Peaceful Saturday

Well, believe it or not-- a lot has happened in the last day or so. Thursday night at around 8pm Dr. Kays from Shands in Gainesville, Florida called me at home. Funny thing is, I felt a little "star-struck" because we have been reading about how talented this man is and how he has the highest survival rate in the country (possibly the world) for treating CDH babies. We had come across information on Shands when we found stuff on CHOP and knew it was a top place for the treatment of CDH babies--but as the days have gone on we've had some very important doctors outside of Birmingham telling us that we MUST get in touch with Dr. Kays if we want our baby to survive and live a normal life. I had called his office earlier this week so I was hoping someone would call me to set up a consultation. He was very up front about his "method"--telling me briefly in our 40 minute conversation how he could/would help us and our baby boy. He is very down to earth--not a salesman at all and I felt very comfortable talking to him. When I told him about my upcoming trip to CHOP he was supportive, as he knows I am trying to do everything I can to save my baby. I asked about the Fetal MRI and he said they used to use it at Shands but they don't do it anymore because they can determine the same information from an ultrasound--if you have the right person reading the ultrasound. I never felt pressured by him during the entire conversation--it was almost as if I were speaking with a close family friend--I could tell he really just wants what is best for my baby.
After the phone call I felt unsure for the first time about our decision to go to CHOP for the consultation. I was concerned that it was going to be superfluous in nature and not as useful as i had anticipated. When Rusty got home I told him of the phone call and my feelings on CHOP--he agreed. We decided to sleep on it. Yesterday morning I received a phone call at 8am from Beth at CHOP calling to go over the itinerary for the 10 hour consultation this coming Tuesday. I told her that I was going to have to postpone our meeting (she wasn't thrilled) and that I would call her back next week. I still felt a little uneasy about doing that--and I don't think it would "hurt" to go for the consultation--but I guess I do think it possibly could added to my anxiety about the baby all together. I had asked another CDH baby's mom about why she didn't get a Fetal MRI and she said it would have just given her more stuff to worry about when everyone readily admits that it is virtually impossible to know how well a baby will do until he is born--regardless of the severity of the CDH. Later that morning Rusty received an email from a family friend who happens to be a thoracic surgeon who has worked with Dr. Kays and has also performed the procedure to repair CDH babies several times--he insisted that Dr. Kays is more than an incredible surgeon, but his treatment for the babies before and after is unmatched and we would be making a huge mistake not going to him. Needless to say, we felt better about our decision to postpone CHOP and I called Shands several times to set up an appointment--hopefully we will hear something on Monday.
Today (Saturday) I feel even better about our decision and I thank God for giving me a peace about it. Rusty and I went out for breakfast this morning while our house was being shown (we took our little dog Tiffany) and sat outside watching the rain and eating bagel breakfast sandwiches. We were surprised by a phone call from Dr. Owen, the man who did my amniocentesis. He said he had just been paged with my results and knew I'd want to hear them immediately--everything came back normal! Keep in mind these are the preliminary results that just check for the top three chromosomal issues: Trisomy 21 (Downs Syndrome), Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13. We still have to wait for the rest of the test results to be ready in a few weeks--but knowing that Baby Rich only has to deal with the complications of CDH makes things a lot easier--and his chances for survival a lot better.
So, all in all--we feel victorious this weekend! We spoke with the famous Dr. Kays, we had a doctor call with GOOD test results on a Saturday and we have a peace about things right now. We thank God for this gift--and for the rain!