Email Update to Friends

Email to friends (6-25-05)…
We had another ultrasound appointment on Wednesday. It went very smooth this time. The doctor and the neonatologist were actually chatting and waiting on us when we arrived. We were immediately taken into the ultrasound room and the tech began getting pictures of Zoe. Her heart rate was 158bpm and she was wigging around quite a bit. She seemed to have her feet crossed and one hand behind her head a lot of the time like she was just chilling.

After getting a few pictures, we stopped the ultrasound and spoke with Dr. Landwehr and Dr. Kundenricht (the neonatologist). Dr. Kundenricht was very nice and seemed to be a compassionate individual. He (or his partner who I have heard wonderful things about) and a team will be there when Zoe is born to get an immediate assessment of her condition. Dr. Kundenricht trained for 6 years at Riley Children's Hospital and has seen several Trisomy 13 babies from that experience. We spoke about level of care and feel that we have a lot more information to help us think through possibilities. It was a relief to know that though we should have some decisions made prior to birth, many of them can be made as they assess Zoe's condition every few hours. Because she appears to be so strong at this time, they do not foresee that I would deliver in the next few weeks, which should at least increase her chances of surviving for at least some period of time. I am just over 24 weeks right now.

After speaking with the doctors for quite a while, Dr. Landwehr asked if he could take a look at Zoe and see how she was doing. Two weeks ago, we found out two critical situations facing Zoe: 1) she had significant water on her brain and 2) she had a heart condition that was causing one chamber to not fill up as much as the others, causing him to think that a ventricle was not working. Because of the amount of water on Zoe's brain on top of the complexity of the heart abnormality, Dr. Landwehr believed that Zoe would not even be a candidate for the heart surgery. During the few days prior to our appointment, I had been praying that God would allow us to see some specific sign that Zoe was improving. Wednesday, the ultrasound showed that the water on Zoe's brain had significantly decreased and that her brain was growing to the point that it needs to be. Dr. Landwehr said "I have never seen that happen". His reasoning was that a blockage had opened up and allowed the water to drain. Our reasoning is that God is working in Zoe. He examined her heart again and though the abnormal chamber still exists, Zoe has another abnormality in the wall between the right and left sides of the heart which is actually allowing her heart to compensate in a way. It is allowing the blood to be oxygenated some which is a necessary function of the heart.

David and I felt much different after this appointment. Typically we leave feeling confused and not sure whether to be encouraged or discouraged. This time, we left in a good mood and actually smiling.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your concern over our lives. Zoe is being prayed for by so many people in so many corners of the states and the world. Words cannot tell you how much they are appreciated and felt. Please continue to pray for Zoe’s heart and for continued improvements with her brain.

We will be having another appointment next Wednesday and I will update you more then. Thank you friends!

Love,
Christina