Meeting with Surgeon

We met with the surgeon today. He did a good job of explaining the possible scenarios for Baby and reminding us that we just have to take it one day at a time. My medical lesson of the day was atrium means room in latin. I obviously learned a lot more but can't explain it like the surgeon can. Right now he is even lecturing a group of fellows on our babies heart defect.

We didn't really hear anything new. There are a lot of intricate details and they can't tell specifics until Baby is here. As soon as Baby is born it will be taken straight to the NICU and they will start doing the tests they need to figure out the best approach to fixing the heart.

It sounds like the first surgery will more than likely be on approximately day 4 of life, but like I said nothing is set in stone. We got a tour of labor and delivery, NICU and PICU rooms. It was good to see where we will be spending a lot of time.

Nothing else new to report right now. There a lots of doctors and nurses on top of things and ready to take great care of Baby. We feel lucky to have them.

Derek, Abbie & Mac

Baby Yoder is on the way and we are very excited. Big Brother Mac can't wait (not sure he really "gets it" but he LOVES babies). We would like to use this site to update you because Baby Yoder is also special.

We found out that our baby has a heart defect called Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Ventricular Septum. This means that the valve that allows blood to flow out of the right ventricle and into the lungs did not form and is sealed shut. This has caused the right ventricle of the heart to be smaller due to muscle build up because the ventricle is working extra hard to try to push blood through the closed valve.

While Baby Yoder is with Mom everything is alright and there is little risk. There is a hole in the heart in all babies that allows blood to flow between the ventricles and get to the lungs via this route since Mom is doing all the work. Once babies are born this hole closes and because our baby cannot survive if the hole closes when he/she is born he/she will be given meds to keep this hole open and keep blood flowing to the lungs. We are learning SO much about the heart that this just skims the surface.

Normal Heart:



Hypoplastic Right Heart:



To make a long story short, Baby will not have a strong enough right side of the heart to push the blood to the lungs. Lucky for us, the left side of the heart is usually "stronger" because it is meant to pump blood to the whole body and the doctors say it appears to be working fine. As of now, the most likely surgical option is to bypass the right ventricle (the small one) completely and let the left side do all the work. This will make Baby easier to fatigue and limit activities.

At this time all care for Baby Yoder and Mom has been transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) and it means we spend a LOT of time there - not ideal but they do have fantastic chocolate chip cookies. If you ask when the next appointment is, you will probably get a confused look and a response of "which one?" At this point we are seeing a pediatric cardiologist, heart surgeon, high risk OBGYN and high risk ultrasound doctor (quite the list).

There are so many intricate details to this condition that it is hard for us to know exactly what to expect. While the doctors look at everything they can, they really won't be able to give any precise information until Baby Yoder is here. For this condition, so much depends on Baby Yoder's unique make-up and how the babe responds to what needs to be done.

What we do know is that we are going to be taken on a new journey in life. This includes lots of time spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)after baby is born. We are unsure of when we will get to take our babe home. This journey more than likely includes multiple open-heart surgeries, the first being within the first week of life.

We wanted to let everyone in our lives know what is going on and find a way to keep everyone updated on Baby Yoder so we have created this blog. While this is a very challenging time in our lives we are constantly reminded of how blessed we are as well. Thank you to everyone who has shown us love and support - we are so grateful.

We will do our best to keep you informed of what is going on. Please feel free to post any comments or questions you may have and to share this site with anyone you think may want to be kept informed. At this point, all we ask is that you keep our precious babe in your thoughts and prayers.