WTF!

Sorry! As you can probably tell, this is Rod reporting again. I apologize to those that know what the title means...but lately I have been wondering WTF is going on!!?? I'm sure you are all worried and concerned for Kristin, so I will actually give you the whole story...beware, its long.

Since giving life to our wonderful little Victoria, Kristin's recovery had been slow. She recently (Past week to two) had been experiencing low back pain and minor cramping in her stomach area. Since this was our first baby, and due to all the added events, we thought it was "normal". Monday night was my first night working after a nice 4 day Christmas weekend. Before I left for work I noticed that Kristin was a bit warm and we took her temp (100.3). Shortly after I left for work, Kristin began to have much more extreme pain in her stomach. When I got home from work at 7:15 AM, she was in obvious pain and told me that she had not slept at all. Both Kristin and I thought that it was simply the flu again that may have been passed from on of the kids or adults that were visiting over the weekend. So, I laid down and slept for about 3 or 4 hours. When I got up Kristin was still in a lot of pain. Still thinking it was the flu we decided to go get checked out. Since St. Mary's has an emergency care unit near our house we decided to just go there, again thinking it was just the flu. Luckily we received excellent care... they performed a pelvic ultrasound on Kristin. This discovered an area of concern around Kristin's ovaries. The PA described the concern as being a large cyst on her left ovary and medium cyst on her right ovary. He also told us that there appeared to be an area of bleeding around her left ovary. The PA contacted Dr. Jones at Covenant and they arranged for Kristin to be transported to Covenant's ER via ambulance.

Shortly after arriving at Covenant, Dr. Jones came and spoke with us. She told us that she had reviewed the radiology reports and that surgery was necessary to see what was actually going on around Kristin's ovaries. Dr. Jones stated that she believed that it was most likely a large cyst that had ruptured and began to bleed. So, after many questions and signing some paperwork, Kristin was transported back to Covenant Harrison. She went to the 5th floor operating room. Ironically, this is the same floor that the NICU occupies. Kristin was quickly preped for surgery.

At 8:30 PM, Kristin was taken into the operating room for surgery. Dr. Jones told me that if all went well the surgery would last up to 90 minutes. I decided to wait in the NICU to be with Victoria. At approximately 8:55 PM one of Dr. Jones' assistants called me and told me that they did not believe that the ovaries were cancerous. This was obviously great news. About an hour later I received another phone call. This time the assistant told me that Dr. Jones had discovered a "pocket of infection" around the ovaries. She also told me that Dr. Jones had called in two general surgeons to assist her. I was unsure what this all meant, but I knew it wasn't good. At about 10:30 PM Dr. Jones came to speak with me at the NICU. Dr. Jones explained to me what exactly occurred. As we were speaking, Bruce and Karen arrived and I asked Dr. Jones to explain all the details to us. Dr. Jones told me that she observed a devastating infection in and around Kristin's uterus. She stated that she believed the infection began inside her uterus and quickly spread to her ovaries. The infected tissue had spread to Kristin's appendix and her colon. Therefore, in order to save Kristin's life, the doctors removed her uterus, ovaries, tubes, and appendix. The general surgeon, Dr. Patel, cleaned out much of the infected tissue and repaired her colon. Dr. Jones told me that, if left untouched, the infection would have killed Kristin within 24 to 48 hours.

At approximately 1:45 AM I was able to see Kristin in the recovery room. She was stable and did not require ICU. I had the unfortunate burden of explaining the results of the surgery. However, Kristin took the news well. She remembered my advice to her just before she went into surgery, "Victoria needs a mother more than she needs a brother or a sister."

At this point, Kristin is feeling very well. Her spirit is high and she is very positive about the situation. We are so thankful for the skill, dedication, and knowledge of Dr. Jones, Dr. Patel, and everyone that assisted us thus far. Covenant is a great hospital and we are lucky to be here. And I am thankful that my wife, my best friend, my LIFE is still here with me....Smiling!

So now what?? Kristin will remain in the hospital for a week or more to recover. As long as her colon responds normally there will be no more surgery. Unfortunately, Kristin will not be allowed to visit Victoria for a few days due to the infection. NICU has already began preemptive measures to check and combat a possible infection. Anyone wishing to call or visit, please call me or the Balcerski's for details.

This has been a difficult few months....we may never have all the answers to our questions....but at least we have our baby girl.