no news is good news

Last week we went into Children’s Hospital to see a pediatric cardiologist for a fetal echocardiogram. The spent nearly an hour doing an in-depth scan of the baby’s heart, checking every valve and blood vessel. It is amazing what they can see. The doctor told us that the function and structure of the heart look completely normal! This is what we expected and were hoping for but it is still a huge relief because the condition with the baby’s lungs is commonly associated with heart defects. Praise the Lord that this does not appear to be the case!

The next day I also got back results of some blood tests they did on me that showed I have all of the correct immunities and no exposure to infection during my pregnancy. This is also great news because infection was another possible cause of the lung issue and would have been one of the more difficult causes to treat. So, we are narrowing down the list of possible causes, but still no answers.

Today we had another ultrasound and things appear to be stable. The baby’s overall growth is normal and the fluid around the lungs has not increased at all. The perinatalogist said she was very pleased to see this and that, while the condition is still serious, the prognosis looks promising. While we still don’t know the cause of the pleural effusions, it appears to be an isolated issue and we will likely be able to put off the drainage procedure until much later in the pregnancy or after delivery, or possibly not even have to do it at all. They are going to continue to see me weekly and do an ultrasound every other week to monitor the situation. I am feeling so relieved. I just have an overwhelming sense of peace knowing that this baby is going to be alright. I just believe it will be.