If you would like to make an end of the year donation to the ministry please click the link below to give. All donations are tax-deductible.
Click Here to Make a Donation
Grace & Peace,
David
Family Pic
Sunday, December 27, 2015
End of Year 2015
This year has flown by so quickly. We thank God for each and everyone of you that have lifted us up in prayer and also supported us financially. May our Lord bless you abundantly for your faithfulness.
If you would like to make an end of the year donation to the ministry please click the link below to give. All donations are tax-deductible.
Click Here to Make a Donation
Grace & Peace,
David
If you would like to make an end of the year donation to the ministry please click the link below to give. All donations are tax-deductible.
Click Here to Make a Donation
Grace & Peace,
David
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Well, That Didn't Take Long.
Life is funny at times, no? About 17 hours after my last blog update, we had a baby! On Friday evening (May 8) we welcomed our sweet Ellabeth Joy into the world at 8:41pm. She was born at 29 weeks, 6 days and weighed in at 3 lbs. 2 oz.
Of course, this is our ministry blog and not just a personal blog about our lives, but seeing how everything has become so intertwined at the moment, I'll take the opportunity to update on how things are going with myself and Ellabeth as well as kinda fill in the gaps on how we got to this point, what exactly happened, why she was born so early and what our hopes are for the ministry from this point on.
So, in this post, I'll try to answer as many questions as I can remember about our exciting birth story. I'll share a few pics, too. Consider this a "trigger warning", if you get grossed out easily, there may be a pic here that you will want to scroll past or quit reading at this point. :) Please forgive some of this that may seem a bit overly detailed, but I want to document as much as I can remember, partially for my own recollection many years down the road.
When I last updated it was about 3am on Friday morning (May 8) and I was in the hospital waiting for a second ultrasound that was o take place that morning with a perinatologist. That afternoon around 1-ish I was wheeled back to radiology where they had ordered an MRI instead of a second ultrasound. We were told that so much more could be seen with the MRI versus the ultrasound and there was already enough concern after seeing the results of the ultrasound from the previous night that the MFM doctor decided to bypass the second ultrasound in favor of the MRI.
Once the MRI was finished, I was told that the radiologist wanted to read the results while I waited on the table in the event that they needed more pics. The wait in the tube was growing painfully long and I finally caved and had to press "the panic button". Ha! :) Good thing I did, because the radiologist had actually called in for a second opinion from another radiologist. When I asked the technician if that was normal, she said "To be honest, I've been doing radiology for 8 years and I have never seen anything like this before." Her response was one I was becoming used to. She wasn't the first and wasn't going to be the last person to say these words to me. In fact, just the day before on Thursday morning, I received this message from Dr. Monteith who performed my tubal reversal:
"Theoretically, it was possible but very unusual." This was his reaction when I shared with him what the doctors in Costa Rica were thinking was going on inside my body. And when I got back to the states and I had to explain it to the admittance nurses at labor and delivery, they pretty much looked at me like I had a third eye on my forehead. :) But as crazy as it sounded, what the doctors in Costa Rica told me was exactly what was going on and the MRIs and ultrasounds only served to confirm what was going on.
So what exactly was going on? Well, to explain the best way I know how, one of my previous c-section scars on my uterine wall had come open. However, rather than this being a typical uterine rupture, there were no other symptoms. Zero. No pain, no bleeding, no signs of labor. Then, through that tear in the uterine wall, the bag of waters was bulging through. It didn't break. As best I can understand, it was just pushing through the hole in the uterine wall and it created almost like a second bag of waters. During the MRI, doctors watched as Ellabeth played between the two pockets of fluids, reaching her had through the uterine wall and into the fluid sac that was bulging outside.
That afternoon there was a meeting of the minds where several of the maternal-fetal medicine doctors came together to discuss my situation and weigh the risks of immediate delivery versus the risk of allowing the pregnancy to continue. We were told that the doctors could not come to a unanimous decision on how to proceed. The meeting seemed to drag on forever as we waited for nearly 3 hours before we spoke with any of the doctors. Our nurse, who seemed very irritable, didn't know anything and we thought she was frustrated with us because we kept asking for updates. We found out the next day from another nurse that she was frustrated, but not with us. As it turned out, her shift was coming to an end and she was eager to find out what the doctors had decided and she thought she was going to have to go home without knowing the outcome. (We also learned that despite her shift ending at 7:08, she actually stayed late and accompanied us to the OR when the decision was made to deliver just because she was eager to see what exactly was going on inside as well!)
