We had an ultrasound done Wednesday and got to see our sweet babies! In general, they are both doing great. Oliver is weighing 3 lbs 10 oz and Emery is 3 lbs 7 oz... although those weights are not 100% accurate. Those are both great weights for 30 weeks so we were very pleased.
Unfortunately, we have a pretty certain diagnosis that Emery has Bilateral Club Foot. Our doctor suspected it when we had a sono at 25 weeks, but at that time, we were given pretty strong hope that she was possibly just sitting funny. We were told then that we would look further into it at our next sono. When our ultrasound tech got the first shot of Emery's feet on Wednesday, I knew pretty much instantly that her feet were indeed clubbed.
We did not get to see our Dr. that day as she was in delivery. We did speak briefly with the PA at her office about the diagnosis. Of course, with the initial shock of finding this out, we were not prepared with questions to ask so we didn't get a whole lot of info at that appointment. Since then, we have been able to do a lot of research of our own, and are hopeful that, with the right doctor, we can fix this. Of course, we will not know the severity of her case until she is born, but we are preparing ourselves with as much information as we can so that we are knowledgeable about the condition when it's time to discuss a plan of action. Based on the information that we originally got from my OB and from our PA this week, we are pretty certain we will be referred to a doctor in Kansas City (about 2.5 - 3 hrs away) at Children's Mercy Hospital. Through research we have learned of the Ponseti Method, a gold standard method of treating Club Foot with a great success rate. With this method, we should be able to correct her feet without surgery. It will be a long and meticulous process of casting and bracing for approximately the first 3-4 years of her life, but we will do what we have to do to ensure as normal of a future for her as possible.
We have been on quite the emotional ride this week. We are thankful that her diagnosis seems to be fixable, but are still very scared for what lies ahead. The obstacles that come along with learning to adjust to life with twins will now be that much more difficult, but we have a great support system in our family and in our friends here in Wichita.
Here are a couple of links that explain exactly what Bilateral Club Foot is and the Ponseti Method of treatment that we will likely use to treat Emery. The third one is a video that was pretty informative for us.
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00296
http://www.ponseti.info/clubfoot-and-the-ponseti-method/what-is-clubfoot/ponseti-method.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RmkrrvwMH4A
We are planning to talk more with my doctor and Kaleb's pediatrician this week to get some more referral information from them. We are also interested in having another sono done, possibly a higher resolution (3D or 4D) if they think we might be able to learn more from such. We are armed with MANY more questions now that we've had a few days to swallow this news and get over the initial shock. As we learn more, I will be sure to update the blog to keep everyone informed on where we are on this.
Our prayer is that Emery's case is mild, can be corrected as painlessly as possible, and that there is not a larger problem that we are unaware of at this time. Kirk and I are prepared to do whatever we have to do for her and appreciate all of the support we've already been given in this.
Melissa
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