Saving our Henry

It is an incredibly humbling thing to be placed in a position of having to ask for help, but that is where Kevin and I are at right now. Two weeks ago, we went for a routine appointment with my OB, hoping to find out the gender of our little nugget. I was 18 weeks, and the nurse managed to squeeze us in for an ultrasound at the end of the day. Our entire life was flipped upside down as the ultrasound began. Any mother out there can agree that when there is something wrong, you can immediately tell. As soon as the nurse left the room after beginning the ultrasound, I knew there was trouble. After enduring a whirlwind of medical jargon and watching my doctor's face wrinkle with worry, Kevin and I were schedule to see the perinatal specialist the next morning, without a single clue as to what the problem was. The perinatal specialist informed us the next day that our child (the gender was unable to be seen on the ultrasound) had a large cyst in it's abdomen that was causing a lack of amniotic fluid. When we saw the pictures, large seemed a little understated - the cyst was larger than the baby's head. At that point, we were given two options: go to Cinicinnatti Children's hospital and have the cyst drained, or do nothing - and terminate the pregnancy. Though we were stunned, Kevin and I knew immediately that we were headed to Cinci, so Thursday evening we packed a bag and my family accompanied us to Ohio. Friday included seeing a team of specialists and having several tests done, all in the hopes of finding a way to drain this cyst. Unfortunately, what started as a rather hopeful day, quickly took a downward turn when the doctors called us in for our conference. The cyst was not a cyst. We were told that our baby has a very rare condition called Bladder Outlet Obstruction (BOO). BOO occurs in 1-4000 live births, and if not treated, our baby would not survive birth. BOO had caused our baby's bladder to fill without draining, and the urine was starting to back up into the kidneys. We were looking at possible kidney damage/failure, on top of underdevelopment of the lungs caused by a lack of amniotic fluid. Our options were a bit different now, I could undergo an invasive procedure in hopes of opening the blockage, we could insert shunts, or - again - we could do nothing. Through much prayer and talking with our families, Kevin and I decided to move forward with the procedure, which would open me up in an attempt to remove the blockage. We were informed only 1 out of 5 women choose to move forward with this intervention. Needless to say we were scared. My surgery was just over a week ago, and the doctors say it was very successful! We are overjoyed that the result of the procedure, and how the first ultrasound following it looked.  I am now home recovering, but we are not out of the woods. We are still facing possible immediate dialysis when Henry is born (we were finally able to find out the gender with some bloodwork) and a probable kidney transplant at some point in his life. On top of the assured medical costs, the doctors placed me on bedrest following the procedures. Our already tight budget has been reduced to just Kevin's income. We have already been blessed by so many friends and family offering to help, but there is a lot we are facing. So that is why we are here, humbly asking for help from family and friends, both old and new, near and far. We love you all, and above all, we keep our strength in the Lord and believe that He will provide us with all we need. God Bless and thank you for your support! XOXO, Emily and Kevin