At 5:00, we were told no food or drinks until further notice and mom and I began to suspect that the decision had been made to deliver. I asked for a few things (stool softener & an antacid) and was denied each of them, which led us to further believe that we would be delivering, even though each time we asked the nurse she responded with the same "I don't know". Then at 6:00 we were told we would be moving to a room on the labor and delivery side. The only doctor we had spoken with was a resident who said she knew for a fact we would be at the hospital until I delivered but said she could not give me any idea when that would be. She also told us that the MFM doctors were still discussing their options with how to handle my situation and that one of them would be around to see me soon.
At 6:30, I updated on facebook that I was stable and that all was good. David, who was in Costa Rica was relieved to read that post. Then, about an hour later he got "the call". It was crazy, I tell ya!
At 6:45 or so things got very interesting when the nurse came in and said "Are you feeling these contractions?" I had been feeling what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions for several days but nothing was registering on the monitors Thursday or Friday so I wasn't quite sure how to answer her. I felt something but I had no idea what it was. By 7:15 my hospital room was filled with people.
My doctor said "well, we were trying to figure out how best to treat your pregnancy, but the fact that you are feeling these contractions makes that decision an easy one. We will need to deliver baby now." Then he said something like "Are you ok with that" or "Do you have any questions" or something like that and before I had a chance to respond, I had a nurse laying on my belly with a heart rate monitor trying to find Ellabeth's heart rate, two anesthesiologists asking me the wrap sheet of medical questions, two other nurses swooped in to shave my belly, a few waivers were put in front of me to sign, a nurse was asking my mom who would be going back with me, my mom was on the phone trying to get my dad to answer, i was panicking that David was going to find all of this out on facebook, the surgeon (a fourth year resident) was on his phone just outside the door calling the MFM doctor (who I was told never attends deliveries) and I overheard him saying "Yes, my patient from Costa Rica is having contractions...yes...Oh, thank you!!" Then he came in and told me he would have the MFM docs in to help him with the surgery. A few minutes later, the doc he was on the phone with showed up and came in to tell me that they were expecting to do a hysterectomy and a bladder repair as they thought the placenta had grown into the bladder as well. At some point my dad slipped into the room...I looked over from the bed and saw him fully dressed for surgery! I almost didn't recognize him except that my mom was tying his clothes in the back. Then on the other side of the room I looked and saw both of the elders from my church and their wives and I remember feeling so sorry that I couldn't visit with them. And then almost as quickly as the storm rolled in, we rolled out. All 17 of us (including myself, my dad, and Ellabeth), into the operating room.
Surgery started at 8:06 and progressed very slowly at first. They explained that they were taking things very slow and easy so that they didn't puncture the tissue sac of waters. They also allowed everyone in the room to come take a peek at the abnormality within my uterine cavity and they took a few pictures and "studied" it a bit, making a few medical observations and comments that I really didnt understand.
Then when they decided it was time to proceed, things went quickly. Ellabeth was born at 8:41 and came out screaming and pink! For a 29 weeker, everyone in the room was impressed. Her apgar score was 7. I got a quick peek at her in the incubator and she was whisked away to NICU where I would be reunited with her the following day.
Praise the Lord, no hysterectomy was needed, as they were able to repair the hole in the uterine wall and also, the placenta had not grown into the bladder. We were advised by the perinatologist though, as he walked out of the OR, that just because I still had my uterus did not mean that I was free to attempt to have any more children. He smiled as he leaned over to me as I lay on the operating table and he whispered "I wouldn't try that again if I were you."
So where do we go from here? Well, I'll save that for another post. Thanks for reading! We look forward to sharing more soon!
Of course, this is our ministry blog and not just a personal blog about our lives, but seeing how everything has become so intertwined at the moment, I'll take the opportunity to update on how things are going with myself and Ellabeth as well as kinda fill in the gaps on how we got to this point, what exactly happened, why she was born so early and what our hopes are for the ministry from this point on.
So, in this post, I'll try to answer as many questions as I can remember about our exciting birth story. I'll share a few pics, too. Consider this a "trigger warning", if you get grossed out easily, there may be a pic here that you will want to scroll past or quit reading at this point. :) Please forgive some of this that may seem a bit overly detailed, but I want to document as much as I can remember, partially for my own recollection many years down the road.
