Where were we? Oh right, AFP. After the results from the amnio came back normal, I was retested to see if the first test was just a fluke. Not the case. My levels were still high and this could mean possibility of cancer in the ovaries or liver. Pile it on....we can take it!!!!! From all the previous ultrasounds, they had ruled out the ovaries. Next step would be blood test for liver enzymes and a liver ultrasound.
But first, we were back at Loyola for our second ultrasound to check on the growth of the heart. What we had been told up to this point was that doctors don't start looking at the heart until about twenty three weeks. I was twenty two weeks and we were hoping that the previous ultrasound was just too early to tell. Foolish...just foolish thinking. I'm lucky to have Mike because he always keeps me grounded. The night before our appointment, he just said to me, "I just want you to be prepared for worst case scenario, no changes in the heart". And although I was still hopeful, I was prepared for what we would find out. The left side of the heart was very underdeveloped. Medical term for this condition is Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. After we were finished, our OB referred us to the pediatric cardiology department for an echocardiogram to verify their finding.
For those that don't know, an echocardiogram (also called at echo) is a type of ultrasound that uses high pitched sound waves that are sent through a device called a transducer. The device picks up echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off different parts of the heart. These echoes are turned into moving pictures of the heart that can be seen on a video screen. It looks at blood flow through all chambers of the heart. Trust me....I'm learning a lot of new words too through this process.
P.S. Liver enzymes and ultrasound came back normal. Another win, although we really have no idea why my AFP levels are so high. But a win none the less.
No comments:
Post a Comment