She's Here

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I had some major bleeding, so the doctors decided I needed an emergency C-Section. Madeline Alice Spohr was born at 4:22 pm and weighed 3 pounds, 1 ounce. She came out crying and pink. After a few hours in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, it became clear that her needs exceeded what St. John's hospital could provide, so she was transferred to UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital. She is responding to treatment for heart and lung problems, but she has a long road ahead. We would really appreciate every prayer and wish for our little girl. She's a fighter but can use all the help she can get.

I am doing well and hopefully will be released on Wednesday from St. John's hospital. Mike has primarily been staying with Madeline at her hospital, so he is keeping me constantly updated. I'm looking forward to seeing her myself. I am in the post-partum unit now.

Thanks to all. I've attached a picture Mike took of Maddie. She looks super tough.

Love, Mike and Heather

Email update from Heather's Parents

Hi Everyone

I wanted to give you all an update on Heather. Last night, she was getting some pains in her stomach, had some vomiting and her temperature started to rise. After conferencing with her doctor, she and Mike went to the hospital to have them check her out. They gave her an IV and that really seemed to help. Her temperature has gone down, (the doctors think she may have had a slight flu bug) but she is now being admitted into the hospital for the duration of her pregnancy. (which could last from 1 week to 1 month depending on this little baby girl) I’ve talked to her several times today and she is in good spirits and feeling a lot better. She wanted me to let you all know her progress and if you would like to email her (she has her blackberry), phone her on her cell or stop by she would love to see you. Visiting hours are open ended with maternity patients, so you don’t have to worry about fitting in times. She is at:

Hospital
Santa Monica, CA

Thank you for all your support and love for Heather & Mike during this pregnancy

Linda & Kirk

It's a girl!!!!!

After literally dozens of sonograms, our little spud finally decided
to cooperate with with the cameras and show its true identity.

It's a girl!!!

We're very excited that we've got a daughter on the way. It's nice to
know who we're fighting for. She's a little fighter, too, as yesterday
we discovered that she's gained more weight and is up to 2 pounds, 3
ounces, which is right on track for 26 weeks gestation.

Thanks for all your well-wishes!

Heather & Mike

Fourth Email Update to Family & Friends

Hi everyone,

Quick update for you all. Mike and I went to the doctor yesterday for
our 24 week checkup. I had a bag packed as my OB had said I would most
likely be admitted to the hospital. I had a sonogram, and it showed
the baby had gained weight in the last week, and now weighs a pound
and a half. Even better, my amniotic fluid had risen from 4 to 5.75 -
still REALLY low, but encouraging! So, with that information, Mike and
I and our army of doctors decided to delay hospital admission until
October 24th, barring complications. I'll have another sonogram next
week to make sure things are still okay, and then I'll be checking
into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on the 24th. At that
point, I'll be given steroids to help speed up the growth of the
baby's organs, and most likely the doctors will deliver the baby
within a month. Until then, I am still on bed rest, spending most of
the day laying on my left side while Mike takes care of me.

I'm sorry I haven't returned every call and email - this has been an
exhausting six weeks and sometimes I don't have the energy to talk
about everything. But your emails, phone calls, and well wishes mean
so much to us, we really appreciate hearing from everyone.

Have a great weekend,

Heather & Mike

Third Email Update to Family & Friends

Hi, a quick update because we're getting lots of questions about what
happened last week. Things haven't been going all that great in the
last few days. We had two appointments last week. The amniotic fluid
the baby is in is extremely low. This fluid develops the baby's lungs
and limbs, and it's what protects the baby as it floats in my
belly.The doctors actually told us that terminating the pregnancy is
something we should consider as they aren't sure if the baby will make
it, and if it does, there is a strong likelihood that he or she will
have health problems. At the same time, they said that the baby could
make it and be fine, they just don't know. We decided to keep going
and hope for the best, but the odds aren't in our favor. We've had
people tell us lots of stories about babies in more dire situations
that made it, so we hope that our little guy or gal is one of those
success stories, but we are prepared for a different outcome. At this
point, the next goal is to carry the baby for a couple more weeks ro
get to the 24-week mark, which is the absolute earliest they will
consider the baby viable for delivery. Sounds easy, but I am leaking
amniotic fluid - currently the amniotic fluid measures 4.5, while 8 is
the low end of normal. I could go into labor at any time. If we make
it to the end of 24 weeks and things look good, the baby and I will be
evaluated weekly - the longer the baby can survive inside, the better.
So I'm still on bed rest and we're just keep positive thoughts and
focusing on the good.

Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes. We appreciate you keeping
us in your thoughts.

