Warning: This is really long!

I am so glad that we were able to make it to Atlanta last Thursday! Our day was packed full of appointments. I can't imagine waiting any longer to know all of the things that we know now! We had four appointments in all: one with a pediatric/fetal cardiologist, Dr. Samai, a tour of the entire "heart floor" including the CICU (cardiac intensive care unit) and Step-Down Unit. Later on we drove over to meet with a perinatal consultant, Dr. Allen, who is basically just like my OB/Gyn here in Birmingham. He deals with high-risk pregnancies mostly, however, Dr. Allen will not deliver Emma Kate. Lastly, we went over and met Dr. Howard, another OB/Gyn who, he or one of his partners, will be delivering Emma Kate. It was definitely a crazy day!

We got to Atlanta on Wednesday night and stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. It was brand-new and we stayed in a room that had not been used before. Kiki arrived ahead of us and was able to show us around the place before Brooks and I went to get some food. After that we all just went to bed. It was late! RMD House was only 1 mile away from Egleston, where our first appointment was with Dr. Samai. Kiki took Anna Brooke for the day, which was great! I can't imagine toting a toddler around all day with us. (Thank you so much, Kathy!) I was thankful that we were close to the hospital because we were running a tad late. It didn't seem to be a problem at all, though.

Brooks and I were in the waiting room eating breakfast and I was approached by a nurse named Tracy. She said after our first appointment she would be giving us a tour. About 30 minutes after we arrived, we were called back to have our fetal ECHO. A really nice tech named Joe performed the ECHO and explained just about everything and answered all of our questions. Some questions we had, he could not answer, and we had to wait until the fetal cardiologist, Dr. Samai came in. He was great! Basically, he agreed with the diagnosis of HLHS and said she was a good candidate for the Norwood. He said that her aorta is very, very small, which we knew already. I heard them say 2mm while they were examining the ECHO pictures. However, all of the other parts of her heart seem to be good. Apparently, she's a classic case of HLHS. After EK is born, I believe that Dr. Samai will examine her again. He answered some of our questions and then we waited for Tracy to come get us for our tour.

Tracy was WONDERFUL! She was the sweetest nurse and I felt like I could ask her anything and get a completely honest answer. Brooks and I had no idea what we were about to encounter, though, and I wasn't prepared for the emotions I was about to go through! She led us into the CICU, which is where Emma Kate will be after she has her surgery while she's recovering (and also before her surgery, if I'm not mistaken). Mostly there were just babies in their little bassinets in the big, open room. Each station was closely monitored by a nurse. I believe Tracy said the ratio is 1:2, depending on how many babies they have. When we walked in, we didn't immediately see any children, but Tracy led us over to this teeny-tiny little baby. He was only about 2 weeks old, if that. His name is Hunter and he had his Norwood the week prior. Surrounding Hunter were all kinds of equipment: an external pacemaker, a feeding tube, breathing tube, all kinds of leads and wires were hooked up to his little, tiny body. His little chest was taped up and all he had on was a little diaper and blanket covering his legs. He moved every now and then, and with each movement, I just kept sobbing. He wasn't in pain, though, Tracy assured us. She said these babies are pretty much kept "out" (aka asleep) with the painkillers. Little Hunter had a small stuffed elephant and a couple of pictures on his bassinet and a little sign that said "We Love You Hunter" above him. Brooks and I broke down. I just kept picturing little Emma Kate hooked up to all this stuff keeping her stable. It really made it real to us. This might be hard to look at, but if you are interested, click here to see a picture that is pretty representative of what we saw. This is how Emma Kate will basically look hooked up to everything. This picture is not of Hunter, but of another baby named Luke, (who is now 5 or 6 years old, I believe). The picture is from his website. We learned that in CICU we can stay all day and all night if we want to, as long as we are taking care of ourselves.

After that emotional part of the tour, we were led to the Step-Down Unit on the cardiac floor. This is actually where Emma Kate will be after she leaves CICU. We will be able to sleep in the same room with her and basically take care of her on our own, but always have the nurses right there in case we need anything. She'll still be hooked up to some stuff, but not nearly as much as in CICU. We will also be able to have Anna Brooke visit us as much as we want, except for overnight. In the Step-Down Unit we met a woman who is probably our age who has two boys, ages 2 and 3. BOTH of her boys were born with HLHS!! I could not believe it!! How could she endure having both children with the same heart defect? She was so comforting and reassuring that both her boys act like normal kids. They do everything any other little boy their age would do. I believe that Emma Kate will be the same way.

Brooks and I wanted to talk with one of the surgeons that could be performing the Norwood on Emma Kate. We weren't able to since they were all in surgery. We did find out that Dr. Kirshbom, one of the surgeons, has a certain knack for the Norwood. He's just apparently very talented at it. That is very comforting to me. I know any one of the three heart surgeons will do a wonderful job, though, and I trust any and all of them.

We got a little break for lunch and then headed over to Atlanta Perinatal Consultants at Northside Hospital. My appointment with Dr. Allen was at 1. Like I said before, he is a lot like my current doctors in that he specializes in diagnosing fetal anomalies. We had an ultrasound and found out Emma Kate is weighing in currently at 4 lbs 13 ounces! Can you believe it!? I'm so thrilled! We got to see her little face and cheeks and they actually looked slightly chubby. Chubby for a 4 pounder. :) Finally our last appointment was with Dr. Howard, which went just ok. To make a long story short, I had some trouble with the front office staff. They said they didn't have my records and I was late for the appointment, so I would have to reschedule...

Um, no.

After getting that worked out, we finally saw Dr. Howard, who was a nice doctor, but had no idea about me or our situation until that day. He was unprepared for us, I feel. At least he was understanding to our situation and said he would be in communication with my current OB/Gyn through faxes, etc. I don't need to see him until closer to my due date. That will all depend on how my current OB feels about my progression with the pregnancy and being induced, etc.

All in all, everything went well. I still have a few unanswered questions and a few new ones that popped up in my head after all was said and done Thursday. I hope to have much of those resolved soon. I just can't wait to see my sweet Emma Kate. I am truly getting excited about her arrival! I can't wait to hold her and love on her and sing to her and do all the things you get to do with your newborn baby.