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They have decided to deliver at
Franklin Square Hospital because it is only 10 minutes from their home. She has switched Doctor's and all of her
records are now with the new Doctor - Dr. Katz. I met and talked with him and he seems very
knowledgeable and explained everything to us.
We asked a lot of questions and he answered them all. I called one of the Neonatologists at
Franklin Square that I know -Dr. Melinda Elliott and she went to see Heather
and they talked about the NICU. It is
a good NICU and I am sure that if the babies have to go there they will receive good care. Now on to the good news. Heather was discharged and is now back home.
She is on bedrest with only bathroom priviledges. Kevin set up a single bed in the living
room and has been fussing over her. He
is real nervous about her being home and is so scared that something might
happen, like before. I told him to
just dial 911 if there was a big problem. Logan is real happy to have her and
"his babies" back home. I
spoke to them last time and he was chattering away. Heather will be monitoring
herself for contractions with a portable monitor and transmitting it to the
Doctor. She has to do this twice a
day. Isn't modern science a wonderful thing? December 20, 1999 Heather is now 36 and 2/7 wks
pregnant. Today we (Kevin, Heather
and I) were at the hospital at 7:30
am. She had a amniocentesis done to check
for the lung maturity of the babies.
She was scheduled for a C/Section at 12 noon. The amnio results came back in about an
hour and the lungs are still immature and the C/Section was cancelled. As you might imagine Heather was so
disappointed. She was contracting some
after the test but they slowed down and she was able to go home. The plans now are for her to have her
regular doctor's appt on Wed and next Monday she will have another amnio and
a C/Section if they have matured. The
Doctor said he will not let her go past 38 wks since she has a total placenta
previa and he doesn't want her to dilate and start bleeding. Heather has been upset this afternoon but
is hanging on. She is so large with
babies and is kind of tired of the bed rest and the waiting. She was so scared about the C/Section and
Logan told her to "pump up and be brave". He is so adorable. December 27, 1999 It is now 9:10 P.M. and I have
just returned from the hospital. We
got to the hospital at 7 A. M. I am
happy to tell you all that we do have 2 beautiful granddaughters. The amnio was completed and Dr. Katz came
to the room and said the lungs weren't mature enough to do the c/section but
Heather was contracting very often and very hard and at 11 A.M. he decided to
do the c/section. At 1 PM they took
her to the O.R. with Kevin all dressed
in scrubs. The rest of us (Keath,
Tess, Logan, Carol and I ) went to the waiting room. At 3:15 we were getting worried and started
asking questions.
Rhiannon Alexa was born at 2:26 pm and
weighed 5 lbs. 11 oz.
Deirdra Selene was
born at 2:27 pm and weighed 6 lbs. And 9oz.
They are doing great and totally breathing on their own. A little pokey feeders just yet but fine. We all visited with the babies and showered
them with love and kisses. They are
fraternal twins but look very much like each other. By 3:15 P.M. Heather was having
trouble. She was bleeding too much and
the Dr. had a specialist come over from Union Memorial to assist him. They
were trying to save her uterus and did one surgical procedure to try but the
bleeding continued. The Doctor talked
to Kevin and at that time they performed a hysterectomy. She lost a third of her blood volume and
was given 4 units of blood. She may
have to get more blood later as they constantly monitor her hematocrit. As of now she is still in the recovery
room. Tess is staying with her
tonight and Heather will be in the Labor Suite so that she can be watched
very closely. December 31, 1999 Heather has had a very rough
week. On Tuesday she developed an
ileus. That is where air is trapped in
the intestines and causes the abdomen to become very distended and uncomfortable. For those of you that have ever had this,
you know what pain she was in. She didn’t have to have an naso-gastric tube
inserted . I am happy to say that she
is feeling better now and up and around and able to enjoy Rhiannon and
Deirdra more. Tonight Kevin and Logan
will be ringing in the New Year with them and they will be spending the night
with Heather. They are all excited. Up
to this point Heather has only been given ice chips and I think she is
getting ready for more. We now have pictures and are
excited to share them with you all.
We’ll be taking more and will share them later. Thanks for all the Christmas
Cards, letters and pictures. We
treasure them all. If anyone wants to communicate
with Heather and Kevin, their address is: Kevin and Heather Cummings 4503 S. Kenwood Ave. Baltimore, Md. 21206 After Heather’s recuperation,
she will be going back to work. All
the grandchildren’s current home care provider, Robin, will be caring for
Rhiannon and Deirdra also.
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