Jacob's Birth Continued

Where was I???

Okay, so I was being transferred to the cardiac unit on Friday afternoon/evening. But what about Jacob you ask? Wasn't he still in the nursery? Yes, he was. How was I to nurse him in the cardiac unit when he had one of those security bracelets on and wasn't allowed to leave the nursery? The cardiac unit was a good 10 minute walk from the maternity wing. OH POO! Well, the solution we came up with, with the help of the nurses was as follows. They could deactivate his security alarm for 90 minutes. He would have to have a nurse escort for the entire time he was out. They would also have to alert hospital security that there was an infant "on the loose." They would then bring him to me, I would nurse him, while the nurse escort waited, and then she would take him back. If he wasn't back in the maternity wing by the time the security system reactivated his bracelet then the alarms would go off and I guess all hell would break loose. That was a lot of pressure, honestly. Sometimes newborns take their time to eat. Most aren't known for their dine and dash abilities. Anywho...we only had hospital security bust into our room once. The nurses forgot to alert them and they saw him rolling by and got concerned.

So...the next morning, Saturday, I spoke with an electro-physio-cardiologist who had reviewed my readings from the monitors from the night before and decided that the heart condition I was experiencing had nothing to do with my previously diagnosed Mitral Valve Prolapse.

I have supraventricular tachycardia.

I will eventually have to have a heart cath done where they will locate the malfunctioning heart muscle and kill it to stop it from freaking out. It shouldn't be a bad procedure, but it does require going to the hospital for the day. They want me to be done nursing, so it won't be for a year or so. I will get a second opinion and possibly have them run more tests. So that's where we will leave this.

Now, back to the blood condition. I saw the hematologist last Wednesday and had more bloodwork drawn. The platelet count was at 69k. It was up 3k from when I was discharged. Not the result I was wanting. To be cleared from the hematologist's care I needed them to be at 150k. BOO!! The next step is to continue to wait. They really don't know why they are still so low. There are 100 different possible causes and cures. In 3 weeks I will have another count done (here's hoping for 150k) and then in about 3 months I will have a spleen ultrasound done. There is a chance that my spleen is overactive and is killing too many platelets. They could then look at doing a spleenectomy. I will consult with the hematologist after I have the ultrasound. All of this is of course complicated by the fact that I am nursing. I read everywhere that "Breast is Best", but the look of annoyance and frustration from doctors on having to find alternative solutions for my treatment is just getting old. LOOK PEOPLE....I PLAN TO NURSE UNTIL JACOB IS AT LEAST 1....DEAL WITH IT!!!

They decided to discharge me at about 5pm on Saturday evening. We were very happy to head home as a family of 4!



Okay, I feel better now.

Oh, and it's currently 9pm and both kids have been in bed since 8pm. YAY!!!

I will keep posted on any additional doctor visits. Thanks for reading.

Oh, and to answer the next question you want to ask.............................................................................

NO we are NOT having any more children!

Now...off to my wine...