Life Our Babies Could Use Your Support - Page 5

'Hamas' Jenkins · 04:51 AM

The great news is that I am a dad of two beautiful little girls.

The terrible news is that those girls are in extreme medical duress.
Yesterday, my wife gave birth, via emergency c-section, at 29 weeks, two days. At sixteen weeks, what looked like a normal, but rare, identical twin pregnancy became far more complicated. Our babies were diagnosed with a disorder that happens about 15% of the time with identical twin pregnancies called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. A detailed medical description isn’t necessary, but a brief one may help to understand.

The placenta provides blood flow and nutrition to a developing fetus. Most of the time, identical twins draw from the placenta with little issue, but in Twin-to-Twin, there is an imbalance. One twin, called the recipient, pulls too much blood from the placenta, and also the other baby. This makes the recipient polycythemic, basically the exact opposite of anemic. With too much blood, especially red blood cells, the blood becomes sludgy, and all the extra fluid which the baby receives from the extra blood puts a great deal of strain on their system, and can lead to congestive heart failure and other problems.

The other twin, the donor, experiences problems due to a lack of blood volume.

As a result of this circulatory imbalance, there is a massive discrepancy in amniotic fluid. The recipient swims in a pool of it, while the donor is, in essence, shrink-wrapped by the lack of fluid as the amniotic sac pulls in around it.

The condition is gravely serious, and without treatment, will usually carry a mortality risk of 100%.

After finding out that what we thought was going to be a normal pregnancy was anything but at 16 weeks, we had a procedure done in St. Louis called fetoscopic laser ablation. Developed a little over a decade ago, surgeons make a small incision in the mother’s abdomen, and with a small endoscope and laser, cauterize shared vessels between the two twins. This helps to establish a normal blood flow between the two babies.
We had this procedure done on May 6.

Initially, everything looked great, as the fluid levels between the two babies balanced out, and blood flow patterns appeared within normal range. About three weeks after the procedure, our specialists noticed that the condition had actually reversed itself. About 10% of the time, the condition will spontaneously reverse itself.

It was apparent to doctors at this appointment that this had happened near the end of May. Fluid levels were imbalanced, but still at the very end of normal. As such, the doctors felt it was the best interests in prolonging the pregnancy, which was not yet at viability, to avoid another event that would require making a hole in the amniotic sac. Thus, we embarked on a pattern of extreme vigilance. At multiple appointments per week, doctors performed an ultrasound wherein they would measure amniotic fluid levels, blood flow across the umbilical cords, and within the cerebral arteries in the brain.

After this second scare, it appeared that things began to normalize. Most of our subsequent appointments looked improved, and everything appeared to be on a healthy, normal trajectory.

Until Wednesday night.

Late Wednesday, my wife began to feel a series of small contractions. While normal in the third trimester, she had enough in a short period of time that it was necessary to call the doctor. He had us come into the hospital for closer monitoring, and after doing so, noticed that one of our babies was in distress. We had three ultrasounds last night and early into Wednesday morning, and after doing so, the doctors felt that it was in the best interests of the babies to deliver them at an extremely early, 29 weeks, but still viable age.

At 5:09 and 5:10 pm yesterday, we welcomed our little girls into the world.

Continued in post #2

Frazod · 07-29-2011, 08:21 AM

Damn, that's horrible. My best to you and your family. Hope your little girls pull through okay.

**Saul Good** · 07-29-2011, 08:36 AM

All the best on their recovery.

LVNHACK · 07-29-2011, 08:41 AM

You and your family will be in my prayers

phisherman · 07-29-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluehawkdoc

Prayers for your family. There is nothing like a father's love for his little girls. Can't imagine the emotions you and your wife must be going through but you are not alone... Keep us up to date.

as the father of a 14 month old daughter, i couldn't agree more.

i'm sending all the good vibes to your family that I can Hamas!

Mr. Plow · 07-29-2011, 08:50 AM

All my prayers coming your way Hamas.

OmahaChief · 07-29-2011, 08:51 AM

Prayers for you and your family.

tiptap · 07-29-2011, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanadianChief

You gotta take things one day at a time as the next 2-3 months are going to be a roller coaster of emotions.

I would echo this. It is not unusual for more critical intervention after 2 or 3 days. I assume they are on ventilation. Growth is a good thing. Ventilation not so much. Our thoughts are with you and your girls. I hope they allow you and your wife time to hold them as early as possible. Try to keep the area quiet with little excess noise as can be tolerated by workers.

