News

Hi everyone,

Well this is a bit difficult to write, but in typical style our baby chooses to continue with the excitement that Thijs and I would rather not have during pregnancy!

We had our 20 week echo yesterday, with not good results. Baby has a suspected blockage somewhere in his throat which is causing build up of fluid in his lungs and in his body cavity. This has serious repercussions because it could over stress the internal organs and cause death.
For medical information: http://www.fetalcarecenter.org/fetal-surgery/chaos/

We are not without hope though. Sometimes the blockage clears itself, only time will tell if this happens. There is also experimental surgery that (if the blockage is thin enough) can be treated by laser in vitro. We could opt for a cesarian birth where a hole will be cut into the baby's wind pipe and a tube inserted to allow him to breath. Surgery to repair or reconstruct the throat could be done once baby is old enough, around 1 years old. However it is likely that baby wouldn't be able to talk ever.

This leaves us with some difficult decisions to make and to be honest it's all a lot to take in. We had hoped the most exciting times were behind us and that we could just enjoy a nice lazy pregnancy! There is a saying, "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger." So wish us courage and strength dear friends, and any prayers you could say for us are appreciated.

It's difficult to share this news with you all, but we need to share it with you because without your support we would be much worse off.

We're going to take time now to research and talk about all of this. We'll update the blog as soon as we know any more. Next appointment is next week. We're very fortunate that we're under the care of the Leiden University Medical Hospital, so we're getting the best of care.

Take care all. Much love,

Louise & Thijs