needle (don't worry; I was numb and couldn't see a thing), they put in a shunt to drain a fluid in the mass. It must have been cool because the room was pretty quiet when the shunt went in. The doctor standing nearest to me said the ultrasound looked very cool! She could see the cyst going down instantly. Before the procedure, her heart looked squished and was against her spine. We saw a follow-up ultrasound today and we got to see all 4 chambers of her heart and they all look normal and it's going back to where it's supposed to be.
She is still swollen/retaining fluid, the solid mass is still there (but much smaller), and she does have some fluid in her left lung. She is in no way out of the woods but they have given her the best shot. Over the next 3-4 months we'll be watching these things and praying that they resolve and just go away! She may have to have some surgery after she's born. There are so many things that we just don't know. There are several ways this could go. There are just too many variables.
As for me, I'm feeling okay. I'm having some cramping (totally normal) and my back is sore from the spinal. But I assume these things will go away soon. My mind is okay too. I, of course, have my moments of total hysteria. But, in general, I'm hopeful, happy, and anticipating the arrival of Ruthie.
With all this good news, there is a small bit of bad news. Well, not bad.... i guess it depends on who you ask. I'm on modified bed rest from now until the end of the pregnancy, hopefully a full 3 1/2 months. You know what this means..... i'm not going back to school this August. I was totally bumbed. I was really looking forward to getting back to school, but modified bed rest says no working. Modified bed rest means I can walk around my house and I can do one outing a day for around 2-3 hours. But this limits me a tad. A tad more than I like but I will do anything to give this sweet child the best possible outcome!
I told our doctors, I (and many others) have prayed and prayed that this lung mass would just disappear or get smaller so that she could have a shot at life. God didn't just make it disappear, but He used them to make it go away. I don't care how God answers our prayers. I am super thankful to all the doctors who were able to help me and Ruthie this week.
There are too many stories of how God has showed up this week to explain them all. We are just praising God for showing his favor on us and sending us so many blessings. Jimmy and I are so so so thankful to everyone who has been praying for us. We can definitely feel everyone's prayers. God is so good. We will continue to pray and not doubt. We are trying to be guarded but faithful.
Update on Ruthie Grace
Here's the latest on Ruthie:
We checked in to the hospital on Monday. We had the procedure done on Tuesday. First of all, the procedure they did must have been fairly new because we had a room full of doctors, residents, nurses, etc. All wanting to get a glimpse of little Ruthie. Our little girl is already causing a fuss! There was a mass on her lung filled with fluid that was putting a ton of pressure on her little heart causing some signs of high stress. Her heart was under so much stress that it caused her to swell/retain fluid. Using a giant hollow needle (don't worry; I was numb and couldn't see a thing), they put in a shunt to drain a fluid in the mass. It must have been cool because the room was pretty quiet when the shunt went in. The doctor standing nearest to me said the ultrasound looked very cool! She could see the cyst going down instantly. Before the procedure, her heart looked squished and was against her spine. We saw a follow-up ultrasound today and we got to see all 4 chambers of her heart and they all look normal and it's going back to where it's supposed to be.
She is still swollen/retaining fluid, the solid mass is still there (but much smaller), and she does have some fluid in her left lung. She is in no way out of the woods but they have given her the best shot. Over the next 3-4 months we'll be watching these things and praying that they resolve and just go away! She may have to have some surgery after she's born. There are so many things that we just don't know. There are several ways this could go. There are just too many variables.
As for me, I'm feeling okay. I'm having some cramping (totally normal) and my back is sore from the spinal. But I assume these things will go away soon. My mind is okay too. I, of course, have my moments of total hysteria. But, in general, I'm hopeful, happy, and anticipating the arrival of Ruthie.
With all this good news, there is a small bit of bad news. Well, not bad.... i guess it depends on who you ask. I'm on modified bed rest from now until the end of the pregnancy, hopefully a full 3 1/2 months. You know what this means..... i'm not going back to school this August. I was totally bumbed. I was really looking forward to getting back to school, but modified bed rest says no working. Modified bed rest means I can walk around my house and I can do one outing a day for around 2-3 hours. But this limits me a tad. A tad more than I like but I will do anything to give this sweet child the best possible outcome!
I told our doctors, I (and many others) have prayed and prayed that this lung mass would just disappear or get smaller so that she could have a shot at life. God didn't just make it disappear, but He used them to make it go away. I don't care how God answers our prayers. I am super thankful to all the doctors who were able to help me and Ruthie this week.
There are too many stories of how God has showed up this week to explain them all. We are just praising God for showing his favor on us and sending us so many blessings. Jimmy and I are so so so thankful to everyone who has been praying for us. We can definitely feel everyone's prayers. God is so good. We will continue to pray and not doubt. We are trying to be guarded but faithful.
We checked in to the hospital on Monday. We had the procedure done on Tuesday. First of all, the procedure they did must have been fairly new because we had a room full of doctors, residents, nurses, etc. All wanting to get a glimpse of little Ruthie. Our little girl is already causing a fuss! There was a mass on her lung filled with fluid that was putting a ton of pressure on her little heart causing some signs of high stress. Her heart was under so much stress that it caused her to swell/retain fluid. Using a giant hollow needle (don't worry; I was numb and couldn't see a thing), they put in a shunt to drain a fluid in the mass. It must have been cool because the room was pretty quiet when the shunt went in. The doctor standing nearest to me said the ultrasound looked very cool! She could see the cyst going down instantly. Before the procedure, her heart looked squished and was against her spine. We saw a follow-up ultrasound today and we got to see all 4 chambers of her heart and they all look normal and it's going back to where it's supposed to be.
She is still swollen/retaining fluid, the solid mass is still there (but much smaller), and she does have some fluid in her left lung. She is in no way out of the woods but they have given her the best shot. Over the next 3-4 months we'll be watching these things and praying that they resolve and just go away! She may have to have some surgery after she's born. There are so many things that we just don't know. There are several ways this could go. There are just too many variables.
As for me, I'm feeling okay. I'm having some cramping (totally normal) and my back is sore from the spinal. But I assume these things will go away soon. My mind is okay too. I, of course, have my moments of total hysteria. But, in general, I'm hopeful, happy, and anticipating the arrival of Ruthie.
With all this good news, there is a small bit of bad news. Well, not bad.... i guess it depends on who you ask. I'm on modified bed rest from now until the end of the pregnancy, hopefully a full 3 1/2 months. You know what this means..... i'm not going back to school this August. I was totally bumbed. I was really looking forward to getting back to school, but modified bed rest says no working. Modified bed rest means I can walk around my house and I can do one outing a day for around 2-3 hours. But this limits me a tad. A tad more than I like but I will do anything to give this sweet child the best possible outcome!
I told our doctors, I (and many others) have prayed and prayed that this lung mass would just disappear or get smaller so that she could have a shot at life. God didn't just make it disappear, but He used them to make it go away. I don't care how God answers our prayers. I am super thankful to all the doctors who were able to help me and Ruthie this week.
There are too many stories of how God has showed up this week to explain them all. We are just praising God for showing his favor on us and sending us so many blessings. Jimmy and I are so so so thankful to everyone who has been praying for us. We can definitely feel everyone's prayers. God is so good. We will continue to pray and not doubt. We are trying to be guarded but faithful.