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.
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