nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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Baby Kameryn

I got a phone call at 10:30 on Sunday night from one of my aunts telling me that my cousin was in the hospital. She'd gone to our local E.R. with tummy pains and after an ultrasound and some other tests, they felt she needed to go to Akron for further tests. They'd found a mass the size of the baby's head inside the baby's abdomen and they also felt that her little arms and legs were only measuring 34 wks instead of the almost full-term that she was. My cousin was taken by ambulance to Akron, which is only a block away from Akron Children's (really a great children's hospital!). Akron verified the mass and felt there was a slight possibility that the baby's limbs weren't as far along as they should be, perhaps signalling dwarfism.
My cousin had a C-section yesterday around noon and they took her baby, Kameryn, straight to Akron Children's by ambulance. Cousin is recovering now from that surgery and now realizing why she should have followed doctor's orders previously. They had requested an amnio early in her pregnancy because she had high HCG levels and they were concerned about Down's syndrome. She refused to have it done. She also refused to allow ultrasounds at first.
Kameryn had surgery at 6 p.m. last night, in an effort to determine what the mass in her belly was. When they opened her up, they found that she has a twisted bowel, entangled and twisted around her internal organs. My uncle wasn't very clear on what the future prognosis or treatment will be but I've been able to garner from him that the baby will have a colostomy and her bowels will remain outside (how do they do THAT?) until they've had a chance to heal some. It might be some time before they remove the colostomy and return the bowel to full function. I don't know how long a time period we're looking at here or how many surgeries this poor baby is going to have to endure. I do know that Kameryn will remain in the hospital AT LEAST another two weeks and will need special attention once she gets to come home. My cousin is completely unprepared to deal with any of this. She had had herself convinced that nothing would go wrong, the doctors were wrong, etc. And she has trouble still handling Tater at age 3. How is she going to handle a baby with special needs in addition?
And so far, she has yet to hold her baby. How very sad is that?
Please keep this tiny baby in your prayers. She could use them.
***
Today is a day completely void of any necessary tasks for me. Other than basic transportation for various members of this household, I have no agenda. I'm very much looking forward to a day to myself. It's chilly, heading into a storm front that'll bring us several days of rain so it's just a tad overcast. I'm watching a huge grey squirrel cautiously making it's way across the railing on the deck outside my bedroom window. He's skittish, stopping every couple seconds to sniff the air and jerks at every little noise. My cat is in the window, practically salivating while staring transfixed at this big grey furball. Her tail is a-twitchin', back legs readying to pounce..but a thick layer of glass is going to keep her just where she is. Poor thwarted huntress.
Must be frustrating to have your goal right in front of you, close enough to touch and be held back by a nearly invisible barrier.
Happy Tuesday, all.
N.

9:01 a.m. - 2004-10-12

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