Friday, June 4, 2010

Relief


As most (or probably all) of you know, baby Maddox has finally joined us in the world. With everything we went through to get him here safely, now, two weeks later, I feel like I can breath for the first time.

Maddox was born via scheduled c-section on May 19th at 9:55am. Because he was only 36 and a half weeks, and not full term, there were concerns that his lungs may not be fully developed. Although our nerves were pretty shot, we felt confidence in the team of doctors and nurses surrounding us that day. Every person that was involved in Maddox's delivery, right down to the anesthesiologist, had copies of my complete chart. They were all given a print out from a medical journal providing a run down of NAIT. My OB said they were more prepared for my surgery than any other she had ever done... and it showed!

After getting prepped and numbed in all the right places, Nolan was brought into the OR to sit next to my head. Before we knew it my doctor was saying the words I had been waiting to hear for 8 months; "here comes your baby!" She pulled his head out, and before the rest of his body had left my stomach he was screaming. I have never heard a more relieving sound in my life. Screaming equals breathing. I cried harder than I have cried since Jax was born. It's impossible to put into words the amount of pressure and fear that was lifted from my body with Maddox. Physical, mental, and emotional pressure that I had been carrying for months, finally gone. Well, mostly gone anyway. He was out, but we still didn't know how successful the treatments had been. Because he seemed physically stable, the nurses allowed Nolan to hold him by my head for a little while. I gave him plenty of kisses before he was whisked off to the NICU for testing. As I was being stitched back together, the nurses explained to me that they found only one small patch of petechia (broken blood vessels that can sometimes signal internal bleeding) near his groin, but insisted he seemed healthy otherwise. By the time I was wheeled to recovery the numbers were back and seemed promising. Maddox's platelet count was 92k, 30k above what Jax's were at birth. I'll admit, they weren't as high as I had hoped for, but they were still great counts. And better yet, an ultrasound performed on his head found no signs of brain bleeds. The pediatrician let us know that they would test his platelets again in six hours, and if they continued to climb over the next few tests he would be allowed to room with us.

Unfortunately, like dejavu, six hours later his had counts dropped down to 50k, and then 33k six hours after that. It was Jax's delivery all over again, with one thing majorly different. We were in control. I decided years ago that if we ever had another child I was going to be armed with as much information as I could possibly get my hands on. I absolutely refuse to be in the dark again. So with the help of hematology we came into Maddox's birth with a game plan. If his counts were to fall below 50k but above 30k they would administer IVIG (the same infusions I had been receiving all the way through the pregnancy) and test again an hour after the infusion was complete (infusions take about 5-6 hours). Because Jax only needed one round of IVIG our hopes were that Maddox would only require the same. If Maddox's counts dropped below 30k they would transfuse with the donated platelets we had standing by. My sincere gratitude to the three donors that gave their platelets for my son... Thank God they weren't needed! After one round of IVIG Maddo'x platelets climbed back up to what they were at birth. They dipped again a few hours later, but have steadily been climbing since. By our third day in the hospital he was released to our room and was able to spend the remainder of our stay with us. We were all released after five loooooong days in the hospital.

Now, two weeks later, Maddox's platelet count is finally within the normal range (150k and up). I didn't realize this whole pregnancy it was as though I was holding my breath, just waiting for something to go wrong. Now that it's over I can breath. Best of all I can enjoy this little person we have created. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what I did to deserve one miracle, let alone two... but I have a feeling God has great plans for these boys. I'm so blessed to be their mother, I truly would walk through fire for them.

Anyway, that is Maddox's birth story in a nutshell.

Anyone wanting to have a better understanding of NAIT, please check out this amazing video my friend (and fellow NAIT mommy) Sarah made. It really helps put things in perspective 8-)

Go to:
http://www.onetruemedia.com
Login:
snekane@hotmail.com
Password:
nekane02

Click on the video called NAIT and enjoy!

Thank you everyone that was such a huge support to us during this journey, and most of all thank you for your prayers! They have meant the world to us 8-)
~Tracy




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