Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
Posted on 05/31/2004 4:50:27 PM PDT by Coleus
This is the story of an unborn child who had little chance of making it into the world until a team of Oklahoma surgeons took on the case.
The boy's mom came to OU Medical Center several months ago. Specialists knew immediately there was a major problem with her unborn son.
Tina and Brian Green married knowing they wanted a houseful of kids. They have two beautiful daughters. Alex is seven and Dharma is three. And, the Greens are coloring in all shades of blue these days -- their baby brother is on the way.
"We were very excited when we found out," Tina Green said. "We were like, 'Please be a boy, please be a boy.' First ultrasound - it was a boy."
But shortly after the good news came the unthinkable. Tina's unborn son would have an impossible time making it into the world.
"I had the ultrasound and they told me right then he has an irregular heartbeat," she said.
It was a heartbeat so fast the baby's blood wasn't moving efficiently, leaving him no chance of making it to his due date, and little chance of making it at all.
"Without intervention, without treatment the baby would not likely have survived," said fetal medicine specialist Dr. Asad Sheikh.
"Almost certainly the baby would've died after delivery," Sheikh said.
Using ultrasound doctors pinpointed the fetus' problem. They tried several drugs, none were effective.
"Then we tried giving the fetus a shot of one of those medications and that worked, very temporarily," said pediatric cardiologist Dr. Sherri Baker.
Their last resort? A risky procedure. It would be a first for the state of Oklahoma. The prodedure would use the umbilical cord to deliver life-saving medicine to a dying fetus.
"Using ultrasound, we found the umbilical cord and inserted a needle into one of the veins that goes into the umbilical cord and using that as an IV we were able to administer medication directly to the fetus," Baker said. "Very quickly the baby's heart rate turned around. Since that time the baby has been doing remarkably well."
The last weeks of her pregnancy doctors continued to monitor Tina's unborn son. Because of the umbilical cord procedure, they had every expectation he'd be born OK.
"At first I was beginning to wonder if I knew what a regular heart sounded like," she said. "It was so fast. His was so fast. And now I'm like. Wow. That's what a regular heart beat is."
And now Tina is hearing all kinds of noises from her little boy.
Ashton Lee Green is a week old and still taking medicine to prevent a relapse.
"I think we've gone from a baby who was going to die to a baby that as far as we can tell is going to have a normal productive life," Sheikh said.
Ashton's heart is operating perfectly. Tina's, on the other hand, flutters each time she holds the son she almost lost.
"You never know what they're going to come up with," Tina said. "And I'm so glad they did. It helped."
Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
Coleus, Thanks for that beautiful, uplifting story!
Lil'freeper, There are so many things that I don't like about the FDA, including the fact that they are in the back pocket of the pharmaceutical industry.
But this is one more reason to not trust the FDA, and probably the most important reason.
I just read the article, & it is true that extreme heat (like hot baths) can harm the baby, but this is not as extreme as a hot bath, for instance.
Just to be prudent, I don't think ultrasounds should be taken just for fun. However, having an ultrasound to help you decide whether to choose life or death, is not just for the fun of it.
Anyway, I just don't trust the FDA for this and MANY reasons.
But the FDA says ultrasounds pose a danger to the unborn. Oh, I'm so confused. < /sarcasm >
No, they only pose a danger if they are used to promote the pro life movement. And that isn't sarcasm.
God bless this family and their little boy. My James is 4 months old and 17-1/2 lbs. now! (But they lose points for naming one of their daughters "Dharma." Grow up, already!)
Praise God!
Another Baby Samuel miracle!
 |
This picture of a 21-week fetus' (Sammuel Armas) hand reaching up through an incision in its mother's uterus to grab the finger of the surgeon who had just performed a life-saving procedure appeared in the November 16 edition of The National Enquirer. It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, "The Picture of the Decade." |
Such a small miracle, so insignificant to the leftists societal engineers. I once shared Samuel's story with a liberal democrat I was talking with regarding abortion for 'medical reasons'. His response was, "But look at the cost! Society cannot afford such expenses when starting over is so muc more reasonable." I asked him--before turning away never to speak to him again, "Would you like to apply that same rationale for killing to the inconveneit elderly and crib-bound?" I didn't have the heart to add Alan Keyes's stunner regarding when to 'put down' grandma.
Pro-life/Pro-BABY ping! :)
bump
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for the ping
Spotted Owls, whales, minnows, frogs, etc., are expensive, too, but of course, they're not those cancerous growths on the face of the earth, otherwise known as human beings.
I'm afraid to know what his answer to your very good reply was--I suspect it wouldn't have been life-affirming.
Hallelujah!
And thank you for the ping, cgk.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.