When I last updated it was about 3am on Friday morning (May 8) and I was in the hospital waiting for a second ultrasound that was o take place that morning with a perinatologist. That afternoon around 1-ish I was wheeled back to radiology where they had ordered an MRI instead of a second ultrasound. We were told that so much more could be seen with the MRI versus the ultrasound and there was already enough concern after seeing the results of the ultrasound from the previous night that the MFM doctor decided to bypass the second ultrasound in favor of the MRI.
(Above is the photo of the ultrasound showing the tear in the uterine cavity and the
amniotic fluid filling the sac outside of the uterine wall. The tear is in the center of the pic,
the pocket on the right is the uterus and the big open space on the left is the fluid pocket.)
Once the MRI was finished, I was told that the radiologist wanted to read the results while I waited on the table in the event that they needed more pics. The wait in the tube was growing painfully long and I finally caved and had to press "the panic button". Ha! :) Good thing I did, because the radiologist had actually called in for a second opinion from another radiologist. When I asked the technician if that was normal, she said "To be honest, I've been doing radiology for 8 years and I have never seen anything like this before." Her response was one I was becoming used to. She wasn't the first and wasn't going to be the last person to say these words to me. In fact, just the day before on Thursday morning, I received this message from Dr. Monteith who performed my tubal reversal:
So what exactly was going on? Well, to explain the best way I know how, one of my previous c-section scars on my uterine wall had come open. However, rather than this being a typical uterine rupture, there were no other symptoms. Zero. No pain, no bleeding, no signs of labor. Then, through that tear in the uterine wall, the bag of waters was bulging through. It didn't break. As best I can understand, it was just pushing through the hole in the uterine wall and it created almost like a second bag of waters. During the MRI, doctors watched as Ellabeth played between the two pockets of fluids, reaching her had through the uterine wall and into the fluid sac that was bulging outside.
That afternoon there was a meeting of the minds where several of the maternal-fetal medicine doctors came together to discuss my situation and weigh the risks of immediate delivery versus the risk of allowing the pregnancy to continue. We were told that the doctors could not come to a unanimous decision on how to proceed. The meeting seemed to drag on forever as we waited for nearly 3 hours before we spoke with any of the doctors. Our nurse, who seemed very irritable, didn't know anything and we thought she was frustrated with us because we kept asking for updates. We found out the next day from another nurse that she was frustrated, but not with us. As it turned out, her shift was coming to an end and she was eager to find out what the doctors had decided and she thought she was going to have to go home without knowing the outcome. (We also learned that despite her shift ending at 7:08, she actually stayed late and accompanied us to the OR when the decision was made to deliver just because she was eager to see what exactly was going on inside as well!)
At 5:00, we were told no food or drinks until further notice and mom and I began to suspect that the decision had been made to deliver. I asked for a few things (stool softener & an antacid) and was denied each of them, which led us to further believe that we would be delivering, even though each time we asked the nurse she responded with the same "I don't know". Then at 6:00 we were told we would be moving to a room on the labor and delivery side. The only doctor we had spoken with was a resident who said she knew for a fact we would be at the hospital until I delivered but said she could not give me any idea when that would be. She also told us that the MFM doctors were still discussing their options with how to handle my situation and that one of them would be around to see me soon.
At 6:30, I updated on facebook that I was stable and that all was good. David, who was in Costa Rica was relieved to read that post. Then, about an hour later he got "the call". It was crazy, I tell ya!
At 6:45 or so things got very interesting when the nurse came in and said "Are you feeling these contractions?" I had been feeling what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions for several days but nothing was registering on the monitors Thursday or Friday so I wasn't quite sure how to answer her. I felt something but I had no idea what it was. By 7:15 my hospital room was filled with people.
