Fetal Surgey: Part 1

Because this is so long, I am posting in two section. I will probably post the after sugery part tommorrow.
I was admitted late on February the 25, thanks to one of the most amazing people I have met in my life. Audrey O’ Brian I was able to have a member from the ward here come and assist Jared in a priesthood blessing. It was beautiful and just what I needed to embark on this adventure. Lots of you have asked for details about my surgery so here it goes, I had surgery on February 26, 2009 early in the morning about 7:00. I remember wheeling down to surgery Jared and I both feeling very emotional. I remember being wheeled into a room and wondering where mom was, she was supposed to see me before surgery but had a hard time getting a cab. Next thing I noticed, mom was in the room with Jared and I. I felt relieved. Several doctors were checking in with me and I was trying to get coaxed up into drinking the liquid drink (something nitrate grrr… I should know the name being in nursing school) that prevents me from throwing up during surgery. If you know me you know that I would rather do almost anything than drink a nasty drink. Then the anesthesia team came in and gave me a shot of something in my IV. I don’t remember saying goodbye to mom and Jared. I do remember being in the surgery room and the nurse Rachel telling me how brave I was and getting my epidural. Then I was out. Apparently I said some funny things though, like I told my mom and Jared I felt drunk.
They cut me from hip to hip. Big incision, but my mom said if I get a two piece swim suit with a chain across the belly I could probably be able to wear one again. Hah hah! Most of you know this was big thing for me. I like my abs. The incision is quit big and higher than a c-section. I wish I could remember all the details of the surgery and have print out of them but I don’t. All from memory, here it goes. They cut open the womb, gave Tyson a shot for pain. They are unsure if babies at this stage can feel pain. They rolled him over so just his back was exposed. They clamped open my uterus and constantly bathed baby Tyson in a warm saline fluid, due to the leaking out of amniotic fluid. It is like a synthetic warm saline solution they bathe him in. This keeps his body temp normal and keeps him nice and warm. They release the spinal cord attached to his back, stick it back in the hole and sew him up. Tyson’s hole was oval shaped and they did not have enough skin to close his back so they placed a synthetic skin patch. He gets anesthesia from me through umbilical cord so he is asleep like me. It is amazing the womb can handle this being like a balloon. All of the doctors told us that it is quit amazing what the womb can handle the stress. As you can imagine this gets the uterus all stressed out which caused contractions. During surgery, Tyson’s heart beat dropped which made the surgeons nervous. They gave him a shot of something? another drug I can’t remember that I should know, to increase his heart rate. They got his heart rate back up. I know heavenly father was watching over us. Everything else went well.
Now it is the waiting game. Hope and pray that I can stay pregnant another day. ( I have made it two weeks since surgery YAH!) I made a silly paper chain thing for my room to count down the weeks. You know the one you make in grade school to count down to Christmas. Next we have a lot of faith that the surgery works. My hope’s for Tyson:
#1 He will walk.
#2 He will have an intelligent mind, be strong mentally,
#3 No shunt.
I know in my heart that we made the right decision and I did everything I could do to give Tyson the best possible outcome for life. One day when he is older Jared and I will explain what we did for him. I want him to know we did everything possible. I know Tyson and I we will always have a special bond. “we did this together”. I am so excited to hold and cuddle him in my arms. He just needs to cook for about 9 more weeks. I know he has a special spirit and is a fighter. He has gone through a lot but still manages to swim and jump like crazy inside of me. He is a wild man! I hope the fighter attitude will carry through out life. I know he will achieve great things and spina bifida will not get in his way.
UCSF is amazing! It is one of the best hospitals in the world and I could not be in a better place. They have done fetal surgery for years. They deal with all sorts of abnormalities. I am grateful for spina bifidia compared to all the other abnormalities they do fetal surgery on.