Life Our Babies Could Use Your Support - Page 9

'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

**DeezNutz** · 07-29-2011, 10:56 PM

My sincere hope, Hamas, is that you have one hell of a story to tell these girls when they get older about how they've always been causing much stress for their parents.

**BossChief** · 07-30-2011, 12:04 AM

If there is one thing I have learned about you in my time here...its that you are a fighter and never give up anything easily and Im sure thats a trait that your babies now possess as well.

Good luck and Im sure this is something that will end up making them very strong people as they fight through this unfortunate circumstance.

I will enter a prayer request to my Church on Sunday and keep you in my prayers, as well as my families!

Stay strong my brother.

|Zach| · 07-30-2011, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Awesome. Rock on little kids!

teedubya · 07-30-2011, 03:46 AM

Prayers and love sent your way to the little ones.

spanky 52 · 07-30-2011, 03:48 AM

Prayers and good thoughts going your way from me and my wife.

**The Bad Guy** · 07-30-2011, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

It's been a long, but a relatively good day. Both babies are critical, but have improved. Our more critical girl's oxygen stats have gone up, but she's still extremely fragile. Her blood sugar is much better, and she's producing a lot of urine, which indicates that her kidneys are working and starting to get rid of her excess fluid.

Our other baby is doing pretty well. She has rested throughout the day, and is acting like what the nurses say a normal 29 week old would act like, which is a celebrated improvement for us.

I'm going to post a couple of pics to follow.

Great news. How is your wife holding up?

Continued best of luck.

Coogs · 07-30-2011, 06:50 AM

Looks like you got a couple of keepers there Hamas!

Hope the night brought more continued good news!

kregger · 07-30-2011, 06:51 AM

First, congratulations on the birth of your daughters. I hope your wife is fairing well, besides the obvious. I've been around the NICU long enough to have seen some amazing recoveries, I sincerely believe that your daughters' success will be among them. Many positive thoughts being sent your family's way. My daughter spent 2 weeks in the NICU and she was so well taken care of by the team, that it put our hearts and minds at rest when we needed to physically shut down. The best of luck to your little girls, they must be fighters!

**Mr. Flopnuts** · 07-30-2011, 07:03 AM

Thanks for the update Hamas. More prayers are coming your way.

crispystl · 07-30-2011, 07:12 AM

Prayers for you Hamas. I hope everything turns out ok.

GloryDayz · 07-30-2011, 07:38 AM

Hamas,

Kids are EVERTHING!! Other than prayer and good hope, what can we do to help?

kepp · 07-30-2011, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Beautiful! Our prayers are still coming.

**DaFace** · 07-30-2011, 08:24 AM

Sorry to hear about all of this, Hamas, and glad to hear that things seem to be improving. You're in my thoughts.

**The Franchise** · 07-30-2011, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kregger

First, congratulations on the birth of your daughters. I hope your wife is fairing well, besides the obvious. I've been around the NICU long enough to have seen some amazing recoveries, I sincerely believe that your daughters' success will be among them. Many positive thoughts being sent your family's way. My daughter spent 2 weeks in the NICU and she was so well taken care of by the team, that it put our hearts and minds at rest when we needed to physically shut down. The best of luck to your little girls, they must be fighters!

The NICU does some amazing things now.

**Predarat** · 07-30-2011, 10:00 AM

Glad to hear they are improving, continued thoughts and prayers to all!

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

07-30-2011, 12:04 AM	#122
BossChief SuperBowl or bust Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: BF Iowa Casino cash: $1414088	If there is one thing I have learned about you in my time here...its that you are a fighter and never give up anything easily and Im sure thats a trait that your babies now possess as well. Good luck and Im sure this is something that will end up making them very strong people as they fight through this unfortunate circumstance. I will enter a prayer request to my Church on Sunday and keep you in my prayers, as well as my families! Stay strong my brother. __________________ Dreams do come true... http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showp...postcount=1407
Posts: 47,190

07-30-2011, 03:46 AM	#124
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $9460002	Prayers and love sent your way to the little ones.
Posts: 36,664

07-30-2011, 03:48 AM	#125
spanky 52 Veteran Join Date: Mar 2008 Casino cash: $2175601	Prayers and good thoughts going your way from me and my wife.
Posts: 1,026

07-30-2011, 06:50 AM	#127
Coogs In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Northern Kansas Casino cash: $1114349	Looks like you got a couple of keepers there Hamas! Hope the night brought more continued good news!
Posts: 21,658

07-30-2011, 06:51 AM	#128
kregger thick as a brick Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: alpha centauri Casino cash: $10004925	First, congratulations on the birth of your daughters. I hope your wife is fairing well, besides the obvious. I've been around the NICU long enough to have seen some amazing recoveries, I sincerely believe that your daughters' success will be among them. Many positive thoughts being sent your family's way. My daughter spent 2 weeks in the NICU and she was so well taken care of by the team, that it put our hearts and minds at rest when we needed to physically shut down. The best of luck to your little girls, they must be fighters! Last edited by kregger; 07-30-2011 at 07:09 AM..
Posts: 964

07-30-2011, 07:12 AM	#130
crispystl MVP Join Date: Jun 2004 Casino cash: $1215140	Prayers for you Hamas. I hope everything turns out ok.
Posts: 6,668

07-30-2011, 07:38 AM	#131
GloryDayz (Sir/Yes Sir/Aye Aye Sir) Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Diving Casino cash: $3215380	Hamas, Kids are EVERTHING!! Other than prayer and good hope, what can we do to help? __________________ . #President Trump loves and supports the constitution #McCarthy is a Sellout and Traitor to America #TheFBLieIsCorrupt #DefundTheFBI #The FBI Is Not The Police #PresidentBidenIsMoronic #LizCheneyGotTheBoot #FJB #80,000,000 Mules (and a few Americans too) Voted For COVID To Continue #I still don't have COVID
Posts: 116,167

07-30-2011, 08:24 AM	#133
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1536899	Sorry to hear about all of this, Hamas, and glad to hear that things seem to be improving. You're in my thoughts.
Posts: 52,036

07-30-2011, 10:00 AM	#135
Predarat Run Chiefs fans, run!! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Casino cash: $9973863	Glad to hear they are improving, continued thoughts and prayers to all!
Posts: 10,776