Saturday, June 28, 2008
Busy day
Leslie and baby are doing fine. I'm running around getting ready for tomorrow's departure. A lot to do...
Friday, June 27, 2008
We're going home.
After agonizing about staying in Denver vs going home, and what form of transportation to take, we have come to the decision to drive home starting Sunday morning. If we were to stay here until 24 weeks (another 3 weeks), Leslie would be admitted to the hospital. We would then be in Denver until the baby was born and ready to leave the hospital. That could be late October/early November. We strongly considered staying in Denver, but in the end we feel most comfortable getting home for better or worse.
We will drive to Kansas City Sunday (~8 hours), St. Louis on Monday (~4 hours), and Louisville on Tuesday (~5 hours). Our hotels along the way will be:
Hilton President Kansas City
1329 Baltimore
Kansas City, MO 64105
(816) 221-9490
Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark
1 South Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 421-1776
Tonight and tomorrow will give me time to plan the route and buy supplies.
We will drive to Kansas City Sunday (~8 hours), St. Louis on Monday (~4 hours), and Louisville on Tuesday (~5 hours). Our hotels along the way will be:
Hilton President Kansas City
1329 Baltimore
Kansas City, MO 64105
(816) 221-9490
Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark
1 South Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 421-1776
Tonight and tomorrow will give me time to plan the route and buy supplies.
Some observations from the appointment
The funniest moment of the appointment came when Leslie said, "I'm a ticking time bomb". The doctor said, "Why yes you are..." You had to of been there to see their faces...
Another symptom Leslie has developed since being in Denver is a very familiar looking rash. Could it be the return of PUPPPs? It's not a threatening condition, but it does cause a rash that is much like poison ivy. Leslie had this with Rylee. It's miserable. It's pretty funny to us that Leslie would get this on top of everything else.
So right now we're feeling like Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump in the middle of the storm on Forrest's shrimp boat when he says, "Is that all you've got? Come on, I can take more!"
Now hear this! Private Gump here is gonna be a shrimp boat captain.
So now we wait to see what happens next. Meanwhile Leslie is ticking down, and scratching.
Another symptom Leslie has developed since being in Denver is a very familiar looking rash. Could it be the return of PUPPPs? It's not a threatening condition, but it does cause a rash that is much like poison ivy. Leslie had this with Rylee. It's miserable. It's pretty funny to us that Leslie would get this on top of everything else.
So right now we're feeling like Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump in the middle of the storm on Forrest's shrimp boat when he says, "Is that all you've got? Come on, I can take more!"
Now hear this! Private Gump here is gonna be a shrimp boat captain.
So now we wait to see what happens next. Meanwhile Leslie is ticking down, and scratching.
No change
Nothing has changed in Leslie or baby's condition. 1 centimeter of amniotic fluid. Heading back to RMH.
In the exam room
We are in the exam room, and we expect the doctor to come in shortly. They will do an ultrasound and check for contractions.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Eventual route with hospitals
Click here to see the route (I-70 to I-64) and a list of hospitals along the way...
Getting a laptop soon
I should have a laptop from the local Autodesk office later today. That will make things much easier on us. Email, updates, travel plans, research...
Breakfast out of bed
Leslie hopped in the wheel chair to go up to the 3rd floor where some ladies from the IAPP- International Accounts Payable Professionals served a nice breakfast of eggs, pancakes, sausage, etc. Yum.
I hope to post more pictures later today...
I hope to post more pictures later today...
The end of Wednesday
Leslie had a completely boring day, which is pretty exciting. No signs of infection. No contractions.
I made it out to the SuperTarget to pick up some reading material and two-way radios (aka walkie talkies).
The highlight of the day was to find that a wheelchair was available which will allow Leslie to go on very short adventures in the RMH. Instead of being cooped up in our room, I can use the wheel chair to push Leslie to one of the many large and comfortable "family rooms" where she can meet and talk to someone other than me. I really don't know why she would like to do that, as I feel I'm am a great conversationalist. ;-)
The not so great news today is that we are not ready to make plans to go home. We are desperate to have Leslie back in more familiar confines, but I think we may have been pushing this a little too fast. Tomorrow we plan to speak with Leslie's doctor in Louisville which we place great trust in, and see what she recommends. On Tuesday, it sounded like she was recommending we wait a week or two before coming home.