My doctor said "well, we were trying to figure out how best to treat your pregnancy, but the fact that you are feeling these contractions makes that decision an easy one. We will need to deliver baby now." Then he said something like "Are you ok with that" or "Do you have any questions" or something like that and before I had a chance to respond, I had a nurse laying on my belly with a heart rate monitor trying to find Ellabeth's heart rate, two anesthesiologists asking me the wrap sheet of medical questions, two other nurses swooped in to shave my belly, a few waivers were put in front of me to sign, a nurse was asking my mom who would be going back with me, my mom was on the phone trying to get my dad to answer, i was panicking that David was going to find all of this out on facebook, the surgeon (a fourth year resident) was on his phone just outside the door calling the MFM doctor (who I was told never attends deliveries) and I overheard him saying "Yes, my patient from Costa Rica is having contractions...yes...Oh, thank you!!" Then he came in and told me he would have the MFM docs in to help him with the surgery. A few minutes later, the doc he was on the phone with showed up and came in to tell me that they were expecting to do a hysterectomy and a bladder repair as they thought the placenta had grown into the bladder as well. At some point my dad slipped into the room...I looked over from the bed and saw him fully dressed for surgery! I almost didn't recognize him except that my mom was tying his clothes in the back. Then on the other side of the room I looked and saw both of the elders from my church and their wives and I remember feeling so sorry that I couldn't visit with them. And then almost as quickly as the storm rolled in, we rolled out. All 17 of us (including myself, my dad, and Ellabeth), into the operating room.
Surgery started at 8:06 and progressed very slowly at first. They explained that they were taking things very slow and easy so that they didn't puncture the tissue sac of waters. They also allowed everyone in the room to come take a peek at the abnormality within my uterine cavity and they took a few pictures and "studied" it a bit, making a few medical observations and comments that I really didnt understand.
(Once inside the docs immediately saw the bulge of tissues that was filled with amniotic fluid that
had escaped through the tear in the uterine wall.)
Ellabeth Joy Godsey, 1 minute old. (3 lbs. 2 oz.)
So where do we go from here? Well, I'll save that for another post. Thanks for reading! We look forward to sharing more soon!
Ellabeth Joy Godsey, 1 week old. (2 lb. 14 oz.)
Friday, May 8, 2015
So What is Really Going on in Costa Rica?!
Hi friends! (Lindsay here). Understandably, I have had many many questions and requests for updates about myself and the baby. THANK YOU for your concern and prayers. It has been so very encouraging to see and know just how far and wide our prayer chain extends. In an effort to update as many people as possible with as much information as possible I thought it might just be easier to link a blog update here at this dusty ol' blog that has been neglected for so long that I almost forgot we had it. Pardon me while I get rid of some of the cobwebs.
Wwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Ah, much better.
Since we have so many new friends and supporters who may not know the full history, I will start from the beginning. Feel free to skip that part if you've already heard us boast in the Lord over His kindness in that area once or twice or several dozen times.
The History
After Elysa's birth in December 2008, we made the decision that four children was enough for our family and we made the decision to have my tubes tied during what was my fourth c-section. Within a year I began to experience symptoms of PTLS, without knowing what was going on with my body. In the next several years, I had several minor procedures to remedy many different bothersome symptoms, one of which was an endometrial ablation. Basically this procedure burns the endometrial lining of the uterine cavity to help women who deal with irregular of heavy cycles. However, in doing so, it also makes conception impossible as there is no lining left in the uterus for a fertilized egg to implant. Several years later, I stumbled across a forum regarding PTLS and realized that each symptom I was experiencing was one shared by many women who have had their tubes tied and David and I discussed having my tubal ligation reversed. In December 2012, we traveled to North Carolina (to one of the few doctors who would consider reversing a tubal ligation after an ablation) and had my tubal reversal with hopes that the symptoms would subside. Much to my surprise, after about 6 weeks I began to see symptom after symptom fade away and I am now proud to say that I am now back to my old self again. Except for one thing now...
The Unbelievable Blessing of it All
Perhaps the most exciting thing that followed my tubal reversal was nearly 2 years later when we found out we were expecting!! Against all odds, we had actually conceived a precious life and were carrying a healthy pregnancy! How is that even possible after the ablation procedure? As it turns out, because of a malformation of my uterus, called a bicornuate uterus, meaning "two horns" and the way the Novasure ablation procedure works, my doctor was only able to burn the lining of one side of my uterus. It was not a safe procedure to do twice, so we just chose the right horn since every pregnancy I have had has implanted in the right (and larger) horn. This pregnancy implanted in the left horn, making this my first left-sided pregnancy ever! Still every doctor that I have spoken with regarding this pregnancy has said "This is obviously of the Lord, I have never seen a post-ablation pregnancy thrive." To date we are 29 weeks and 6 days with a healthy baby girl, whom we look forward to meeting in the Lords time.
