At least one thing we know

Finally there is one detail we know—I will be induced July 13. Actually they will just get me started that evening, so I don’t suppose she will be born until the 14^th. I had hoped the induction date would coincide with my mom’s birthday (July 15), since Natalie was born on my dad’s birthday, but I didn’t think I was in a position to tell the doctors how to do their job. There are so many unknowns hovering over us, it is nice to have one thing that is concrete.

Also on this visit to Salt Lake, Aaron and I met with the palliative care team. This is a group of people comprised of medical and counseling personnel to help parents with support in various aspect of having a child with severe health issues. Most parents don’t meet with them prenatally unless it is a pretty serious situation (this heart defect counts as one). We had requested a visit a few months ago, but due to our schedule being behind on that visit, we cancelled and at the time did not feel we needed to meet with them. Actually, because we did not know about the heterotaxy at that time, the conversation with them would have been very different from what was discussed this week, so in a way, it is a good thing we did not see them sooner.

However, with many questions on our mind about how to proceed at birth, we wanted their input. We have recognized from the beginning that doing surgery is not an automatic solution. Though we know of many babies who have had surgery, we don’t know if it is the answer in our case. With this in mind, we wanted to understand what to expect if we do not choose surgery. Of course, there are a lot of unknowns with our baby’s condition until she is born, but this conversation helped us get an idea of what to expect and what support is available. We know the Lord will guide us in the decisions before us.

One week to go!