See Tunnel...See Light

Today was awesome. As you may recall, every Tuesday, I am granted a journey to Perinatology, and this time, we were gone for about a 2-hour round trip!

I was skeptical of my nurse, Tracy, when she first came in this morning. She said really obvious things like, "We really just need to make sure you don't get an infection," and, "These vitamins are really important for you to take." (Mind you, I am the one who requested the vitamins in the first place - a prenatal and DHA supplement.) Then she asked why I'm taking DHA. That did not impress me.

After the series of naive statements and questions, she administered my Lovenox shot. But not before asking me where others had given me the shot, and what I thought was best. Um...am I the patient or the doctor? After telling her that ultimately, the thigh was the least invasive area, she gave me the shot in my upper arm, claiming she knew "a good way to do it pain-free." Yeah, um, it hurt more than any of the others. Thanks.

Her last mishap involved the hep-lock. It has to be removed and replaced every 4 days, and today happened to be the day with the Ace Shooter. I'm generally not too bothered by this process, especially at this point, so I was focused on the Dr. Oz show. Unfortunately, so was she. So much so that she was actually staring at the TV and engaging in dialogue back to the screen. She even went so far as to say we'd have to "catch her up" on what she missed.

Please note that while this is happening, she is wielding a needle that needs to go into a vein in my hand, where it will remain for 4 days. So, how do you think the insertion went? Not good. She missed the vein the first time, just stabbing me on the top of my hand. And then removed it, and shoved it back in where it was supposed to go. Sweet Jesus.

So how, you might be wondering, did she possibly recover from this buffoonery?

Well, it seemed that no one had actually scheduled my Perinatology appointment for today, which meant I was in danger of not going outdoors for my weekly 10 minutes. After some back and forth, Tracy came to our rescue. She scheduled a standing Tuesday 2pm appointment for me, made sure my wheelchair arrived in time, and generally provided excellent support. Most important, because of her, I got to go outside. And that's how she saved face against all odds.

Once we got to Perinatology, there was a bit of a wait. The nurse who wheeled me over was none too happy about this. And alas, once again, the office featured more pregnant teens than pregnant adults. I can't quite figure out what's going on here.

When I finally was admitted for my ultrasound, things really took off in the right direction. Much to everyone's surprise, my amniotic fluid level had shot up even beyond an already impressive 9.6 to 11.7! This is "beyond normal," if there is such a thing. And the little chubster? Well, he's weighing in at approximately 4lbs 7oz, making it all but certain that he will be greater than 5 pounds when I deliver. This is huge, because babies must be at least 5 pounds to leave the hospital. His fetal breathing continued to impress, as did all other measurements. So for the third time in a row, I received a biophysical profile score of 8/8! We're on a roll.

Today, the doctor informed me that the whole team had decided unequivocally that I will be induced at 34 weeks. I'm allowed to choose the day +/- 1. So assuming I'm still writing this story next week, we're looking at a November 14th birthday (because it just seems best to avoid Friday the 13th).

Bottom line...while things can always change and I am keenly aware of that, I am remaining positive and looking ahead at the light at the end of the tunnel!