I needed time to process this before sharing. There are definitely ups and downs on this journey, the tougher parts take longer to digest. A bitter pill to swallow.
We met with Dr G, our Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, again for a Fetal Echocardiogram to get a targeted scan of Aria's heart as he'd suspected a gap in her septum but couldn't confirm.
Ventricular Septal Defect...Aria has a confirmed heart defect, this one is sometimes called a "hole in the heart". We knew there's about a 50/50 chance that she'll be born with a congenital heart defect, it's common in babies with Down syndrome.
We're formulating a plan before she arrives and meeting with a Pediatric Cardiologist in a few weeks for a prenatal consult and will discuss surgery; we'll have a medical team ready for her when she debuts-she'll have the best care in place. We're still praying fervently for her health and lifting this up to God.
We ARE blessed that the VSD is the only medical issue manifested so far!
I measured larger at my last OB appointment earlier this week though and had my amniotic fluids measured at this MFM appointment. Fluids are higher than they should be. A couple of causes for this can be gestational diabetes (me) or duodenum issues (Aria). Dr G will be watching closely for what is commonly called the "double bubble" which is when there's a GI blockage; this would require surgery on Aria after birth and actually concerns me far more than the heart surgery. While I don't really want gestational diabetes, if this isn't just an amniotic fluid fluctuation, I'd always prefer for it to be an issue with me (especially something that I can manage) rather than another medical complication for my little girl.
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
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