Saturday, May 9, 2009

Final Pathology Report

Just when we thought we could finally move forward from our miscarriage and D&C, Dr. Erwin called Thursday afternoon with the final pathology report. Earlier in the week he had the initial report back that just stated degenerative changes, but the final report was a different story. It stated that the reason for the miscarriage was a Partial Molar Pregnancy.

Basically what happened is that my fertilized egg had the normal chromosomes from me but double the chromosomes from the sperm, so there were 69 chromosomes instead of the normal 46. Either the sperm duplicated or two sperm fertilized the egg. My doctor said there was fetal tissue but of course it was so abnormal it couldn't survive. Apparently the chances of this happening are 1/1000 and there's only a 1-2% chance of it happening with my next pregnancy.

The bad news is that some of the abnormal molar cells can still be in my uterus and if that's the case, it starts rapidly dividing and can cause Gestational Trophoblastic Disease. If that happens, my doctor said I'll have to take methotrexate to kill the cells. The good news is that he said there's really only a 5-7% chance of that happening.

What I have to do now is to get my hcg levels tested to make sure they go down to 0. I had my blood drawn today and my doctor will take more in two weeks at my post-op appointment. If my numbers are going down, I'll have to continue to go back every month for the next 6 months to make sure my levels are at 0. Instead of waiting the standard 2-3 months to try and get pregnant after a D&C, my doctor said I'll have to wait 6 months-1 year. He wants me to go back on birth control pills so my hormones will be at a constant level--that way if there are any changes, he will know it's because of the molar pregnancy and not my hormones being wacky.

After reading online (which, according to Dr. Erwin I shouldn't do so I won't scare myself!!) the odds are in my favor. Most likely my numbers will go down, I won't need any treatment, and my next pregnancy will be just fine.

So after the latest drama, I'm hoping that this is the last time I'll have to update our blog with bad news. Here's to hoping the black cloud of rain stuck over the Storm family will lift and we can finally see our rainbow!!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

It's been a while!

Hello, all! I figured that since I'm sitting at home with no job and nothing to do, I'd finally get around to updating our blog. Just a warning...this is going to be a long one!!

As all of you may know, April was a rough month for the Storm family. We found out we were pregnant in March and were nervous but excited to go to the doctor in April for our first ultrasound. Deep down I had a feeling something wasn't right, but Troy being the supportive husband he is, kept telling me everything was fine. The 16th finally rolled around and as Dr. Erwin performed the ultrasound (while I had a death grip on Troy's hand) he discovered that our baby was only measuring 6 weeks with no heartbeat and I was almost 9 weeks along. Troy and I were in tears and heartbroken. He said it was probably a missed miscarriage but wanted to send us to a MFM specialist with a better ultrasound machine.

A note about Dr. Erwin--Troy and I are so blessed to have such a wonderful, caring, Christian doctor in our lives. He always treats us with the utmost respect and makes us feel as if we are his only patients. He prayed with us and helped us to see that this was all in God's plan.

The following day, we went to see Dr. Sheppard expecting her to confirm Dr. Erwin's findings. We were wrong. After staring at the screen for a long while, we all noticed a flicker of activity on the screen. She grabbed my wrist to feel for my heartbeat, and informed us that our baby did indeed have a heartbeat, although it was rather slow. She said things didn't look normal but she wasn't ready to rule it a miscarriage yet. She recommended we wait for a couple of weeks and have another ultrasound to see if any progress had been made.

So that's what we did...we waited. While waiting, more bad news hit. I found out I was laid off from work. At this point, I really didn't know how much more stress and bad news I could handle. Now I look at losing my job as a blessing in disguise. I need a better job and Sydney is definitely ready for preschool so she can learn new things and meet new friends. God had a mysterious way of doing things and sometimes I don't understand them, but I know He's doing what's best for my life.

After waiting 2 weeks, the 30th finally rolled around and we were finally ready to have some answers. At this point in my pregnancy, I was almost 11 weeks along. Dr. Erwin performed the ultrasound, and once again, our baby was only measuring 6 weeks with no heartbeat. After seeing that, the next 24 hours went by in a flash. Since his machine is old, Dr. Erwin wanted us to be seen immediately by the radiologist with a better ultrasound machine to confirm his findings, and he went ahead and scheduled a D&C for the following morning at 7am. After giving 3 vials of blood, we went next door for another ultrasound, which indeed confirmed the results of a non-viable pregnancy. So then we went back to the hospital to pre-register for the procedure. While there, I had to visit the lab and give 2 more vials of blood. Since my blood type is B-, immediately following the procedure I had to have a Rhogam shot and the lab had to type my blood for the shot. Needless to say, I was a little woosy after giving so much blood and not eating much all day!!

Since the procedure was at 7am on May 1st and we had to be at the hospital at 6am, Sydney got to stay the night with Mamaw and Papaw. I'm so blessed to have such wonderful parents that can help us out on a moment's notice! Troy and I woke up at 4:30am the morning of the procedure and were at the hospital promptly at 6am. Shortly after checking in, we were brough up to pre-op where they took my vitals and started my IV. Dr. Erwin stopped by to go over the procedure and said a prayer with us. Troy was then shown to the waiting room and I was wheeled back to the OR. About an hour later I was in recovery feeling groggy, a little crampy, but otherwise ok. After staying there for about 1 1/2 hours, Troy was finally able to bring me home. I slept most of the day away on Friday and gradually started feeling better over the weekend.

It is now the Thursday after my procedure, and physically I'm almost back to my old self. Emotionally, I have my good moments and bad moments, but I'm starting to feel better. I'm comforted to know that our Angel Baby is in Heaven looking down on us and that one day, Troy and I will finally be able to meet our little one.

Thanks to everyone for their love, support, and prayers during this difficult time. Troy and I are blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives.