How it all began
Back in late August or early September, just before Labor Day. I came home from work on Tuesday and my wife suprised me with the fact that we were going to be parents in nine months. I was very happy and excited at the same time. At first I wanted to keep it quiet until we were definitely sure about it, but that lasted about five minutes. Then I decided that we should at least tell our families. I called my mom first but she did not answer, we then called my wife's parents and they were excited also. We did finally get a hold of my mother and father. Their reactions were different, my mom was very excited and could not believe the news that she was going to be a grandmother. My dad was pretty excited, but it took about 24 hrs for the news to really sink in that he was going to be a grandfather.
We did not tell anyone else, except my wife's employer and I told my work colleagues. We wanted to keep things quiet at least after the first trimester.
I went with my wife to the second dr's appointment and was so thrilled to hear the heartbeat. I left to room to go back to the waiting room and I was almost in tears because I got to hear the heartbeat of our child.
Everything proceeded as normal, my wife become very nauseous, not a lot of morning sickness, but a lot of sensitivity to smells and certain foods. This was a good way for me to lose weight because she was not able to cook much, and what she was able to cook was limited.
At one of the appointments, the Dr drew blood for an AFP test which checks for the probability of birth defects, etc. About a week before Christmas we came home and there was a voice mail from the Dr asking us to call her. We did and she was concerned about the results of the AFP test and now so were we! We called our families to see if there was any history of birth defects on either side and there was none. We were a bit troubled, but were not overly worried because the test was not an exact science, but a probability!
On December 22, 2005 we got another call from the Dr's office asking us to come in for an early ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay. During the ultrasound, it was revealed that we were having twins. We were very excited and relieved, because the elevated AFP also is an indicator of twins! What a Christmas present!
We had another appointment scheduled at a perinatal center at the hospital where our babies are to be delivered. This ultrasound was on January 4, 2005, Wednesday. We went in like normal parents, excited and hopeful that our twins were healthy. We did know that at least one twin was a boy, but they were not positive about the other twin. They did the ultrasound, taking extensive measurements of both twins and told us that we were having two boys! But that excitement was short-lived, when the Dr came in to discuss the ultrasound with us. He informed us that our twins had Twin-To-Twin Transfusion Syndrome and that we needed to make plans to travel. The Dr. was very kind in dealing with us and told us that there was nothing we did to cause this problem and there was nothing we could do to prevent it either. We left the perinatal center in shock and made it to the car in the parking garage, where we both wept bitterly.
As we were driving home, I told my wife to call her family and let them know. My mind was racing with all the thoughts of the unknown, what was going to happen to our boys and how were we going to be able to travel and get the necessary medical care. When we arrived home, we gathered ourselves together, I called my parents and then called our pastor. We went to meet with our pastor and he was gracious and kind to us, he had prayer with us and said that he would try to contact a medical doctor in our church to see if he could provide us with some information and support.
As the day progressed, we found out that we were going to be travelling to the Fetal Care Center in Cincinnati. We did not have to be there until Monday, and it was late Wednesday. We were still very apprehensive about the whole situation. We went back to work on Thursday and Friday, to keep our minds occupied and not dwelling on all of the unknown things.
We were able to make travel arrangements via Delta Airlines where I was able to redeem some SkyMiles that I had accumulated over the years and had not used. The hospital was very helpful in making arrangments for lodging at a hotel near the hospital.
Our church has rallied around us. Before we left on Sunday, many people pledged their prayers and support to us. Some folks gave us money to help with the last minute expenses. My mother is helping us with the lodging costs and my in-laws drove down here to be with us through the duration of this process.
I am putting these events into writing so that our sons will be able to read about this someday.
We did not tell anyone else, except my wife's employer and I told my work colleagues. We wanted to keep things quiet at least after the first trimester.
I went with my wife to the second dr's appointment and was so thrilled to hear the heartbeat. I left to room to go back to the waiting room and I was almost in tears because I got to hear the heartbeat of our child.
Everything proceeded as normal, my wife become very nauseous, not a lot of morning sickness, but a lot of sensitivity to smells and certain foods. This was a good way for me to lose weight because she was not able to cook much, and what she was able to cook was limited.
At one of the appointments, the Dr drew blood for an AFP test which checks for the probability of birth defects, etc. About a week before Christmas we came home and there was a voice mail from the Dr asking us to call her. We did and she was concerned about the results of the AFP test and now so were we! We called our families to see if there was any history of birth defects on either side and there was none. We were a bit troubled, but were not overly worried because the test was not an exact science, but a probability!
On December 22, 2005 we got another call from the Dr's office asking us to come in for an early ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay. During the ultrasound, it was revealed that we were having twins. We were very excited and relieved, because the elevated AFP also is an indicator of twins! What a Christmas present!
We had another appointment scheduled at a perinatal center at the hospital where our babies are to be delivered. This ultrasound was on January 4, 2005, Wednesday. We went in like normal parents, excited and hopeful that our twins were healthy. We did know that at least one twin was a boy, but they were not positive about the other twin. They did the ultrasound, taking extensive measurements of both twins and told us that we were having two boys! But that excitement was short-lived, when the Dr came in to discuss the ultrasound with us. He informed us that our twins had Twin-To-Twin Transfusion Syndrome and that we needed to make plans to travel. The Dr. was very kind in dealing with us and told us that there was nothing we did to cause this problem and there was nothing we could do to prevent it either. We left the perinatal center in shock and made it to the car in the parking garage, where we both wept bitterly.
As we were driving home, I told my wife to call her family and let them know. My mind was racing with all the thoughts of the unknown, what was going to happen to our boys and how were we going to be able to travel and get the necessary medical care. When we arrived home, we gathered ourselves together, I called my parents and then called our pastor. We went to meet with our pastor and he was gracious and kind to us, he had prayer with us and said that he would try to contact a medical doctor in our church to see if he could provide us with some information and support.
As the day progressed, we found out that we were going to be travelling to the Fetal Care Center in Cincinnati. We did not have to be there until Monday, and it was late Wednesday. We were still very apprehensive about the whole situation. We went back to work on Thursday and Friday, to keep our minds occupied and not dwelling on all of the unknown things.
We were able to make travel arrangements via Delta Airlines where I was able to redeem some SkyMiles that I had accumulated over the years and had not used. The hospital was very helpful in making arrangments for lodging at a hotel near the hospital.
Our church has rallied around us. Before we left on Sunday, many people pledged their prayers and support to us. Some folks gave us money to help with the last minute expenses. My mother is helping us with the lodging costs and my in-laws drove down here to be with us through the duration of this process.
I am putting these events into writing so that our sons will be able to read about this someday.
posted by Terry Lange at 12:14 PM
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