Heather & Mike

Second Email Update to Family & Friends

Hello again everyone,

Another quick update. Yesterday afternoon Mike and I met with my
high-risk OB. After a thorough exam the doctor was still not able to
rule out amniotic leakage. The fluid around the baby is slightly lower
than what it should be, and there is some blood in the fluid. The
placenta is also not functioning as well as it should, so as a result,
the baby's heart is slightly enlarged from working much harder than it
ought to be. I'm really just glossing over these things as I don't
think you all really want to hear the gritty details. Because of all
of this I am still on bed rest. While that status will be re-evaluated
in two weeks when I visit the doctors again, it would take a major
turn of events for me to be allowed to resume normal activities.
Things are so much better for the baby when I'm not active, and at
this point we're really just trying to progress the pregnancy far
enough that, should the placenta totally stop working, the baby would
have a chance of survival outside of my body. That is six more weeks
at the minimum, but ideally my doctors would like the baby to make it
to 30 weeks gestation to avoid some of the problems premature babies
face. That is 10 weeks from now.

I physically feel fine, just a little stiff from laying down so much.
Mentally, Mike and I are both doing alright. We were told in the
beginning that this pregnancy wasn't going to make it past 10 weeks,
and we're way past that. We think this baby is a fighter and are
hoping for the best.

I'm selfishly bummed about being on bed rest. Fall is my favorite time
of year, with the playoff stretch in baseball and college football in
full swing. I'll miss work more than I can bear as I love my job and
being at the stadium with all my friends. But it's worth it to protect
the health of the baby and myself. Everyone keep me posted on
everything! I'm going to go nuts with just the TV and computer to
entertain me.

Thanks to everyone for being supportive, Mike and I really appreciate
it. Talk to you all soon.

Heather & Mike

First Email Update to Friends & Family

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to give you the quick update about me. Last night around 1:45
a.m. I started bleeding heavily off and on. After speaking with my
Obstetrician, we decided that I would come to see her first thing at
8:30 a.m. unless my bleeding got worse. At 8:30 my doctor gave me a
thorough ultrasound to check on the baby and the fluids the baby
needs. Everything looked good and the baby seemed to be progressing as
normal. At this point, my OB thinks that what most likely happened is
one of my blood clots passed, but she couldn't rule out amniotic
leakage. So, I am on bed rest until Friday, when I go to see my
specialist, who will do further testing. I'm also on antibiotics to
stave off infection.

It sounds pretty scary, and it definitely was for Mike and I this
morning at 3 am! Things look encouraging at this point and hopefully
the specialist will take me off bed rest on Friday after my visit. In
the meantime, I am laying here in bed, watching the news. In a word, I
am bored. So send emails! I'm sure to drive Mike crazy in a few hours,
so any distractions will be much appreciated.

Also, please forward this to people I may have forgotten. I don't have
an address book on my gmail account so I had to remember emails off
the top of my head.

Heather & Mike

PS On the way out of the hospital, Mike and I shared the elevator with
everyone's favorite plagiarist, Avril Lavigne. In my weakened
condition, I wasn't able to convey the proper amount of disdain
towards her; disdain that only deepened when she let the door to the
parking garage close in my face.

Update to the beginning email...

Hi everyone,

It’s baby update time. Yesterday was the day Mike and I went back to the specialist to evaluate the baby and the masses. I was feeling pretty good, but Mike was nervous. We surprisingly didn’t have to wait too long to be seen, and soon we were looking at the ultrasound screen. The masses are definitely blood clots, and they are organized, which apparently is a good thing (when I heard they were organized, I pictured little blood clots on strike with their local union…I’m weird). Then we saw the baby and s/he looks great! We could see the little tot moving around, flailing arms and legs all over the place. It was very cool and totally weird because something is moving in there! The baby is also measuring a week ahead of schedule, which is great because it shows that the clots aren’t impeding growth. If the growth stays like this, we’ll be looking at a big, hopefully healthy baby. Although, I’m less excited about the big part... I still have to take it easy, no prolonged standing or activity, but considering how in the depths we were just three weeks ago we feel so happy and lucky with how things have turned for us. We are very thankful for all your cards, wishes, and prayers. It meant so much to us!

I attached a picture of the ultrasound…it actually looks like a baby and not like a blob. Mike’s mom says the baby looks exactly like him…you can be the judge. Right now it’s about three inches long and weighs about an ounce. Svelte!

This is the last email about all this, I promise. I understand most of you won’t care until the baby is born! Now that it looks like the drama is over, I will go back to forwarding YouTube videos of fights at Dodger Stadium.

Have a nice weekend!

Love, Heather & Mike

The email announcement that started it all...

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry for the impersonal email, but this is the best and easiest way for me to get all the information out there about what’s been going on with me the last six weeks. It’s kind of long…maybe print it, take it home, and read it while you drink a beer.

On May 17th, I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. I didn’t believe it, so I took about five more. They all came back positive. They also cost a lot of money! Don’t take that many pregnancy tests.

On May 18th, I was in a car accident. I was leaving work in my little VW Bug when a GMC Yukon decided to make a u-turn. I was in the left lane, he was in the right. He slammed right into the passenger side of my car. Awesome! I dropped my car off at a body shop, knowing that there was a lot of damage but expecting to see it again in a couple of weeks.

