baby's development Part 1 - 27 sep 08

Dear friends,

Thanks for all your concern and encouragement.

I just wanted to share how God is so good all the time! That even in times of difficulty we need to praise God because he always makes a way and is faithful throughout. God has rescued me and made ways for me - and I KNOW FOR SURE He will continue to show me the way.

I'll tell you the sequence of events and you will see God's hand:

- 6 weeks ago i went for a 3D & 4D detailed scan and my dr, Wong Sum Keong, saw that the baby's stomach was in its chest cavity, above the diaphragm. He said we need to wait and see development of the baby's lungs and whether this will present breathing difficulties upon birth. However we can only find out this upon the baby's delivery because currently the baby doesn't need to breathe. The term is called CONGENITAL DIAPHRAGM HERNIA. A check on the internet reveals a lot about babies having this in America. 1 in 30,000.
I said I'll pray and wait for the 2nd scan.

- 2nd detail scan was on Monday evening with Dr Wong. He said he definitely wants to get a 2nd opinion from his colleague and referred me to a Dr Patrick Chia, specialising in fetal abnormalities.

- I secured an appointment with Dr Chia on Friday. He was detailed in his scanning and saw these cases before. He referred me to Universiti Hospital Dr Sofiah S- (forgot), who has handled many cases like these.

- Dr Chia was so good, he called Dr Sofiah and Dr Wong straightaway! Dr Chia secured an appt with Dr Sofiah. Unfortunately she is on holiday (Hari Raya) and will return mid-Oct. Dr Chia wrote all the referral letters to pass to the doctors.

- Dr Chia was knowledgeable and patient and recommended the government hospital because he said private hospitals don't have the facilities to deal with complicated cases. He checked and saw that this was a favourable case:
1. The lungs were forming very well
2. The liver is in the right place - if not, this would be a major concern
3. The heart was fully formed and pumping well, only thing was it was displaced to the side a bit
A check on the internet revealed that these indicate the baby is the highest 25% for CDH cases. The baby will definitely do well.

- Dr Chia's recommendations:
1. Do a C-section nearer the date. This is to assemble the team of specialists on standby to check and take over should the baby require immediate surgery.
2. I will definitely pay a private hospital price in KL. Check if I am able to get a subsidised price in Singapore. Depending on the neo-natal care in ICU later, I will need to find out more.
3. He said go to A/Prof George Yeo and team at KK hospital (Singapore) to see if I can do something or arrange baby's delivery there.
4. Increase the frequency of monitoring for the baby to every 2-3 weeks.

- Called up KK hospital immediately for appointment ( Got the number from Gideon & june). Dr George Yeo does not see patients anymore, I asked for the most senior in his team, Dr KH Tan. Dr Tan's next avail appointment is 20 Oct.

- Went back to office and emailed central appointments of KK hospital, requesting for an earlier appointment. Central appointments emailed me immediately and said OK, giving me 5 dates. I chose the earliest, Monday 29-09-08 morning 9am.

- Getting a bus ticket was challenging. However it was very fast. You see, it's Hari Raya major holidays in Msia- (this weekend until weekend all fully booked!). Singapore f1 night race is on tonight and sunday night. But we got tickets! Bus leaves from right in front our house in Mont' Kiara.

- My father will pick us up from Corpthorne Orchid Dunearn Rd (Singapore) tomorrow night at 8pm. We will leave back to KL Monday at 5pm. We try to avoid the traffic this way.

We simply cannot ignore the signs that God will continue to guide and lead. Here's why:

1. We have chosen the name Estelle for the baby. God has assured me she'll be his bright shining star and totally approves of the name (meaning of esther from the bible). Queen Esther was made for "such a time as this". I'm not kidding - God really did speak to me 3 Sundays ago. I got confirmation from my father-in-law who said God spoke to him about the name esther (while in bed!).

2. Most people see several doctors before they are given a solution.

God has brought favour and me to the right people at the right time. I got the right knowledgeable doctors who continue to help me all the way.

3. KK hospital was very efficient in changing my appointment! Not only that, Dr KH Tan is one of the top shots in KK. I better give this a good try.

4. My case shows signs of being favourable. This is an assurance that everything will be fine in the end. God has told me that all will be well. It's just the meantime that we need to work things out.

5. Bus tickets are impossible to get at this time. God made it possible!

6. Our friends in church have emailed some staff in Universiti Hospital here and will continue to pester for some queue jumping...

7. we are able to detect early this condition and are able to plan ahead for the next step.

So in the meantime, I appreciate your prayers to get the right doctors who will advise wisely on the next course of action.

I believe that God has given us the means to take care of this baby. Financially, spiritually, emotionally.

I will also appreciate if we all refrain from unnecessary worry and negative thoughts because this simply would not help the matter. God is always bigger than any problem. If not for God, Marcus and I would be freaking out by now.

God bless
Charlene