We are very comfortable here at the RMH. They have a great staff, terrific facilities, and we are 2 minutes from a great hospital. All in all, that's pretty good.
Off to bed... goodnight!
I made it out to the SuperTarget to pick up some reading material and two-way radios (aka walkie talkies).
The highlight of the day was to find that a wheelchair was available which will allow Leslie to go on very short adventures in the RMH. Instead of being cooped up in our room, I can use the wheel chair to push Leslie to one of the many large and comfortable "family rooms" where she can meet and talk to someone other than me. I really don't know why she would like to do that, as I feel I'm am a great conversationalist. ;-)
The not so great news today is that we are not ready to make plans to go home. We are desperate to have Leslie back in more familiar confines, but I think we may have been pushing this a little too fast. Tomorrow we plan to speak with Leslie's doctor in Louisville which we place great trust in, and see what she recommends. On Tuesday, it sounded like she was recommending we wait a week or two before coming home.
We are very comfortable here at the RMH. They have a great staff, terrific facilities, and we are 2 minutes from a great hospital. All in all, that's pretty good.
Off to bed... goodnight!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A good article
Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes: Diagnosis and Management
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20060215/659.html
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20060215/659.html
Wednesday update so far
Nothing new to report on the medical front. Leslie is resting comfotably.
We are working out our travel schedule today. We have major concerns about flying now. If something would happen in the air, it could happen quickly without time to get to a hospital, etc. I think we will end up driving home. We are working on how to get a car. Rental companies want $1,500 for a 1 way rental. That's not going to happen. So we're working on Plan D (or it might be E, I can't remember lol).
More later.
We are working out our travel schedule today. We have major concerns about flying now. If something would happen in the air, it could happen quickly without time to get to a hospital, etc. I think we will end up driving home. We are working on how to get a car. Rental companies want $1,500 for a 1 way rental. That's not going to happen. So we're working on Plan D (or it might be E, I can't remember lol).
More later.
Tuesday evening post - what's next?
Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement. It means a lot to us.
On Friday morning, Leslie will go back to the hospital for another ultra sound and to check for signs of an infection. Until then, it's bed time all the time (with some exceptions of course). ;-)
Right now we are trying to plan a way to get home. We are not very confident about flying on a commercial flight due to the uncertainty of how long Leslie would have to sit in an airport, flight delays, weather, etc. We might change our minds a little later on the subject as the doctors say Leslie should do OK. It's a 16+ hour drive home from Denver which includes a stretch of I-70 through the rolling, golden, slumber inducing hills of Kansas. I'm sure it a great place to live if you like to farm or chase tornadoes, but it's not our cup of tea.
So tomorrow's goal is to keep the baby in Mommy, and work out a plan to get home.
Goodnight.
On Friday morning, Leslie will go back to the hospital for another ultra sound and to check for signs of an infection. Until then, it's bed time all the time (with some exceptions of course). ;-)
Right now we are trying to plan a way to get home. We are not very confident about flying on a commercial flight due to the uncertainty of how long Leslie would have to sit in an airport, flight delays, weather, etc. We might change our minds a little later on the subject as the doctors say Leslie should do OK. It's a 16+ hour drive home from Denver which includes a stretch of I-70 through the rolling, golden, slumber inducing hills of Kansas. I'm sure it a great place to live if you like to farm or chase tornadoes, but it's not our cup of tea.
So tomorrow's goal is to keep the baby in Mommy, and work out a plan to get home.
Goodnight.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
We're at the Ronald McDonald House
We are at the RMH now. Leslie is laying in bed comfortably.
We can't say enough about how great the staff at University of Colorado Hospital were to Leslie.
Now we can start thinking about how to get home. More on that later.
We can't say enough about how great the staff at University of Colorado Hospital were to Leslie.
Now we can start thinking about how to get home. More on that later.
Ultrasound update - Not too bad
Doctors expect amnio fluid to go up and down during the day. They saw the baby's full batter and actually pee amnio fluid. Hopefully the hole in the sack will close up some to allow for more accumulation of fluid.
Also Leslie's cervix is 4 1/2 centimeters. That is really good. Dr's are less worried about labor with it that long.
Nothing changes from this news. We will be leaving the hospital this afternoon. Dr's want to see Leslie again on Friday.
Also Leslie's cervix is 4 1/2 centimeters. That is really good. Dr's are less worried about labor with it that long.
