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First off be prepared for this to NOT be in any specific order... I'll try but I'm just so excited to be back to blogging that I may fail at the dates! :P
I heard about thsi Miracle Baby (I'm sure a ton of you did) but finally took the time to watch the video from http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ and am amazed at the whole process!
Here's the link to the video: http://canwest.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/canwest-edmontonjournal-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=journalallvideo&maven_referralObject=328bae43-ea2c-40be-8507-b089a00380ab
You may have to look for it on the right hand side, but believe me.... It's worth it!
Here's a bit of the background on the story:
"Baby delivered as doctors fight to save mother
Rare double-operation brings Miracle Astra into world moments before mom's heart surgery
Chris Zdeb, The Edmonton JournalPublished: Saturday, February 02
Rare double-operation brings Miracle Astra into world moments before mom's heart surgery
Chris Zdeb, The Edmonton JournalPublished: Saturday, February 02
EDMONTON - When Miracle Astra grows up and people ask about her name, she can tell them about the rare and complex surgery that brought her into this world and saved her mother's life. Moments after Miracle Astra was delivered by caesarean section, her mom underwent open-heart surgery at the University Hospital.
The tricky operation was a first in the Capital Health region and one of only a handful documented around the world, Dr. Arvind Koshal, director of cardiovascular surgery at University Hospital, said Friday.
Mother and baby head home today to Grande Prairie. The surgery was performed Jan.24 by a large medical team led by cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Rod MacArthur and obstetrician Dr. Billy Wong from the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
The 36-year-old mother suffers from Addison's disease, a hormonal disorder of the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland, located on the top of each kidney. She was 35 weeks pregnant with her first baby when she began experiencing chest pains, problems with her blood pressure and shortness of breath. She was flown to Edmonton.
Koshal praised the obstetricians treating her for ordering a CT scan and diagnosing a tear or dissection in her aorta, the body's largest blood vessel, which carries blood away from the heart.
Such a tear makes the aorta prone to rupture and if that happens, the patient normally dies, Koshal said. This situation is always a surgical emergency.
The other confounding problem was that the baby was premature.
The open-heart surgery needed to repair the aorta required hypothermic circulatory arrest, where the woman's body temperature was cooled on a heart-lung machine to 17C and the blood drained from her body.
"She would have tolerated the procedure, but the baby would have died, which is why the caesarean section was performed first," Koshal said.
There was a 40-per-cent chance the mother would have died within 48 hours and her baby would have been put at risk if she had not had the heart surgery. The mother could have also died on the operating table if doctors had not been aware of her ruptured aorta when they did the C-section.
Under normal circumstances, doctors would focus on saving the mother, but they decided to try and save her and her baby, Koshal said. Doctors explained the risks involved to the woman before they started the surgery.
To reduce the risk of the woman's heart failing while doctors delivered the baby, her chest was opened to expose the aorta and the C-section was done in a cardiac operating room, Koshal said.
The caesarean took 45 minutes to an hour. The heart surgery lasted about eight hours.
In all, it took a medical team of approximately 12 nurses and doctors -- including two cardiac anesthetists, two perfusionists to operate the heart-lung machine, four people to do the aortic surgery, three to do the caesarean section, two scrub nurses and two circulating nurses. They spent a total of 12 hours over two days in the busy operating room.
Other specialists were also involved, including a neo-natologist from the Stollery Children's Hospital who cared for the baby.
This type of surgery is not possible in most cities, Koshal said, because of the co-ordination required.
Miracle Astra, her mother and the doctors who saved their lives will be introduced at a news conference at University Hospital this morning before mother and baby return to Grande Prairie.
czdeb@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2008"
Mother and baby head home today to Grande Prairie. The surgery was performed Jan.24 by a large medical team led by cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Rod MacArthur and obstetrician Dr. Billy Wong from the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
The 36-year-old mother suffers from Addison's disease, a hormonal disorder of the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland, located on the top of each kidney. She was 35 weeks pregnant with her first baby when she began experiencing chest pains, problems with her blood pressure and shortness of breath. She was flown to Edmonton.
Koshal praised the obstetricians treating her for ordering a CT scan and diagnosing a tear or dissection in her aorta, the body's largest blood vessel, which carries blood away from the heart.
Such a tear makes the aorta prone to rupture and if that happens, the patient normally dies, Koshal said. This situation is always a surgical emergency.
The other confounding problem was that the baby was premature.
The open-heart surgery needed to repair the aorta required hypothermic circulatory arrest, where the woman's body temperature was cooled on a heart-lung machine to 17C and the blood drained from her body.
"She would have tolerated the procedure, but the baby would have died, which is why the caesarean section was performed first," Koshal said.
There was a 40-per-cent chance the mother would have died within 48 hours and her baby would have been put at risk if she had not had the heart surgery. The mother could have also died on the operating table if doctors had not been aware of her ruptured aorta when they did the C-section.
Under normal circumstances, doctors would focus on saving the mother, but they decided to try and save her and her baby, Koshal said. Doctors explained the risks involved to the woman before they started the surgery.
To reduce the risk of the woman's heart failing while doctors delivered the baby, her chest was opened to expose the aorta and the C-section was done in a cardiac operating room, Koshal said.
The caesarean took 45 minutes to an hour. The heart surgery lasted about eight hours.
In all, it took a medical team of approximately 12 nurses and doctors -- including two cardiac anesthetists, two perfusionists to operate the heart-lung machine, four people to do the aortic surgery, three to do the caesarean section, two scrub nurses and two circulating nurses. They spent a total of 12 hours over two days in the busy operating room.
Other specialists were also involved, including a neo-natologist from the Stollery Children's Hospital who cared for the baby.
This type of surgery is not possible in most cities, Koshal said, because of the co-ordination required.
Miracle Astra, her mother and the doctors who saved their lives will be introduced at a news conference at University Hospital this morning before mother and baby return to Grande Prairie.
czdeb@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2008"
It's amazing! (Yes, I kow, I keep using that word...)
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Alright, what's next.... Oh yes! Valentine's Day... Well in the end the girls and I got Daddy a ring... The girls recieved a new sheet set (hearts and such... You'll see a photo of it later), a bracelet and a necklace (hearts of course!), kitchen play utensils (whisk, etc... What fun!), a big heart shaped plate (Emma red, Zoë pink) and a few heart chocolates... What did daddy get Mommy???! Guesses anyone?
*drum roll*
:)
Okay so I have to give Tyler credit for remembering that we had talked about this ages ago... Really we had! This is even one of the few movies that we've seen in the 'big theatre' (not the cheap one! *L*) together.... It just wasn't quite what I thought I was going to get as a gift for our 5th Valentine's together.... Thankfully now I have the complete set as we bought the soundtrack right after seeing the movie! *L*
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My girls are cute! Here's my latest photos of them:
Watching Hurcules
My girls are cute! Here's my latest photos of them:
Watching Hurcules
Having fun!
Zoë curled up in her new sheet! *L*
1 comment:
How exciting, a new blog! Hope this means you're feeling better. That's an amazing story about the Grand Prairie woman and her baby...crazy! And how was the movie? It looked really artsy but good, did you guys enjoy it? That's sweet that Tyler remembered that you liked the movie...I imagine there's a lot of stress right now with the house being built and whatnot!!! :)
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