On June 12, I went in for my first meeting with my obstetrician. I had the regular work ups and all of that, but my ultrasound is where things got interesting. While we could see a little blob (the baby) with a flickering heartbeat, we also discovered a bigger blob that was somewhat ominous looking. My OB wasn’t sure what it was, but suspected it was a twin that “didn’t take.” She took lots of pictures of the image, and said she’d send copies to a specialist she knew. We set an appointment for me to return two weeks later.

My car, meanwhile, was still in the body shop.

A few days later, my OB called me back. The specialist she consulted wanted more images. My OB asked me to come in sooner than scheduled, on the 20th. I started to get nervous, because when does a doctor ever want you to come in sooner? When Mike and I went in on the 20th, the news wasn’t good. The bigger blob was still there. That meant it wasn’t a twin, as it would have started reabsorbing at that point. My OB ran a bunch of different scans on the mass that the specialist requested, and then tried to look at the baby. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get a good look at the baby because the mass was in the way. We could still see the little flickering heartbeat, but that was it. My OB feared that the baby wasn’t developing the way it should. She told Mike and me that she would send the images onto the specialist, but that she wanted us to know that this was an abnormal pregnancy, and that things didn’t look good. She told us not to get attached to the pregnancy, because odds were, I was going to miscarry. Obviously, we were devastated.

The next day, we started making phone calls. My friend Diane made tons of calls on my behalf, trying to get me in to see specialists and even her OB, just for a second opinion. We lined up some appointments, but then, on Friday the 22nd, my OB called. She said that the specialist she’d been consulting wanted to see me in person. We were very happy about this since she is a Perinatologist, which is a fancy term for a high-risk obstetrician. My regular OB didn’t deal with complications like mine, so we felt encouraged that we were going to get some answers about what went wrong with this pregnancy. I set my appointment with the Perinatologist for today, June 26th, and cancelled the other appointments.

On June 21st, my car insurance adjuster called. She said that the insurance company of the man that hit me was contesting full liability. They said that the damage was so severe to my car that I had to have been speeding (I wasn’t, and have witnesses). She suggested I accept 15% liability for the accident; otherwise it would go to arbitration for the contested amount. I considered accepting the small liability in the interest of closing the case, but my parents and Mike convinced me that was stupid. I wasn’t exactly at the top of my game that day! So I told her I wanted to fight the liability and she said she would. In the meantime, it had been over 30 days since my accident. My car insurance no longer covered my rental car, so I had switched to a loaner car from the auto body repair shop. About an hour after I spoke with my insurance adjuster, I was rear-ended at a stop light. I had to laugh because I couldn’t believe my crappy luck. Fortunately, the loaner car had little damage and the body shop said not to worry about it. That didn’t make them give me my car back, though.

Now for today. Mike and I went in with pretty low expectations, although I will admit that I was much more hopeful than Mike. I still had pregnancy symptoms and I just wasn’t ready to believe that it was a lost cause. After spending over an hour in the waiting room, we finally saw the specialist. She was very guarded when she started her exam, but was quickly surprised when she discovered a perfectly-developed baby. We saw and heard the little heart beating, the little arms and legs, and we could also see the brain and the two tiny hemispheres that comprise it. She spent a few minutes making sure the baby looked good, and then she started looking around at the other things. She discovered that there wasn’t one mass in there, but two. One mass was inside the sac with the baby, the other was outside of the sac. After doing a bunch of different scans, she determined that the masses weren’t getting any blood flow, and that they weren’t connected to the baby or to each other. The doctor was fairly confident in her assessment that the masses are actually giant blood clots (they were about three times the size of the baby). She couldn’t say they were clots 100% - they could be vascular tumors or placental tumors. But because those two other options come with other symptoms (especially vascular tumors), she leaned more toward the blood clot diagnosis. The worry is that the clots could attach themselves to the baby, the umbilical cord, or the placenta. If this happens, the clots could steal nutrients from the baby, and then there would be a whole new mess of problems. However, at this time, the doctor seemed encouraged by the fact that the baby was developing normally, and the clots weren’t attached to anything. She was cautious because, in all the cases where she’s seen masses like this, there has only been one mass. I have two! I always have to be different.

Mike and I are feeling hopeful, but we still understand that there is a long way to go. I am going back to the specialist on the 12th of July, and at that point we should know even more. The waiting is always the hardest part. Considering we went in today prepared for the worst, it was a relief to know that there is still a chance for this baby. It’s a great birthday present. I have to take it easy, but considering how much I like my couch, that isn’t a big sacrifice. I am currently nine weeks pregnant and I’m due at the end of January. Like I said, we aren’t out of the woods, but we’re feeling a bit better and we’re ready for support from you, all of our favorite people. Hopefully I remembered everyone!

The other good news is that I FINALLY picked up my car from the repair shop. Here’s to an accident-free July!

Again, sorry about the mass-email. But this way we know everyone got the news and is informed. We hope you all are well! Happy day before my birthday!!!

Love, Heather & Mike