I went to my usual OB appointment with Dr. Linzey on Tuesday and all was completely normal – except for the fact that there was an earthquake! His office is on the 7th floor of a building that is on rollers, so let’s just say we felt it! I had been having a lot of contractions lately, some more painful than others, and, seeing as Dr. Linzey was going on vacation from August 2nd to the 10th, I requested that he send me to Maternal Fetal testing so the baby could be monitored while I was having a contraction (since I was having upwards of 8 an hour, I wasn’t worried in the least that I wouldn’t contract while I was there) and I could reassure myself that all was well. I had a nagging feeling something wasn’t right. Dr. Linzey agreed to send me – even though he said there was no medical reason for the test -- and the appointment was scheduled for the following day. That night I began having more painful contractions, and in retrospect, baby was moving MUCH less both that evening and in the morning. At Maternal Fetal I was hooked up to a monitor and within minutes had a strong contraction (toco monitor above 100) with a prolonged late deceleration which means baby’s heartbeat decreased significantly after the contraction, which can signify uterine-placental insufficiency (or compromised blood flow to the baby). The deceleration was followed by rapid heart rate, and then spells of what is called decreased beat-to-beat variability – none of which are good. At this point I was only expecting to be monitored for a little longer and told to return the next day. I think I was in denial, although deep down I knew something wasn’t right. Sue – the amazing nurse who took care of me at MFT – called Linzey and it was clear from what I was hearing from her side of the conversation that he was worried. Sue did a quick ultrasound and found nothing out of the ordinary, but she said the strip was so disturbing to her that she couldn’t wait another second and wheeled me directly over to Labor and Delivery. When we arrived, Caroline, the wonderful nurse who ended up being with me throughout the whole process, said “thank God you finally got here – that strip was making us crazy.” Apparently L & D can monitor the strips at MFT. It is a measure of my denial that I STILL continued to think I would simply be monitored for a few hours and told to return to MFT the following day. I was hooked up to a monitor, an IV was placed and I was told to call whoever I wanted to be there – immediately. Fred was working in the ER and made it from Irvine to St. Jo’s in record time. They did a biophysical profile to monitor how baby was tolerating the intrauterine environment and the result was 2 out of 8 – a result that basically mandates immediate delivery. I was taken to the OR and our beautiful baby boy, Griffin Ford Mading, entered the world at 6:07 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30th, exactly one month prior to his due date. As a medical student and a resident at CHOC I have attended many MANY C sections and it was surreal to be on the other side of the drape, so to speak. The experience was made even more harrowing because when Griffin came out he was not moving or breathing. The Director of the NICU was present at his delivery which was very comforting because I knew from working with him that he was one of the best, however I do have to say hearing him plead “come on, come on” to my baby boy was agony. I didn’t get to really see him or touch him before they whisked him off to CHOC, but I knew he was in the best hands possible. Fred stayed with Griffin the entire time, and my Dad stayed with me in the recovery room. The next few hours were pretty rocky – for the doctors who are reading this: Griffin’s blood gas upon arrival at CHOC was 7.1 with a pCO2 in the high 60’s, and he was placed on CPAP (a form of assisted ventilation). Because Griffin likes to keep everyone on their toes, he decided to be born on an evening when both the NICU and L&D were crazy busy. I was determined to go over and see my baby immediately, but St. Jo’s protocol requires that someone from their staff accompany me. I begged and pleaded with everyone, and finally at 5 a.m. my wonderful nurse, who was insanely busy, took pity on me and wheeled me over to CHOC. Fred was right by my side. That tunnel ride from St. Jo’s to CHOC, which I’d walked many times as a resident, was an entirely different thing experienced in a wheelchair on my way to see my baby in the NICU. Griffin is what we call a “late preterm infant” in medical jargon, and several of the nurses in the NICU told me it is a burgeoning field of research. Whereas until recently people just assumed that babies so close to term would do fine, now we understand that they have many of the same issues more premature babies have, just in varying severity. I was overcome with emotion upon seeing Griffin. He had the CPAP mask on and so I couldn’t really get a good look at his face, but just being close to him was incredible. I wasn’t able to hold him, but got to touch him and talk to him. His nurse that night was so funny. She told me she wanted to take his mask off for a second so I could see how cute he was. Needless to say I told her I would take her word for it. There are no visitors allowed in the NICU between the hours of 6:30 and 8, a.m. and p.m., so my first visit was pretty brief. Nevertheless, I was already completely in love.
-Sheila
Even a CPAP mask can't hide Griffin's cuteness!
