Thor's Latest

The Thor update is just shy of miraculous. The last four weeks' CVRs have been 1.2, 0.8, 0.9 and today's was 0.6! And it's not just the ratio that's shrinking, the actual measurements in centimeters have been shrinking as well. All of Thor's organs are back in the correct places and his right lung has lots of healthy lung tissue. Our doctors keep reassuring us that no intervention will be necessary when he's born, and I was even given the okay to go to Michigan next week for my sister's goodbye party.

Today we got to see MRI images from two weeks ago, and it was pretty fascinating. Zach said Thor looked like a "slice baby." The MRI is so much clearer than the ultrasound! Having seen MRI images from Cincinnati from when I was 20-some weeks, it was awesome to be able to compare. It was very reassuring.

We also requested a joint meeting with the neonatologist and pediatric surgeon so that we're all on the same page and know what the game plan is for when Thor is born and for his care in that first year. We have lots of questions still, here's what I understand at this point:

The CCAM will still have to be removed at some point, most likely around 10 months, and we still have to watch Thor's breathing to make sure he doesn't suddenly start developing symptoms and require surgery earlier. The reason that sudden symptoms are possible is because the tumor is cystic and the cysts could begin to fill up with air, causing them to expand and put pressure on healthy lungs, heart, trechea, etc. If something like that were to happen, it would most likely happen sooner rather than later, although the possibility exists until the tumor is removed.

In addition to that possibility, the other reasons that the tumor needs to be removed are that it could become infected or it could become malignant--both scary prospects. Also, the surgeon likes to remove CCAMs early (in the first year) so that the healthy lung tissue has time to expand to compensate for the empty space.

Although we've gotten good news and more good news, Zach and I still worry sick about this baby. A lot of our happy, 'looking forward to a sweet new little life' feelings are tinged with feelings of fear and thoughts of 'you never know...' Please keep praying for Thor. Please pray for us too.