Heard some sad PG related news today

[hokiegirl82]

I found out this morning that a former co-worker who is due in September with her first (like me, and she's having a boy also) had an U/S yesterday and they found a hole in the baby's heart. I'm not exactly sure how far along she is (I think she is due in early September) - I found this out from our receptionist who is still very good friends with former co-worker - the receptionist said she thinks she is 17 weeks, but isn't sure, might be a little further along. From what the receptionist told me they want to deliver the baby immediately and do up to 3 surgeries on it to fix the heart, but that the baby probably won't have a good quality of life even if they are able to fix the heart because it is so young.

Although I was not close to this coworker, I am so so sad for her. She visited the office a few weeks ago and we were chatting about pregnancy and she is so excited about her baby boy. I'll definitely be thinking about her a lot for the foreseeable future.

[IndiaInk]

Oh that is so sad! I really hope they have a good outcome.

[pinotgrig]

That's awful news - I hate to hear that. I hope her docs can come up with a good plan.

[theatre4life]

:(I hope her doctors can come up with a good plan.

[hillarywhitney]

How sad. I hope the dr's are able to help her baby.

[loira]

I'm so very sorry to hear this. I hope they are able to find a solution, but if not, I hope she is eventually able to grieve and find peace with whatever the outcome is.

[thatgirl2478]

That's horrible to hear! I would hope that her Dr's would be smart enough to leave the baby alone and let it gestate as close to full term as possible. THEN they should reassess to decide if the little boy needs surgery and make a plan at that point.

Anecdotally, my friend's daughter was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome & an associated hole in her heart. My friend's original doctors told her she should abort because there was no way her daughter would have a good life and that even if she did survive, she would need immediate surgery. My friend found new Dr.s and delivered the baby nearly full term. When she was born, her hole had closed up enough that she was able to wait a few days to be reassessed. Her heart healed enough on it's own that her surgery was able to be delayed by 6 months, which was wonderful because she was stronger and had more antibodies etc. It's amazing what the human body (and faith) can do, doctors don't know everything.

[curbsideprophet]

I'm sorry. Being due Sept 7th would put her at 19 weeks.

However I find it unlikely that any doctor would attempt to deliver if the baby is less than 20 weeks. I would think you would want the baby to be 23-24 weeks at a minimum.

[hokiegirl82]

I've been thinking about her all day. The receptionist who is good friends with her told me this afternoon that she would know more in the morning regarding delivering early and surgery. I'm so hoping there is hope for this baby - it breaks my heart to think of them going through this.