What a miraculous day. Today for clinical’s I was stationed in the cesarean operating room. I witnessed 3 C-sections and I was about only 2 feet away from the mama’s belly. It was amazing to see the technology and doctors/nurses go to work. When I saw my first one, I almost fainted… but by the end, I had tears in my eyes. These little babies came straight from heaven. After the 2nd one I thought I was a pro at C-sections… and I also realized… that I never want that procedure performed on ME. (I go to the Labor and Delivery next week… so maybe I’ll want a C-Section after I witness that).
But, the real reason for this blog is because of the 3rd C-Section I saw. First, I met the parents in pre-op. It was a sweet couple who had been trying to have children for some time. The mom was 38 years old, she has had 2 previous miscarriages, and was now carrying a little girl (Valentina) at 41 weeks thanks to In-Vitro Fertilization. After a bit, I realized that this couple had been through a lot… and it was about to pile on.
At 12:30 we went to the Operating Room. Everything went smooth the Dr. did the best most clean job of the 3 C-S. By 1:06 they broke her water and the baby was born. A beautiful little girl- considering what she just went through J! The nurses took the baby to the warmer while the Dr. started to clean up the mom. The father cut the umbilical cord and took lots of pictures. By 1:15 the baby was cleaned off, swaddled in blankets, and laid with the mom for 2 minutes before she was rushed off to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). The mom kissed her forehead and then she was gone.
This baby has a rare congenital heart disease called Transposition of the Great Vessels. This means that her heart is backwards. The right side is on the left and the left side is on the right. Instead of her heart pumping oxygenated blood to the body and deoxygenated blood to the lungs (as ours normally does), hers pumps deoxygenated blood around and around the body and oxygenated blood only to the lungs. So her body receives no oxygen.
But, the real reason for this blog is because of the 3rd C-Section I saw. First, I met the parents in pre-op. It was a sweet couple who had been trying to have children for some time. The mom was 38 years old, she has had 2 previous miscarriages, and was now carrying a little girl (Valentina) at 41 weeks thanks to In-Vitro Fertilization. After a bit, I realized that this couple had been through a lot… and it was about to pile on.
At 12:30 we went to the Operating Room. Everything went smooth the Dr. did the best most clean job of the 3 C-S. By 1:06 they broke her water and the baby was born. A beautiful little girl- considering what she just went through J! The nurses took the baby to the warmer while the Dr. started to clean up the mom. The father cut the umbilical cord and took lots of pictures. By 1:15 the baby was cleaned off, swaddled in blankets, and laid with the mom for 2 minutes before she was rushed off to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). The mom kissed her forehead and then she was gone.
This baby has a rare congenital heart disease called Transposition of the Great Vessels. This means that her heart is backwards. The right side is on the left and the left side is on the right. Instead of her heart pumping oxygenated blood to the body and deoxygenated blood to the lungs (as ours normally does), hers pumps deoxygenated blood around and around the body and oxygenated blood only to the lungs. So her body receives no oxygen.
AO=Aorta PA=Pulmonary Arteries
From this moment on she had made a sweet spot in my heart. In the NICU Valentina was intubated immediately (a tube was placed in her trachea to give her body oxygen). They tried to get IV’s in her hands but her circulation was so bad… so they had to go through the umbilical vein. She was on 100% oxygen, a billi-light was heating her and her body was diminishing. Her blood oxygen saturation was at 33% (normal is 87-100%) and her blood was becoming acidic quickly. My heart ached for her… and people were running all around in organized chaos. By 2:25 (all within an hour of her life), Valentina was life-flighted to Miami’s Children’s Hospital so that a balloon could be placed in her heart to make a hole in the septum. This allows the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to mix and get to the body. If her body stabilizes, Valentina will be scheduled for open heart surgery in 1 week. The cardiologist say after the 6 hour or so surgery is done, she will be able to live a perfectly normal life.
MIRACLES occur each and every day. I grew to love this little child so quickly and wish I could find out the results of her surgeries. I am also so grateful for the technology and medical knowledge that we have. And I’m also so grateful that all my sister-in-laws and friends pregnancies have gone fairly smooth. WHAT A BLESSING!!!! My prayers go out for this sweet angel and her parents who waited so long to receive her. May you all be blessed with all our love as well.
From this moment on she had made a sweet spot in my heart. In the NICU Valentina was intubated immediately (a tube was placed in her trachea to give her body oxygen). They tried to get IV’s in her hands but her circulation was so bad… so they had to go through the umbilical vein. She was on 100% oxygen, a billi-light was heating her and her body was diminishing. Her blood oxygen saturation was at 33% (normal is 87-100%) and her blood was becoming acidic quickly. My heart ached for her… and people were running all around in organized chaos. By 2:25 (all within an hour of her life), Valentina was life-flighted to Miami’s Children’s Hospital so that a balloon could be placed in her heart to make a hole in the septum. This allows the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to mix and get to the body. If her body stabilizes, Valentina will be scheduled for open heart surgery in 1 week. The cardiologist say after the 6 hour or so surgery is done, she will be able to live a perfectly normal life.
MIRACLES occur each and every day. I grew to love this little child so quickly and wish I could find out the results of her surgeries. I am also so grateful for the technology and medical knowledge that we have. And I’m also so grateful that all my sister-in-laws and friends pregnancies have gone fairly smooth. WHAT A BLESSING!!!! My prayers go out for this sweet angel and her parents who waited so long to receive her. May you all be blessed with all our love as well.
6 comments:
You've almost got me in tears....that would be so hard! It does make me feel grateful for my blessings! :) I'd have a C-section any day over having problems with my baby! I hope everything goes well for them!
Hearing stories like that makes me so sad and very very grateful for my 5 children who made it to the earth whole without anything major wrong with them.
Gosh, I enjoyed hearing that story. Keep me updated if you know anything else about that sweet baby!
Hey Dano! Just happened to run across your blog and wanted to say hi. I am glad you enjoy Labor and Delivery, it is the best :)
Hi I just found your blog. It's good to see that you guys are doing so well. And I realized that I think we took that picture that you have as your header haha. Anyway I love your post. I love working with the babies and moms you should get a job on post partum or delivery after you graduate. You would love it. Sometimes you see really sad things like that but most the time it's such a fun happy job!
Hi Dano- This is Rachael, Boomer's wife! (Jer's good friend from high school!) Anyway.. I just found your blog and I hope you don't mind if we check it out every once in a while! P.S. Your story about valentina (I think that was her name.) Had me bawling! My kids were asking me what was wrong! What a neat job you have!
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