A Very Interesting Monday

Well, this day did not turn out quite the way I expected when I got up this morning and dressed for work...

I was excited for my 7:45 a.m. appointment with the specialist, Dr. R., for high risk assessment appointment #3 of 3 because I was hoping to learn the baby's gender, which you know from the above posting I did not learn.

What I did learn at this important appointment is that A) all indications from all tests show a perfectly healthy baby, and B) that I have another condition called an "incompetent cervix" which is another concern for a pre-term delivery on top of my unicornuate uterus.

What this basically means is that the "seal" on my cervix is not tight enough to continue to support the baby and keep him/her inside once the baby grows bigger.

They discovered this because they are watching me extra close because of the unicornuate uterus. I've been told that it was a very good thing they caught this at 17 weeks. Apparently most women with this condition don't find out until week 20-22, and at that point it is even more serious.

Anyway, Dr. R talks to me to tell me all this ... then he talks to Dr. C on the phone ... and then Dr. C wants to talk to me ... and the next thing I know my Mom is driving me to Plantation General Hospital for an emergency surgical procedure.

Around 2:30 Dr. C performed the surgery to insert what is called a cervical cerclage, which, as you can see from the image at the top of this posting, basically stitches the cervix closed to keep the baby in.

Dr. C said the procedure was a perfect success. His hope is to remove the cerclage at week #37 and then let the baby come out when nature dictates.

He also said I can't go back to work until after the baby is born. I need to avoid prolonged periods of standing and restrict my daily activities to mostly bed rest. At this point gravity is not my friend because we want to minimize the baby's weight putting pressure on the cervix.

GlaxoSmithKline has excellent benefits and I will have 180 days of short-term disability before returning to work after the birth. I will get 100% of my salary and commission for the first 3 months, and 75% for the second 3 months. All benefits, including my car privileges, 401K, etc. remain active.

While I'm still in a state of shock that I won't be working again until June, I am considering all of this to be very good news. I'm lucky they discovered this problem early and that there was something tangible they could do about it to protect the baby.

Now I'm going to spent most of my time horizontal reading books and watching Netflix movies. I'll also be checking email again during normal business hours and will welcome lots of phone calls and visitors at any time of the day as well.