The Panic Sets In
The excitement of our newest addition quickly became overshadowed by fear. We were not attempting to have another child when we learned of this pregnancy. In fact, because David had recently resigned from his job, our only source of income and insurance at the time, we were actually actively trying not to conceive. But as always seems to be the case, the Lord had other plans for us. He not only had plans for us, He had already made provisions for me and baby to receive wonderful prenatal care at a local (in Memphis) clinic, The Memphis Morning Center, that provides quality prenatal care for women in low-income and often "forgotten" neighborhoods. For free. This is their way of serving the Lord, and they graciously welcomed me in as a patient. My time there was sweet and encouraging, but it was also temporary as we made plans to leave the country for Costa Rica in preparation for long-term ministry in Ecuador. We had our final appointment at the Morning Center in March 2015, at 24 weeks with a sweet and heartfelt farewell from the staff there. Then with medical records in hand, we were off to Costa Rica!
So What is Going On in Costa Rica?
Well, you are now semi-caught-up-to-speed and we are now in Costa Rica and things have apparently gone cray-cray with my body. Ha! Well, not really super crazy, because the Lord is still in control and we know that nothing happens that He is not sovereign over. So we rest in that assurance and hang on for the ride, thankful with every zip and turn just to be a part of His unfolding master plan. And that's what keeps us from completely losing our minds. Except for those few times when we do completely lose our minds and realize we have taken our focus off of Him. But I digress. So here is my best recount of what has been the fog of being admitted to a hospital where very few people speak your language and fear of the unknown abounds:
Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo: The Good, The Bad, & The Terrifying
The GOOD: On Tuesday, we had our first appointment with our obstetrician here in San Jose. We'll call him Dr. S, because, well, his name starts with an S. (Clever, huh?) We met with him and we knew we liked him right away. His English was impressive, but not complete, but we were able to understand everything he said, even when he threw a few Spanish words in here and there, probably without even being aware that he was doing it. All was going well as we explained to him my OB history: 4 c-sections, tubal ligation, ablation, tubal reversal, bicornuate uterus, etc. He was impressed that we were carrying, and wanted to see for himself what was going on on the inside before he laid out a plan of action.
The BAD: The initial ultrasound revealed what he suspected to be a large hematoma sitting right on top of the cervix, butting up next to the placenta and measuring as large as baby's head. His initial response was complete shock that I was not experiencing any bleeding. We were immediately admitted to Hospital Clinica Biblica in San Jose for observation.
The TERRIFYING: We were told that if this hematoma ruptured there was a very good chance that we would lose the baby and an equally good chance that it could have been fatal for me as well. Our initial thought was "we need to get back to the States" but we were advised by our doctor that we would not be cleared to fly and that they would not allow me to leave the hospital without being transferred by ambulance to a government hospital if we chose not to be admitted at Clinica Biblica. So, for lack of other options, we agreed to the admission at the private hospital where we stayed the night for observation while awaiting our next appointment with the perinatologist.
New News
The following morning, Wednesday, we had another ultrasound with a specialist who focuses on high risk maternal-fetal medicine who was accompanied by Dr. S. Right away they observed the sac that was believed the day before to be a hematoma. However, this time they saw something very different. The sac was still present and filled with just as much fluid as before, however, this time they were able to see a tear in the uterine lining between the cavity where the baby was and the sac full of fluid. The diagnosis: my water had broken internally. However, instead of it being fatal for baby, there was a membrane of tissue surrounding the fluid, keeping it from completely leaking out. Both doctors agreed that the situation was remarkable and that they have never seen anything like it. Dr. S said it was "a miracle" that this membrane somehow covered the opening where a previous c-section scar had torn and prevented an entire uterine rupture.
A Change of Plans
Once it was determined that the sac was not a hematoma, doctors' concern was redirected from my safety to that of baby. It was apparent to both doctors there that we would have a premature delivery and that baby was definitely going to be spending some time in the NICU. The question now was did we want that to be in Costa Rica or back in the U.S. I was now cleared to fly back home for the moment, but was cautioned that if circumstances changed and I began having contractions or abdominal pain, that clearance would again be off the table. That night, we sat down with several other missionaries and discussed our options, I cried, and we prayed over the decision that would have to be made. David and I wanted so desperately to stay in Costa Rica to continue with our language learning so that we could quickly get to work in Ecuador and we knew that coming back to the States would be a major setback to our goals. However, after a lengthy night of prayer, discussion, emailing, counsel from our sending agency and several doctors state-side and in Costa Rica, we decided that the best course of action given the situation was to return to the States for care.
