The arrival of Emersyn Grace!

December 7th, 2011...I had an ultrasound appointment at 7:15am, the normal weekly bio physical profiling they had been doing on Emersyn since my 32nd week of pregnancy. The tech said the baby looked great, but my amniotic fluid level had fallen from 15 to 6 over the last week which indicated that I was either leaking fluid (which I wasn't) or my placenta was wearing out which seemed more probable since I was 5 days past my due date. After a call from the ultrasound office to my physician, I was on my way to the hospital for an induction.

Things were going great. I had a pitocin drip started at 11:00am and by early evening I was dilated to a 7 and 80% effaced, tolerating the contractions well...on track for the natural delivery I had my heart set on. Around 6:15pm Dr Medchill, agreed to break my water so we could speed things along. As soon as he did, Emersyn stuck her hand out...as if she was saying hello! Dr Medchill tried pushing her hand back in several times, and even tried pinching her hand a couple times to make her draw it back in herself. She would, but then she'd extend it right back out...stubborn, stubborn girl!

Labor continued but he explained to me that with hand presentations, often the cervix will not completely dilate since the baby's head is not descending or causing any cervical pressure. That was the first time a C-section was spoken of. Dr Medchill was willing to give it some time and see if Emmy would decide to reposition and pull her arm back. As we waited, the contractions continued to get closer and the baby started having some issues tolerating the labor. During contractions her heart rate would drop from the 130s to the 50s indicating that the cord was most likely being compressed and her blood supply was being compromised. Now a section was more seriously being considered.

I agreed to have an epidural placed so that they could numb me if I had to be taken for an emergent surgery. Around 7:30pm, Dr Medchill came in and checked my cervix...no change. Emmy was continuing to have decel's with my contractions and the doctor was worried that with her condition, this was too much stress. On top of that I wasn't progressing and she wasn't moving, so Dr Medchill explained that he felt like it was time to stop the labor and move to the OR. I was scared...recovering from surgery is difficult on it's own, and the idea of being post-op while trying to care for a sick hospitalized baby- who's also awaiting surgery, was too much. But like so many other things in our situation, I didn't have a choice, so we headed off to the OR.

Emersyn Grace was born at 7:58pm, only 6lb 3oz, and 19 1/4 inches long. She cried a couple times immediately after birth, but then the room quickly got quiet and the NyICU team whisked her away. Her ductus arteriosus (PDA) which was allowing for the mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, was closing and her oxygen levels were dropping into the 30s (normal is in the 90s). She was taken to the NyICU at St Joe's where they started umbilical lines and gave medication to open the PDA. An ECHO was performed and her diagnosis confirmed. Because of her falling oxygen levels, she had to be intubated and have a balloon septostomy. The septostomy is a procedure used to tear a hole between the atria of the heart to allow for more mixing of the blood and ultimately improves oxygenation. Everything had been done by 10pm and the cardiologist came to the L&D recovery room to update us on her condition.

First pictures of Emersyn.

Bryan took them while she was in the NyICU,

then came back to show me our beautiful girl!

It looked and sounded pretty awful. She was intubated and not breathing at all on her own. The septostomy had been successful and her oxygen levels were in the 80s which is normal for an infant with TGA. She was sedated and would remain so until she was able to be extubated. She had several IV medications running into the umbilical line and she would not be able to be held due to the fragility of that line. So, at this point it was just a waiting game to see when she could be weaned from the ventilator and some of the medications.

 

 

 Getting to meet our new baby.

Finally around midnight, I was transferred to the postpartum

unit and they stopped by the NyICU so that I could meet Emmy.

 

 

 Brinley meeting her little sister:)

By the following day, around 2pm, she had made huge improvements. She was no longer on the ventilator, and they were preparing to remove the endotracheal tube. They were also weaning her dopamine as her blood pressure issues were resolving. Around 2:30 that day, Bryan and I got to hold our new baby girl for the first time...it was wonderful!

No more ET tube!

Emersyn continued to improve over the course of the following night, and by the next day she had been taken off all of her medications except the prostaglandin which was being given to keep the PDA open until surgery. She was also still on IV TPN and lipids for nutrition since she was not yet able to eat. Otherwise she was stable and doing well.

Brin visiting with "Baby." She refused to call her by her name!

The cardiology nurse practitioner who we had become familiar with over the course of the pregnancy came to visit and told us that patients were being discharged home from the Cardiovascular ICU (CVICU) at Phoenix Children's and that they would have a bed available for Emmy. I hated being separated from her and wanted desperately to be at her bedside 24hrs a day, so at my request my physician agreed to discharge me early so that Emersyn could be moved that day. Her transfer was set up for 3:30 that afternoon and she was taken by ambulance to PCH. We were on the road to recovery and that felt good.

Emersyn's crib for transfer in the ambulance.