DJ's left nut · 07-29-2011, 09:02 AM

Damn man, tough breaks. Thoughts to you and yours.

**Donger** · 07-29-2011, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Because of their age, things are critical, but additional factors and deterioration in their condition have caused a number of grave concerns.
Due to what a sudden worsening of their condition, our original recipient baby, which in late May became the donor, had a seizure shortly after birth. Doctors have had an extremely hard time maintaining her blood pressure as well as the oxygenation of her blood. She has received multiple blood transfusions in an effort to both boost her pressure, oxygenation, and red blood cell count. However, due to problems associated with a hypoxic environment, she has suffered a few seizures, and to compound that further, she has been fighting the ventilator.

Her older sister is also critical, but her problems are not at the severity of those I’ve mentioned above. Since she recently became the donor, her body has far too many red blood cells, and consequently she currently has the pallor of a red grape, while her sister remains pale due to an inverse condition.

It’s hard to exaggerate the seriousness of their conditions. Don’t think of this as a pity party, as it’s not about me, it’s about our girls.

I just wanted to mention this to the entire community so that you could send out any good thoughts, vibes, or prayers that you may have, as they are in need of every one of them.

I’ll continue to provide periodic updates as the situation progresses.

I can't even begin to imagine, Hamas. I will keep you and your family in my most sincere thoughts and prayers.

**Mr. Flopnuts** · 07-29-2011, 09:23 AM

Jesus. I'm so sorry, Hamas. Prayers are on the way. Best wishes.

**Easy 6** · 07-29-2011, 09:30 AM

They'll be very much in my prayers, best wishes.

Rudy tossed tigger's salad · 07-29-2011, 09:46 AM

Damn that must be rough. Pulling for you, Hamas

**SuperChief** · 07-29-2011, 09:48 AM

Good thoughts and best wishes being sent your way, friend. Hope everything turns out alright for you and yours.

Chief Roundup · 07-29-2011, 09:57 AM

Best Wishes, Thoughts and prayers for you and yours. Good luck man.

**mlyonsd** · 07-29-2011, 10:01 AM

Thoughts and prayers your family's way.

My daughter had twin girls. She spent 6 weeks in the hospital before they took the babies prematurely. They had all kinds of issues so just be assured that the people taking care of your girls have seen it all.

My two grandaughters are 9 now. Last weekend one was doing a cartwheel that the other walked into and now she has stitches inside mouth and the outside of her chin.

I'm certain you'll be experiencing the same kind of fun twins bring someday too.

07-29-2011, 03:29 AM
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $7919572	Our Babies Could Use Your Support The great news is that I am a dad of two beautiful little girls. The terrible news is that those girls are in extreme medical duress. Yesterday, my wife gave birth, via emergency c-section, at 29 weeks, two days. At sixteen weeks, what looked like a normal, but rare, identical twin pregnancy became far more complicated. Our babies were diagnosed with a disorder that happens about 15% of the time with identical twin pregnancies called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. A detailed medical description isn’t necessary, but a brief one may help to understand. The placenta provides blood flow and nutrition to a developing fetus. Most of the time, identical twins draw from the placenta with little issue, but in Twin-to-Twin, there is an imbalance. One twin, called the recipient, pulls too much blood from the placenta, and also the other baby. This makes the recipient polycythemic, basically the exact opposite of anemic. With too much blood, especially red blood cells, the blood becomes sludgy, and all the extra fluid which the baby receives from the extra blood puts a great deal of strain on their system, and can lead to congestive heart failure and other problems. The other twin, the donor, experiences problems due to a lack of blood volume. As a result of this circulatory imbalance, there is a massive discrepancy in amniotic fluid. The recipient swims in a pool of it, while the donor is, in essence, shrink-wrapped by the lack of fluid as the amniotic sac pulls in around it. The condition is gravely serious, and without treatment, will usually carry a mortality risk of 100%. After finding out that what we thought was going to be a normal pregnancy was anything but at 16 weeks, we had a procedure done in St. Louis called fetoscopic laser ablation. Developed a little over a decade ago, surgeons make a small incision in the mother’s abdomen, and with a small endoscope and laser, cauterize shared vessels between the two twins. This helps to establish a normal blood flow between the two babies. We had this procedure done on May 6. Initially, everything looked great, as the fluid levels between the two babies balanced out, and blood flow patterns appeared within normal range. About three weeks after the procedure, our specialists noticed that the condition had actually reversed itself. About 10% of the time, the condition will spontaneously reverse itself. It was apparent to doctors at this appointment that this had happened near the end of May. Fluid levels were imbalanced, but still at the very end of normal. As such, the doctors felt it was the best interests in prolonging the pregnancy, which was not yet at viability, to avoid another event that would require making a hole in the amniotic sac. Thus, we embarked on a pattern of extreme vigilance. At multiple appointments per week, doctors performed an ultrasound wherein they would measure amniotic fluid levels, blood flow across the umbilical cords, and within the cerebral arteries in the brain. After this second scare, it appeared that things began to normalize. Most of our subsequent appointments looked improved, and everything appeared to be on a healthy, normal trajectory. Until Wednesday night. Late Wednesday, my wife began to feel a series of small contractions. While normal in the third trimester, she had enough in a short period of time that it was necessary to call the doctor. He had us come into the hospital for closer monitoring, and after doing so, noticed that one of our babies was in distress. We had three ultrasounds last night and early into Wednesday morning, and after doing so, the doctors felt that it was in the best interests of the babies to deliver them at an extremely early, 29 weeks, but still viable age. At 5:09 and 5:10 pm yesterday, we welcomed our little girls into the world. Continued in post #2 Last edited by 'Hamas' Jenkins; 07-29-2011 at 04:51 AM.. Reason: Got my days mixed up
Posts: 74,860