A Family Divided
Because of the concern of a potential rapid decline in the health of the pregnancy, we decided that it would be best for me to take the first flight possible back to the States. So, Thursday morning we booked a flight for myself and the girls to come back to the States, leaving behind David and the boys to take care of odds and ends in Costa Rica. Lord willing, they will be arriving here in the states within the next week or two and we will await Ellabeth's birth and recovery before heading back to Costa Rica. Being apart has been tough on all of us but we definitely feel that we made the right decision at this point to seek care in the U.S.
The View From Here (Currently)
At this time, I am in Memphis and have been admitted to Baptist East Women's Hospital until we learn more. One doctor says he expects us to be here until Ellabeth is born. I am currently nearing 30 weeks of pregnancy but we are not expecting to make it to a 37-week full-term pregnancy. At this time we don't really know what we should expect but we are scheduled for another ultrasound with a specialist in the morning and hopefully will know a bit more after that.
Wwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Ah, much better.
Since we have so many new friends and supporters who may not know the full history, I will start from the beginning. Feel free to skip that part if you've already heard us boast in the Lord over His kindness in that area once or twice or several dozen times.
The History
After Elysa's birth in December 2008, we made the decision that four children was enough for our family and we made the decision to have my tubes tied during what was my fourth c-section. Within a year I began to experience symptoms of PTLS, without knowing what was going on with my body. In the next several years, I had several minor procedures to remedy many different bothersome symptoms, one of which was an endometrial ablation. Basically this procedure burns the endometrial lining of the uterine cavity to help women who deal with irregular of heavy cycles. However, in doing so, it also makes conception impossible as there is no lining left in the uterus for a fertilized egg to implant. Several years later, I stumbled across a forum regarding PTLS and realized that each symptom I was experiencing was one shared by many women who have had their tubes tied and David and I discussed having my tubal ligation reversed. In December 2012, we traveled to North Carolina (to one of the few doctors who would consider reversing a tubal ligation after an ablation) and had my tubal reversal with hopes that the symptoms would subside. Much to my surprise, after about 6 weeks I began to see symptom after symptom fade away and I am now proud to say that I am now back to my old self again. Except for one thing now...
The Unbelievable Blessing of it All
Perhaps the most exciting thing that followed my tubal reversal was nearly 2 years later when we found out we were expecting!! Against all odds, we had actually conceived a precious life and were carrying a healthy pregnancy! How is that even possible after the ablation procedure? As it turns out, because of a malformation of my uterus, called a bicornuate uterus, meaning "two horns" and the way the Novasure ablation procedure works, my doctor was only able to burn the lining of one side of my uterus. It was not a safe procedure to do twice, so we just chose the right horn since every pregnancy I have had has implanted in the right (and larger) horn. This pregnancy implanted in the left horn, making this my first left-sided pregnancy ever! Still every doctor that I have spoken with regarding this pregnancy has said "This is obviously of the Lord, I have never seen a post-ablation pregnancy thrive." To date we are 29 weeks and 6 days with a healthy baby girl, whom we look forward to meeting in the Lords time.
The Panic Sets In
The excitement of our newest addition quickly became overshadowed by fear. We were not attempting to have another child when we learned of this pregnancy. In fact, because David had recently resigned from his job, our only source of income and insurance at the time, we were actually actively trying not to conceive. But as always seems to be the case, the Lord had other plans for us. He not only had plans for us, He had already made provisions for me and baby to receive wonderful prenatal care at a local (in Memphis) clinic, The Memphis Morning Center, that provides quality prenatal care for women in low-income and often "forgotten" neighborhoods. For free. This is their way of serving the Lord, and they graciously welcomed me in as a patient. My time there was sweet and encouraging, but it was also temporary as we made plans to leave the country for Costa Rica in preparation for long-term ministry in Ecuador. We had our final appointment at the Morning Center in March 2015, at 24 weeks with a sweet and heartfelt farewell from the staff there. Then with medical records in hand, we were off to Costa Rica!
So What is Going On in Costa Rica?
