25 Weeks and we have a delivery date!!!!

Hi all - thought it was about time that we updated our blog. We have just got back from another check up in Christchurch and I am pleased to say baby McKessar is looking very healthy! Its always a very stressfull time waiting for the sonographer to scan and tell us if she is ok...so far she is 2lb and looking just perfect.
We met with our Doctor who was pleased with our progress but between us we have decided that the IvIg infusions will be given twice a week from the 17th Jan....every Tuesday and Friday.
I managed to cope with having the infusion done a little faster last Friday which ment I can get it down to about 9 hours....so 9 hours twice a week!
We have had the local newspaper doing "updates" on our precious bundle and unfortunately have had to bear the brunt of some nasty/unfavourable feedback about the cost to the medical system to have our little NAIT miracle....while this is hurtful I think that if people took the time to understand and read our story perhaps they would have a different opinion! However while we have had negative feedback it has been far outweighed by support - so I thank everyone that has offered their kind words/thoughts and prayers.

So our new revised plan is....2 x weekly IvIg/fortnightly scans, brain checks in ChCh and admitted to hospital on 2nd March for steroids to help mature babies lungs for three days and delivery on 5th of March!!! This is our plan if everything is looking healthy throughout - baby will be  33 weeks and this has been then decision of a team of Doctors, they firmly believe that waiting any longer will push my body too far and although its very hard I have faith in what they have decided! So we are officially on a day by day countdown until then!!!


Say hello to baby McKessar!!!



Sugar and spice and all things nice!!!!!

Hi all - our scan went very well!! I am shocked to say that we are expecting a little girl...I am still in a state of shock even now!! I was convinced I was having another boy. Dr Rosemary Reid was quite amused when I asked her to NOT tell me the sex but to write it on a piece of paper for Luke....I will explain why.
The day before Carter was born last year we wanted to buy him something to wear after he was born, I didnt want him leaving the hospital in a hospital gown, our boy who was to be born sleeping deserved to have a "first outfit" too...so I sent Luke into Pumpkin Patch as I couldn't face going in there, so this time he was sent to buy this babies "first outfit" too. So while I was hooked up and receiving my IvIg Luke was off shopping, all the while I am still thinking I was having another boy. Luke took TWO HOURS, I was going crazy but when he arrived back he had a little gift box for me to unwrap. With my nurses watching intently all was revealed...pink! The outfit was PINK....the only thing I could say was "are you sure"????

We are both so very happy, mostly because baby is growing well and is so far doing well with the Immunoglobin but after three boys we are having a girl!! Tutus and Tiaras LOL

Over half way! Week 18 Update

Hi guys, we are updating our blog live today from Foote Ward at Buller Hospital. We are into the 18th week now and technically over half way, as it is highly likely that our baby will be born by Caesarean section between 32 and 34 weeks.

This is treatment number #6 and today I have had a bit of a slow start unfortunatley - I didnt get 'plugged in' until 10.45am, meaning I probably wont leave till around 10.30pm tonight, which sux - but I just need to keep chugging along. But at least it wont be as bad as last week! We had a big hiccup and I didnt leave the ward until well after midnight. It made for a very long, tiring and sick weekend but come Monday I was starting to feel better again.
The side effects of the treatment are vomiting, nausea, blurred visions and headaches... ALOT of headaches. I wish I could say I have been lucky enough to avoid these, but I haven't. Last Saturday I actually felt like I had been run over by a truck. I couldn't stay awake, had constant headaches all day and could hardly eat . It wasnt nice.

Foote Ward have been excellent during my treatments, especially my nurse Gincey. It has been great to have the same nurse pretty much every week. Gincey is great - she knows how to have a laugh and is now pretty much on first name basis with all my regular visitors, and she loves seeing Tessa Roo every week.
Luke has done well in impersonating a Doctor when he can get here. He keeps a little medical note book and writes down important (and sometimes not so important) pieces of information. He even charts my weight! Rude...lol. I think we will both be medical experts in some aspects once this is all over!
One aspect of Foote Ward that isnt so great is the lack of Gourmet Fare coming from the hospital kitchen! Today for lunch, for the third time, I had 1 cold saveloy and some cold potato flakes that somewhat resembled mash! Luckily I have people that can whip down the street and grab me something yummy.

Next week we are off to Christchurch to see Jim, and have an anatomy scan, more tests and we are going to find out the sex of the baby. Very exciting! So we will keep you updated on that.

Talk Soon
xxx
The McKoozers

Pics:  Immunoglobin (I go through 7 of these bottles in one day of treatment) and me and Gincey :)

Some piccies xx

Treatment.......

The last few weeks have been VERY busy with school holidays and running back and forth to Christchurch to meet with our team that are helping Luke and I to have our miracle baby. Firstly upon arrival at the fab Ronald McDonald House South Island we were greeted by the wonderful staff like we were family - still it was a little upsetting to see that only half the house was actually open due to the devastating Earthquakes in ChCh. Admirable that they can keep going under such harsh circumstances!!!!

We trotted over to the Fetal Medicine Clinic for the first of many tests and scans....which all proved to come back "normal"  - well as normal as someone like me can have lol!

After seeing our precious bundle on the ultrasound I was whisked over the other side of the hospital to have a PICC line inserted into my arm.....this was a bizarre feeling! The small tube is 55cm long, 37cm of which is inside my body inside the vein that leads to my heart! The PICC line is there so that when I receive my treatment every week I dont need a new IV line.

So far the current plan is weekly platelet transfusions (IvIg) , which take about 10 - 12 hours to administer until I get to 24 weeks and at this stage we will discuss further treatment options to include alongside the Platelets....

The good news is that I am able to have some of my treatments in WESTPORT - yay!! So instead of travelling to Christchurch every week I only have to go once a month until I reach 24 weeks! I am so much more relaxed with this news!!!

I will be posting some photos on here in the following few days so I will be back soon!!!

Hospital tomorrow for treatment # 3.....Love to you all xx

Welcome to our blog...

As you all know we have been trying for quite sometime to be lucky enough to get pregnant after the loss of our beautiful little man Carter who passed away in June last year. After a long and painful few months we decided that we would like to try for another child.

Unfortunately for us nothing is simple!!!

We consulted our Doctor in Christchurch who works at ChCh Fetal Maternal Medicine, who informed us that while not impossible it would be very difficult for me to carry a child. My blood platelets are a very rare type and while pregnant with Carter they attacked his blood platelets - which caused him to bleed internally. This will ALWAYS happen when I get pregnant so all we can do is try and treat the disease, which out of interest is called Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopaenia (NAIT)

So far the best known treatment is weekly 12 hour infusions of Immuno-globin through a line left in my chest and blood transfusions for the baby while still inside my tummy....followed by prem delivery by c-section.....coupled with a large dose of steroids to shut down my immune system. If we complete the treatments we were told we have a 70% chance of delivering a live baby!!

So that leads me to one thing....we are nearly ten weeks pregnant and will be starting treatment in the next two weeks!!

If anyone wants to read what we are up to - or wants to leave us any messages please feel free xxxx <3