07-29-2011, 08:21 AM	#61
Frazod WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $2635085	Damn, that's horrible. My best to you and your family. Hope your little girls pull through okay.
Posts: 119,567

07-29-2011, 08:36 AM	#62
Saul Good Quit your bullshit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bored of winning Casino cash: $10052799	All the best on their recovery. __________________ Today is not a good day to be a pussy.
Posts: 41,870

07-29-2011, 08:41 AM	#63
LVNHACK MVP Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Baghdad Casino cash: $10004925	You and your family will be in my prayers __________________ Bleach really should be used in the gene pool Some people grow up, some just grow old.
Posts: 13,817

07-29-2011, 08:50 AM	#65
Mr. Plow In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $1557391	All my prayers coming your way Hamas.
Posts: 30,864

07-29-2011, 08:51 AM	#66
OmahaChief Down with Nino Brown Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Omaha Casino cash: $9425000	Prayers for you and your family.
Posts: 3,616

07-29-2011, 09:02 AM	#68
DJ's left nut Sauntering Vaguely Downwards Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Columbia, Mo Casino cash: $2519099	Damn man, tough breaks. Thoughts to you and yours. __________________ "If there's a god, he's laughing at us.....and our football team..." "When you look at something through rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags."
Posts: 60,938

07-29-2011, 09:30 AM	#71
Easy 6 pie is never free Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: the drivers seat Casino cash: $3237775	They'll be very much in my prayers, best wishes.
Posts: 92,213

07-29-2011, 09:46 AM	#72
Rudy tossed tigger's salad Better than Nelson Join Date: Mar 2003 Casino cash: $10000400	Damn that must be rough. Pulling for you, Hamas
Posts: 17,356

07-29-2011, 09:48 AM	#73
SuperChief Damn it feels good. Join Date: Mar 2011 Casino cash: $7547978	Good thoughts and best wishes being sent your way, friend. Hope everything turns out alright for you and yours.
Posts: 3,305

07-29-2011, 09:57 AM	#74
Chief Roundup Admitted Planet Junky Join Date: Oct 2000 Casino cash: $1571627	Best Wishes, Thoughts and prayers for you and yours. Good luck man. __________________ Fanaticism is nowhere. There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
Posts: 19,245

07-29-2011, 10:01 AM	#75
mlyonsd Supporter Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Spink, SD Casino cash: $1183762	Thoughts and prayers your family's way. My daughter had twin girls. She spent 6 weeks in the hospital before they took the babies prematurely. They had all kinds of issues so just be assured that the people taking care of your girls have seen it all. My two grandaughters are 9 now. Last weekend one was doing a cartwheel that the other walked into and now she has stitches inside mouth and the outside of her chin. I'm certain you'll be experiencing the same kind of fun twins bring someday too.
Posts: 38,949