Well, you are now semi-caught-up-to-speed and we are now in Costa Rica and things have apparently gone cray-cray with my body. Ha! Well, not really super crazy, because the Lord is still in control and we know that nothing happens that He is not sovereign over. So we rest in that assurance and hang on for the ride, thankful with every zip and turn just to be a part of His unfolding master plan. And that's what keeps us from completely losing our minds. Except for those few times when we do completely lose our minds and realize we have taken our focus off of Him. But I digress. So here is my best recount of what has been the fog of being admitted to a hospital where very few people speak your language and fear of the unknown abounds:
Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo: The Good, The Bad, & The Terrifying
The GOOD: On Tuesday, we had our first appointment with our obstetrician here in San Jose. We'll call him Dr. S, because, well, his name starts with an S. (Clever, huh?) We met with him and we knew we liked him right away. His English was impressive, but not complete, but we were able to understand everything he said, even when he threw a few Spanish words in here and there, probably without even being aware that he was doing it. All was going well as we explained to him my OB history: 4 c-sections, tubal ligation, ablation, tubal reversal, bicornuate uterus, etc. He was impressed that we were carrying, and wanted to see for himself what was going on on the inside before he laid out a plan of action.
The BAD: The initial ultrasound revealed what he suspected to be a large hematoma sitting right on top of the cervix, butting up next to the placenta and measuring as large as baby's head. His initial response was complete shock that I was not experiencing any bleeding. We were immediately admitted to Hospital Clinica Biblica in San Jose for observation.
The TERRIFYING: We were told that if this hematoma ruptured there was a very good chance that we would lose the baby and an equally good chance that it could have been fatal for me as well. Our initial thought was "we need to get back to the States" but we were advised by our doctor that we would not be cleared to fly and that they would not allow me to leave the hospital without being transferred by ambulance to a government hospital if we chose not to be admitted at Clinica Biblica. So, for lack of other options, we agreed to the admission at the private hospital where we stayed the night for observation while awaiting our next appointment with the perinatologist.
New News
The following morning, Wednesday, we had another ultrasound with a specialist who focuses on high risk maternal-fetal medicine who was accompanied by Dr. S. Right away they observed the sac that was believed the day before to be a hematoma. However, this time they saw something very different. The sac was still present and filled with just as much fluid as before, however, this time they were able to see a tear in the uterine lining between the cavity where the baby was and the sac full of fluid. The diagnosis: my water had broken internally. However, instead of it being fatal for baby, there was a membrane of tissue surrounding the fluid, keeping it from completely leaking out. Both doctors agreed that the situation was remarkable and that they have never seen anything like it. Dr. S said it was "a miracle" that this membrane somehow covered the opening where a previous c-section scar had torn and prevented an entire uterine rupture.
A Change of Plans
Once it was determined that the sac was not a hematoma, doctors' concern was redirected from my safety to that of baby. It was apparent to both doctors there that we would have a premature delivery and that baby was definitely going to be spending some time in the NICU. The question now was did we want that to be in Costa Rica or back in the U.S. I was now cleared to fly back home for the moment, but was cautioned that if circumstances changed and I began having contractions or abdominal pain, that clearance would again be off the table. That night, we sat down with several other missionaries and discussed our options, I cried, and we prayed over the decision that would have to be made. David and I wanted so desperately to stay in Costa Rica to continue with our language learning so that we could quickly get to work in Ecuador and we knew that coming back to the States would be a major setback to our goals. However, after a lengthy night of prayer, discussion, emailing, counsel from our sending agency and several doctors state-side and in Costa Rica, we decided that the best course of action given the situation was to return to the States for care.
A Family Divided
Because of the concern of a potential rapid decline in the health of the pregnancy, we decided that it would be best for me to take the first flight possible back to the States. So, Thursday morning we booked a flight for myself and the girls to come back to the States, leaving behind David and the boys to take care of odds and ends in Costa Rica. Lord willing, they will be arriving here in the states within the next week or two and we will await Ellabeth's birth and recovery before heading back to Costa Rica. Being apart has been tough on all of us but we definitely feel that we made the right decision at this point to seek care in the U.S.
The View From Here (Currently)
At this time, I am in Memphis and have been admitted to Baptist East Women's Hospital until we learn more. One doctor says he expects us to be here until Ellabeth is born. I am currently nearing 30 weeks of pregnancy but we are not expecting to make it to a 37-week full-term pregnancy. At this time we don't really know what we should expect but we are scheduled for another ultrasound with a specialist in the morning and hopefully will know a bit more after that.
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