Nothing changes from this news. We will be leaving the hospital this afternoon. Dr's want to see Leslie again on Friday.
Ultrasound - no amniotic fluid
Leslie just had another ultrasound. They did not see any amniotic fluid. We are waiting to have a doctor tell us what that means and how it might change our plans to move to the RMH.
What is the latest?
Hi everyone,
Here is a quick recap:
Leslie traveled to Denver to present at the 2008 DebRA Patient Care Conference. She was scheduled to fly home Sunday afternoon. About 4:30 AM Sunday morning, her water broke. She was taken to the University of Colorado Hospital in the Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion where she is currently being treated. I flew out Sunday evening to join Leslie.
Being only 20 weeks along, we are facing a pretty tough road. The good news first. There is no sign of infection. She is not having contractions. The baby is not showing any signs of stress. From here on out, Leslie is on bed rest. She can get up to use the restroom, shower, etc. As usual, she is a trooper.
The scary part is that 50% of women that break their water begin labor within 7-14 days. Baby's that are born before 23-24 weeks will not survive outside of the womb. Babies born between 24 weeks to about 28 weeks have a 50% mortality rate. Having lost a lot of amniotic fluid causes reduced lung development in utero, so we need to hold on as long as possible. We would really like to get to 32 weeks which has a 90% mortality rating.
So now what? Leslie is scheduled to be discharged tomorrow at some point in the afternoon. We will be staying in Denver at the Ronald McDonald House ("RMH")in Aurora for about a week or two. More info on the RMH: Pictures 1 and Pictures 2. We want to get past this early period without causing any additional stress to Leslie and baby. After that, we plan to travel home either by car or possibly a chartered flight (Angel Flight). We hope to have Rylee join us a little later in the week.
To contact us in Denver:
University Hospital: (720) 848-4011 - I expect Leslie to be out of the hospital and in RMH on Tuesday afternoon.
Ronald McDonald House: (720) 324-2477 - this will be our home away from home.
I plan to post updates here. Feel free to email the link to this page (leslieupdate.blogspot.com).
Thanks to everyone at DebRA for helping get Leslie to the hospital. Our good friends Bridget and Rich have been very supportive by sitting with Leslie before I arrived and picking me up at the airport.
Thanks to everyone for your calls, thoughts, and prayers.I'm off to bed and hopefully sleep. Goodnight...
Bryan
Here is a quick recap:
Leslie traveled to Denver to present at the 2008 DebRA Patient Care Conference. She was scheduled to fly home Sunday afternoon. About 4:30 AM Sunday morning, her water broke. She was taken to the University of Colorado Hospital in the Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion where she is currently being treated. I flew out Sunday evening to join Leslie.
Being only 20 weeks along, we are facing a pretty tough road. The good news first. There is no sign of infection. She is not having contractions. The baby is not showing any signs of stress. From here on out, Leslie is on bed rest. She can get up to use the restroom, shower, etc. As usual, she is a trooper.
The scary part is that 50% of women that break their water begin labor within 7-14 days. Baby's that are born before 23-24 weeks will not survive outside of the womb. Babies born between 24 weeks to about 28 weeks have a 50% mortality rate. Having lost a lot of amniotic fluid causes reduced lung development in utero, so we need to hold on as long as possible. We would really like to get to 32 weeks which has a 90% mortality rating.
So now what? Leslie is scheduled to be discharged tomorrow at some point in the afternoon. We will be staying in Denver at the Ronald McDonald House ("RMH")in Aurora for about a week or two. More info on the RMH: Pictures 1 and Pictures 2. We want to get past this early period without causing any additional stress to Leslie and baby. After that, we plan to travel home either by car or possibly a chartered flight (Angel Flight). We hope to have Rylee join us a little later in the week.
To contact us in Denver:
University Hospital: (720) 848-4011 - I expect Leslie to be out of the hospital and in RMH on Tuesday afternoon.
Ronald McDonald House: (720) 324-2477 - this will be our home away from home.
I plan to post updates here. Feel free to email the link to this page (leslieupdate.blogspot.com).
Thanks to everyone at DebRA for helping get Leslie to the hospital. Our good friends Bridget and Rich have been very supportive by sitting with Leslie before I arrived and picking me up at the airport.
Thanks to everyone for your calls, thoughts, and prayers.I'm off to bed and hopefully sleep. Goodnight...
Bryan
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