In Good Hands

Jeff and I got to Boston yesterday around 1:40, took a taxi from the airport and spent the next 5 hours at the hospital talking with some amazingly talented and kind people. There were a couple of hours filled getting an ultrasound in the echo lab, and then I got an MRI, which was definitely the worst thing so far. There were four doctors in the echo lab looking at Maddox's heart, watching the bloodflow, and trying to really figure out what the problem is. I think they have diagnosed his condition as Hypoplastic Left Heart, but his own unique version of that. He does have a left ventricle which seems to be working to some extent, and his aortic valve is not completely closed like it was thought at first, and he has mitral regurgitation, which means that that the blood is leaking back and forth through his mitral valve. His left atrium is huge and is squishing the right side of his heart. They did say that his heart seems to be pumping strongly, which is a good thing. Today we also spent the whole day doing more ultrasounds, talking to more doctors and talking about all the risks involved with the procedure, and with a baby who is as sick as Maddox. There are many risks. Many. But we know what the outcome is if we do nothing. He is about as high risk as they have seen, due to the condition with his heart and the hydrops(fluid) that has developed in his belly, under his skin and now even in the placenta. All of these things make him a difficult case, but we are scheduled to do the fetal intervention procedure tomorrow at 11am.

We really feel so blessed to be here at the Children's Hospital of Boston and to be able to have some of the best doctors in the world working with us. Basically the procedure is going to happen like this: I will be under general anesthesia and Maddox will be under a certain amount of anesthesia as well. Once they have the baby in the correct position, a doctor will stick a large needle through my abdomen and into Maddox's heart, possible going through one of his lungs to get there. While she holds the needle in place other doctors will come in around her and use wires to open up the aortic valve, make a hole between the upper chambers of the heart, and also drain the fluid out of his stomach. All of this will be done while other doctors watch and direct things via ultrasound. Some of the doctors will be there simply to give advice and oversee the procedure. There is still discussion as to the order of things and what is going to be the most crucial thing to get done should they need to get out of there before they do everything if Maddox starts to respond poorly. We should be in the OR for a total of 2-3 hours but most of that is prep time and just getting the baby in the correct position.

It is pretty surreal to be here and to be part of something so unique and rarely done, but we have seen miracles come about to get us to this point. On Monday we were gearing up to have a c-section on Wednesday(today) when we got a phone call that going to Boston was an option. This is a miracle. We found airline tickets from Dallas to Boston for around $200 a piece the day before we flew out. This is a miracle. We were given a 50% chance of them even doing the procedure once we got here, and yet tomorrow we are scheduled for the operating room. This is a miracle. At the beginning of this week Jeff and I were basically planning a funeral for our little Maddox, and yet here we are, in the care of incredibly kind, intellegent, and talented people, who are giving us the best chance for our son to live. This is a miracle.

Before we left for the airport, my Mom told me to read Mormon chapter 9 in the Book of Mormon. I did so while sitting in the airport and was just so filled with hope and gratitude for my Heavenly Father. The whole chapter basically talks about God being a God of miracles. My favorite verse, verse 21 reads, "Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth."

We know that through the faith of so many, we are seeing the Lord's hand and that He is allowing the blessing we received to be realized. Please know how full our hearts are with the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father. We have been treated so kindly. We have been served by so many and our burdens have truly been lifted. We feel at peace with what is going to happen. We know that all will be well. We have been led and directed so clearly up to this point and we know the doctors will be inspired. Thank you all for your prayers, your emails, your phone calls, your gifts and cards, and just your diligence in having faith. We have felt the love of the Lord like never before. We love all of you and will continue to update as the procedure is done and during the rest of our stay in Boston.