Echocardiogram

I nearly passed out. It wasn't that the news was shocking (we didn't even have any news yet) or the procedure so painful (no needles involved)... actually, I don't know what it was. But whatever the cause, I started to black-out about 10 minutes into the ultrasound with the pediatric cardiologist. They got me some more pillows, a drink of water, and I stole an apple slice from the snacks I'd brought for Her Nibs. I've still felt weak all day, but I did avoid actually passing out.

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound where they look exclusively at the heart, but in great detail and with an expert on the heart. We saw a pediatric cardiology fellow first, then the head honcho pediatric cardiologist came in for a few minutes to get a few pictures himself, and he's the one who sat down and talked with us afterwards. I shifted by legs around a little at the beginning and the doctor said "Yeah. Make yourself comfortable. This is going to take about 45 minutes." Seriously?! A 45 minute ultrasound?! Yep. Seriously. We accepted their offer to put a movie on for Her Nibs.

It wasn't fun, exactly, since I was still sort of fighting for consciousness the whole time and felt very uncomfortable while trying to lie still and hoping Lizard Loaf wasn't in a bad position for pictures. At the same time, I've been waiting anxiously for this day and the results of the echocardiogram ever since we learned Lizard Loaf has Down syndrome. Nearly 50% of children with Down syndrome have a congenital heart defect (you probably know this, but congenital just means 'born with it'). Usually, the problem is a hole between the four chambers of the heart, pretty much right in the middle. This is, of course, a bad thing. The solution is a surgery within the first year of life that is actually fairly routine. Babies with this heart problem have a harder time circulating oxygen, so they tend to be sleepier, and I've read about one that had a bluish tinge until after the surgery. From what I understand, babies who need this surgery are usually in the hospital for less than a week and recover very quickly. This sort of health problem is not desirable (by any stretch), but it's not the end of the world.

Fortunately, Lizard Loaf's echo cardiogram came up completely normal.

*huge sigh of relief*

We're not completely out of the woods, but Lizard Loaf definitely doesn't have the big hole in the middle of his heart between all four chambers. In fact, he doesn't have any major heart problems at all. Unfortunately, this ultrasound can't see everything. The heart, I learned today, works differently before a baby is born. The heart fast-tracks oxygenated blood from the placenta straight to the brain, rather than cycling it through the lungs first (which don't have any oxygen to give yet, obviously). Once a baby is born and starts taking in oxygen, the tubes change a little, and the blood picks up oxygen in the lungs before going to the brain. The pressure between the various chambers of the heart changes after a baby is born, too. Some things that might be invisible now would be apparent later after these changes happen. Also, Lizard Loaf's heart isn't much bigger than a quarter right now. You can only see so much on such a tiny organ. There's still a chance he has a small hole in his heart. Even if he has one now (which we can't detect), it could easily fix itself before he's born. And even if he has one that doesn't fix itself before he's born, it would probably still repair itself and not need surgery.

I know this is a rambling post. I hope it makes sense. Bottom line: There are no guarantees in life, but in every way we can measure right now, Lizard Loaf is perfectly healthy. And Turtar and I are very grateful for that.