They immediately admitted her and got her hooked up to all sorts of monitors to "check" on me. Every time my mommy's back would hurt really bad, my heart rate would stay the same, but then 1-2 minutes afterward, my heart rate would drop very low & then come back up. (SIDE NOTE: Apparently, as the "contractions" happen, my heart rate should "drop" around the same time...NOT 1-2 minutes afterwards.) They decided to do an ultra-sound on me where I am "graded" on a point system for certain "movements" that I do. The ultra-sound was over 45 minutes long and they "buzzed" me, "shook" my mommy's belly and they even let her drink some sweet juice to get me to "react"...BUT I only moved ONE finger up and then back down..as if to say "I'm here, but you'd better do something to help me." I wasn't active at all....BUT...during that ultra-sound, my mommy and daddy were FINALLY able to "see" that I was a boy (I decided to "hide" my gender from them, so each time they went in for a check-up..I wouldn't let them peek. - I like surprises...you will see this throughout my story.)
My mommy's doctor was concerned and consulted with a larger hospitals and was advised that he should deliver me immediately. This was very stressful for my mommy and daddy because I was only 31 weeks and 6 days. I wasn't "due" until 1/30/2011.
Within a few minutes, my mommy was wheeled into the delivery room and given an epidural. The anesthesiologist was there with my mommy every step of the way. (SIDE NOTE: The anesthesiologist's name was "Benjamin" too. I wasn't named "after" him, but I think it was kind of cool to have a "Benjamin" at my delivery.
My daddy was able to come in and stand to the side, all "suited" up like he was going on a mission to space (except he didn't have a helmet.)
Well, you can probably guess by now what was going to happen...I was getting ready to be taken from my warm, secure home and little did "I" know that my "journey" was going to begin tonight...."surprise"....ready or not, here I come...
I was taken out of my mommy's belly through a cesarean section at exactly 10:30 pm. I made one small cry (my mommy said it sounded like a lamb) and then I had a whole team of people who were ready to stabilize me and take me to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (nicu.) My mommy got one brief look at me as they walked by to hand me over to the team. I was glad that my daddy was able to come with me while my mommy remained behind "finish" up getting her better.
From the minute I entered the incubator warmer, I had a swarm of people doing things to me. Poking me, prodding and assessing me. I was very cold and scared and I cried, but because of my quiet "lamb" voice, my cry wasn't very loud. They gave me oxygen, bag mask vent, C-PAP, feeding tube down my nose into my stomach (ng - nasogastric tube,) umbilical venous catheter, immediate antibiotic intervention (ampicillin and gentamicin,) weighed and measured me (3 pounds 14 ounces, and 43 centimeters long) treated me for conjunctivitis in my eyes and drew blood cultures...AND...if that wasn't enough..they realized that my blood sugars were in the teens - way lower than they should be, so this was an immediate concern in stabilization. (SIDE NOTE: Low blood sugars can be dangerous in brain development, since sugar "feeds" the brain. My pancreas was over-producing insulin, causing my blood sugar to be low.)
During their assessment of me, they also noticed a few unique features (called dysmorphic features) about my appearance that they weren't sure "how" to interpret.
- My "boy" parts were smaller than a typical boy my age. (They called it a micro-penis. - I was 8 weeks premature for heavens sake..give a guy a break!) REGARDLESS of what I looked like then, you'll be glad to know that my "boy" parts are of "normal" size now.
- I had "congenital micrognathia (small jaw.)
- I had "abnormally formed ears - bilaterally. (They had a slightly different shape and my ears were sort of "fused" to my head.) My forehead also had a different shape.
- I had concave palms, long thumbs, a large space between my big and second toe (both feet) and a highly arched palate.
So, they immediately took blood from my umbilical cord to send off to the genetic lab for further testing and ordered "testosterone" levels as well. (It was confirmed shortly thereafter that I was indeed a BOY, with not yet decended testicles (but they were "there") AND...I had a 9/14 chromosomal translocation. Basically, I am missing a piece of #9 chromosome and I have a piece of #14 chromosome duplicated. This is apparently so "rare" that they have no documented people just like me. There are cases of people with #9 situations. There are cases of people with #14 situations...but no "documented" cases of someone that has both. Since there are no "documented" cases, they "don't know" any predictions or ideas on how my life will be..SO...I really am.."WRITING MY OWN STORY." (SIDE NOTE: My parents find it interesting how almost every single medical situation that comes up, gets pointed "directly" and sometimes "indirectly" to my translocation as an underlying factor.)
I am not so sure about this "new" world I have entered...I haven't even seen my mommy since I came out of her belly, and my daddy can't hold me. I was taken from a home where I was warm and comfortable to a place where I am cold, scared and with many people I don't know.
After all of my "Birth" day party procedures, I am officially exhausted, ready to be left alone and ready for some sleep.
Chromosome Information:
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/chromosome/9
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/chromosome/14
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