Author Archives: beeler

Off To Cincy

Posted on by
Reply

With the help of Wi-Fi Internet, a laptop and lots of pillows, I am able to blog while on bed-rest. Well, Stephen and I (and the twins, of course) are off to Cincinnati tomorrow morning. We’ll be taking our time while driving up, stopping for my many pee breaks, and to stretch out and get the blood flowing (on doctor’s orders so that I don’t form any blood clots). It’s about 7 and a 1/2 hours without stops, so that shouldn’t be too bad.

Our “adventure” at the Fetal Care Center begins on Monday at 7:30 a.m. and ends with an appointment scheduled for 11:30 p.m. The day consists of another ultrasound and echo-cardiogram, individual and then family consultation, a team meeting with the surgical staff, and then an oh-so-fun MRI. Our hope is that our fetoscopic laser surgery will be fast-tracked for Tuesday due to what the findings were at our Friday ultrasound here with the local maternal fetal care specialists. Similar to the findings of my last ultrasound on Wednesday, things weren’t horrible, but the amnio-reduction really only bought us some extra time. In short, Zeke still wasn’t “stuck” nor was he exhibiting signs of distress — his sac had some fluid, he moved around a bit, his heart rate was strong, and he and Gabriel’s condition was still somewhere between a stage 1 and 2 — but the equalizing we had hoped for just hadn’t occurred. We knew the chances of that happening were slim, so this didn’t really come as a shock. Dr. Joy informed us that another amnio wouldn’t be necessary (music to my ears!), since the first outcome wasn’t that effective overall. Moreover, it could possibly hold us up from our Cincy plans, should I have to be readmitted to the hospital for observations post-amnio. Therefore, we’re taking the bull by the horns and going for the laser surgery — the closest thing to a cure that exists for TTTS.

Here’s the gist of the surgery: since the twins have an unequal sharing of blood to their separate sacs via their one placenta, the doctors will locate the vascular connections that are creating these “miscommunications” (presumably via the MRI) and “photocoagulate” (or destroy) them with the laser. This will even out the amniotic fluid in each baby’s sac, and in turn, create a more stable environment for normal physical, mental and physiological growth, while also greatly reducing the chances of an extremely premature birth.

Sure, there are innate risks with such an invasive surgery. But with the way my TTTS is progressing, the chances of one or both twins dying before they’re even viable for emergency c-section at 24 weeks, or at the very least, developing severe physical and/or neurological defects should they miraculously survive beyond that point are both likely if nothing more is done. So, we see this as a no-brainer. We’ll be sure to keep y’all posted from Cincy when we can. Keep up those prayers and just know that spirits are high with Clan Dillingham!

A quickie Houston update … we’ve been trying to keep his routine as uninterrupted as possible. While Gramsey was here, she took Houston on two play dates: one with Dixie and one with Gracie, his two best home girls. And then today, Granny took him to the birthday party of Mason, my old co-worker’s two-year-old boy. Plus, Houston has had plenty of people to take him on his walks and play with him outside, not to mention the fact that he has just been digging the extra time with Daddy, Granny, Grumps, Gramsey and Papa. He’s loving it!

Yesterday & Tomorrow

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday started off with Rebecca getting an ultrasound with the specialist. Things on that front were good but were only a band-aid to the syndrome. Zeke was not stuck again and the docs were finally able to view his bladder (a big deal when dealing with TTTS), but ultimately, something will probably need to be done soon. Therefore, we’ve started the ball rolling with all of our local team and the Fetal Care Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

But we also had a lot of positive news yesterday, too: the chromosomal fish study came back negative, the echo-cardiogram didn’t show any abnormalities, and Rebecca got discharged from the hospital. She’s doing fine and has stopped having contractions. She’s glad to be back home where she can see Houston, relax uninterrupted, and exist peacefully, unencumbered by the degrees of medical hoo-ha she was plugged up to.

Tomorrow we have another ultrasound with the specialists in the morning. We are hoping and praying for a miracle and planning for otherwise. If the condition has indeed worsened enough to the point where action needs to be taken, we will be going to Cincinnati. My dad might be coming along as our backup. We would start the process early Monday morning, meeting with the remote team and figuring out the game plan for the week. The process is called fetoscopic laser surgery. It’s goal is to correct the blood-flow coming from the placenta, so that both babies have an equal share.

Many have been asking, “who is taking care of Houston?” Well, let’s give a hearty shout-out to grandmothers, or abuelitas, as some may call them. They rock. Especially when the come to take care of your children and cook you food. Houston has been in very good and loving hands and has been up to the following:

  • He’s doing the more sign (we think)
  • The daddy (or hat) sign
  • The dog sign
  • The abuelitas report that he’s saying “Dixie” and “uh-oh”
  • He’s giving hugs to his friends
  • Dancing to music
  • Walking confidently
  • Even running, says Gramsy

Rebecca is currently still on bed-rest at home, drinking high-protein shakes throughout the day, laying on her sides, pretty much only getting up to “take care of business.” She’s still is in high spirits and has a positive attitude about the whole thing. We ask that you continue to pray for us and we thank everyone for all their help. Most especially, we thank God, who has given us the strength to get through this thus far. Keep watching the blog for periodic updates.

Trip to Charleston

Posted on by
Reply

We’re starting our third day here in Charleston. So far, we’ve been to downtown a couple of times. We went to the Old Exchange and Provost, one of the oldest buildings in the US. It’s the building where South Carolina delegates met to vote to ratify the Constitution. Yesterday, we took a boat out Fort Sumter. It was something of a pilgrimage. The fort was full of monuments to the Union general that initially defended and re-took the fort from Confederate possession, but at least the Confederate flags were flown in the fort. Also, surprisingly, the narration from the park rangers was actually slightly balanced and factually correct. They mentioned twice that the abolition of slavery was not a cause of the Union’s declaration of war. We’ve hit two different restaurants in downtown Charleston. We did the Southend Brewery and a Southern cookin’ joint called Jestine’s Kitchen, which was awesome. We had corn bread, fried green ‘maters, fried oyster po-boy, fried chicken, fried okra, collard greens, pecan pie, and ‘nanner puddin’. There was some yankee scum in there whom Rebecca overheard asking his friend what collard greens were. Houston’s been great so far, it’s been a pleasure to go see all the sites with him. Other than taking extra time to feed and change him, it’s really not affected our travels at all. Today, we’re going to try to see the Confederate submarine, the H. L. Hunley. Also, I just tried South Carolina, mustard-based BBQ for the first time. Awesome! I just had a couple bites of my buddy’s sandwhich. I’ll have to head up to Melvin’s and try a full meal. We’ll post pictures of our travels when we get back home and Rebecca can tweak her pictures.