Care4Conway: Frances Erin Beckemeier is here!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Frances Erin Beckemeier is here!

This post is about a week late, but we've had a busy week, as is to be expected when you have a big family! Not only did we have Karsten's birthday, we also had Frances' arrival and then this weekend was Mary Kathleen's first communion. Frances arrived at 5:19 pm on Sunday, April 7th. She weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She came out crying and immediately sucking her fingers. She has been a very good baby. I just can't get over how petite and dainty she looks. All the 3-6 mos clothes we bought thinking she'd be almost 11 lbs aren't going to fit her for awhile!

We got the call to head into the hospital at about 7am. Labor was started with Cytotec at 9:30 am and contractions began about an hour later. I got to spend some time in the new L & D bathtub and shower. It was amazing how I felt NO contractions while I was in the tub. I got out because I actually thought they had stopped. Then I realized they had not :( Later in the afternoon I was offered an epidural and accepted. However, the epi did nothing other than make my toes a little tingly. I still felt everything. Finally around 4:30 the anesthesia supervisor came in and had to take out the first one and start a second epi. Just about the time it started to kick in, it was time to push. She even made the comment that it wasn't the first epi she'd had to redo that day. The nurse called the doctor and she arrived a short time later. Frances practically slipped out as I was moving down on the bed to get ready to push. On the next contraction she was delivered! One nurse said something about what a good looking boy we had and I got a little freaked out! Then she and the doctor confirmed she was indeed a girl. Phew! Frances was placed on my tummy and had apgar's of 8 and 9. The kids came up for a visit before heading home to get ready for bed. I couldn't get over how excited Conway was to have a new baby sister and to hold her. Grandma and Grandpa George and Grandma Marybelle were the first visitors to see her. The next day she had her hospital photo shoot and her echocardiogram. Conway's cardiologist read her echo and confirmed that her heart is normal. The pediatrician had heard a murmur on the first day of life, but not on the second day, so that was another reassurance for us. Frances wore the same yellow dress home from the hospital that I wore home in 1978. It was a gift from my Grandma O'Leary's friend, Fran Overman. Fran also happened to be a graduate of the school where Connie and Mookie attend and where I work! We've been home six days now and things are going well. She is a very good girl and the noisy house she inhabits doesn't seem to bother her a bit! Thank you for your prayers! I'll post about MK's First Communion soon.

3 comments:

simple4sweets said...: You are the only mama that says a 9 lb 2 oz baby is small. I suppose it is all relative right. :) I am so happy for you and your family. Congratulations. I pray for you a speedy recovery and much rest in the future. :); April 16, 2013 at 10:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Wonderful news, Erin! Welcome to Frances Erin, and mnay blessings on her and on all of you. I think you are a wonderwoman, Erin. Your baby girl is just precious, and all the children are so darling in the pictures with her.Msy every blessing be hers...so great to hear how healthy she is. Much love to you and prayers always. Sr J; April 18, 2013 at 5:46 AM
Erin said...: What!?!? Where's the photo of Frances and dad?

-dad; May 23, 2013 at 3:15 PM

Conway's Heart Story

Conway's Heart Story

Conway David Beckemeier was born on March 3, 2007. His heart defects went undetected during pregnancy and he was diagnosed at two days of age with L-TGA, a large VSD, sub pulmonic stenosis and Ebstein’s Anomaly. Just before turning six months of age, he underwent open heart surgery to reroute the bloodflow in his heart. Called the "double switch", this procedure is the most technically challenging for pediatric cardio-thoracic surgeons to perform. The version of the double switch that Conway received on 8/28/07 was called the Rastelli-Senning with VSD closure and sub pulmonic resection. He suffered a grand mal seizure following the surgery that lasted over an hour and had several other post-op setbacks including surgical heart block, which required another operation on 9/18/07 to insert a pacemaker. Following surgery and such a long hospital stay, Conway developed an oral aversion (he would not eat) and he was 100% NG tube fed for eight months. He also lost muscle tone and required both physical and occupational therapies. In April 2008, he had a cardiac cath and attempted balloon angioplasty on his pulmonary arteries that did not work. Although his recovery was very long, he had a solid year or so of being a "normal" kid . Then in May of 2009, it was discovered that Conway was having rhythm disturbances, specifically atrial flutter. His pacemaker allowed it to go undetected for several weeks until he showed signs of heart failure and was admitted to the ICU for a week to be placed on IV heart meds and undergo cardioversion on 5/6/09. He went home and his heart function started recovering when he had another episode of flutter (6/16/09). This time, he was again hospitalized and put on IV milrinone, but he converted back to normal sinus rhythm by himself. At that time he was placed on the anti-arrhythmia drug, amiodarone. On 7/22/09 he had to be cardioverted again for yet another episode of flutter. The following week, he got worse instead of better. His cardiologist did a full work up and it was determined that his aortic, mitral and tricuspid valves were all leaking worse and were felt to be the cause of his heart failure. On 8/24/09 he had a cardiac cath and attempted ablation. The electrophysiologist was unable to induce a single arrhythmia. Then, just two days later, he went into atrial flutter on his own. He was placed back in the cath lab where he underwent mapping and a total of 17 burns were made to try to knock out his arrhythmias for good. The next day, 8/27/09, he had his second open heart surgery to repair his mitral valve called ring annuloplasty. He also had a partial Maze procedure done. His surgeries are performed at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). This time he was discharged just six days later! His Left Ventricular function improved drastically. In December 2010 we noticed he began getting more winded during physical activity. A January 2011 cath showed that he is outgrowing his RV-PA gortex conduit, but he was not symptomatic enough to warrant intervention. In April 2012 Conway’s fatigue increased and an echo at the end of May revealed that the ratio between the right and left sided pressures has gotten too high and it is time to replace the homograft that was placed when he was five months old. He had a cardiac cath on 5/25/12 which confirmed the echo findings. He had surgery on 8/8/12 to replace his pulmonary valve and RV-PA conduit, add an additional pacing wire to his left ventricle, and change his generator to a bi-ventricular model which is shown to preserve function and help the heart muscle pump more efficiently/effectively.