Truly-- Part 2

    

Truly's Profile
Psalm 139:14 "I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."

     The day of my doctor's appointment finally came.  As I said before, I was dreading the comments from the nurses and the doctor's joke about "I didn't think I'd see you this soon...".  I didn't have to wait in the waiting room very long before my name was called.  The nurse went through the usual pre-exam routine, including the urine test that confirmed that we definitely were pregnant (obviously, I was already showing!).  The doctor came in and went through the questions to determine approximate due date.  He then tried to find a heartbeat, and sure enough, there was that familiar sound... relieving.... precious.  He expressed concern about the unusual vaginal discharge and said we needed to schedule an ultra-sound as soon as possible to check for any problems.  This was a Friday afternoon and the chances of getting in before the weekend were pretty slim.  They called over to the hospital and there was an opening right away. So I headed across the street to the hospital.  I wished my husband could have come with me for moral support (as he usually did in the past when we went for ultra sound), but this was his busy time of the year, and he couldn't get off right away.
     I checked in at the hospital and went to the waiting room.  I was surprised and pleased to see my husband's uncle sitting there. It was a blessing to chat and have a moment to relax and forget about being nervous!  The Lord knew I needed to see a familiar face!
     I was called into the ultrasound room.  The nurse greeted me and proceeded.  I had been through many ultrasounds before and this one was very different.  Usually the nurse is very chatty and commenting about the baby, etc.  As soon as the nurse began, she was absolutely silent through the entire process.  As soon as she was done, she jumped up and said she needed to get the results to the doctor before he left for the weekend.  My heart was in my throat.  She sent another nurse in to show me the baby (confirming what I already knew-- a girl!).  Her cheerfulness seemed forced and fake.  She gave me a few pictures to take home with me.  As I drove home, I considered what I thought could possibly be the problem.  I stopped in the grocery store parking lot and cried to the Lord and yielded to whatever the future held.  If Truly were handicapped in any way or had downs syndrome, we would love her and take care of her the best that we could. 
     It was the longest weekend of my life.  I expected that if there were a real problem that the doctor's office would have called me on Saturday.  So by Sunday, I had convinced myself that nothing was wrong and I was worrying over nothing.  Monday morning, the phone call came and they asked me to come in right away that morning.  I was very nervous.  The doctor met with me and said that there were quite a few concerns that the ultra sound brought to light.  He mentioned, in reference to me, placenta previa, which I knew nothing about and he also mentioned a 2 vesseled umbilical cord in Truly which often indicates brain and abdominal problems (the umbilical cord usually has 3 vessels in it).  He said that our local hospital's ultra sound was old and not as accurate as could be, so he was going to recommend that we go to Columbia for a consultation and more viable ultra sound.  I must tell you that I am not a verbal person at all and usually very compliant, but I spoke out at that moment and said that I would prefer to go to Iowa City, a town which is closer and we were more familiar with.  The doctor said that they had been having problems getting appointments there, but they would try.  Providentially, there was an appointment available that week.  Little did we know how important it was that we be at that hospital.
    The first thing I did when I got home was to look on the internet and research all the unfamiliar terms that he had told me about.   I learned that placenta previa is where the placenta (sac that holds the baby) sometimes is too long and can cover the opening of the womb and hinder the birth of the baby. I also learned that those with previous c-sections (that included me!) were in a different class in that the placenta could "grow" into the c-section scar tissue, causing serious complications, even death.  I also researched about the 2 vesseled cord.  It did raise some concerns.  We would just have to wait for the next ultra sound....  We also called our families and told them a little about what was going on and asked them to pray.