I am sure that you have heard all the health warnings about smoking, drinking and drugs during pregnancy. They seem to be everywhere... on cigarette packages... on billboards... on commercials and of course in doctor's offices. So then how come some people still haven't gotten it? Well if you talk to them they will tell you tales of people who have smoked during pregnancy and everything worked out fine. They must be the lucky ones. And the majority of those stories all took place in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Cigarettes are not the same anymore. Here is a story of a little girl who wasn't so lucky. Just to protect her identity... Let's say her name is Dora. I know she likes "Dora the Explorer" so she won't mind.
In September 2003, I got the phone call from her Dad. "I am going to be a Dad." That's wonderful I thought! Well everything after that all happened so fast. The Mom did not even know that she was pregnant for a few months mostly because her cycle had never been normal. My thinking might be biased but I am guessing that smoking didn't help that either. Well, here we go... fast as fast can be, here came Dora... November 2003. Yes her mom knew that she was pregnant a grand total of 2 months. Now that would seem great for all those who hate being pregnant like me but this was not a great beginning for a little girl. Dora was born on week 28. She was a little over 3 lbs. She was not a healthy little baby and being premature she had to spend the next 2 months in the hospital. She had the joy of spending her first Christmas in a prenatal nursery in the hospital. Even her mom had a few complications during the birth that made her stay a few extra days.
January came along and Dora finally got to come home. Mom and Dad were thrilled. For the next little while, everything seemed to be going well. There were the usual doctor's appointments. However, there was one catch... As far as I understand, all babies have a hole in their heart, but it closes up when we are born. However for premature babies, this hole can take up to 2 years after birth to heal. So the Doctor's told Mom and Dad that they would just monitor it until she turned 2 and then discuss options. This "monitoring" involved many trips back and forth from home to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto and they did not live in Toronto. So the next couple of years passed, Dora seemed like a typical little girl... hyper... terrible two's... first words... first smiles... first teeth. All the joys that come with being an infant then toddler. Everyone loved this little girl. She was the first grandchild in her family. There were a few other challenges in her life, for instance right after her baby brother was born, her parents went their separate ways but that's another story.
So age 2 came along... Dad took Dora to the doctor's and he got the news that he didn't want to hear. Her hole was not closing up at all. They would wait a couple of years and then she would have to go to Sick Kids Hospital for a special heart procedure. This procedure involved going through her femoral artery in her groin and inserting a stent up into her heart. This stent would be strategically placed in the hole and over time, pull the hole closed and allow it to heal. Sounds crazy but this was apparently a well known procedure and her chances were great. So for the next couple of years, we put this in the back of our minds.
So age 4 came along, Dad had to schedule her heart procedure with Sick Kids Hospital. Of course, there was a waiting period, but this would not affect the outcome. Dora was scheduled for her procedure in September. September finally arrived... Dad and Nana were extremely nervous. They travelled down for this procedure that was to take place on Monday morning and she was to go home that night. Dad, Nana and Dora arrived at Sick Kids Hospital. If you have ever been there, you will agree with me what a wonderful place it is. It looks like a huge shopping mall that is all decorated with themes that kids love. But hopefully, you never have any need to go there.
The Doctor's sat down and talked to Dad and Nana about everything that was to take place. Dora would be prepped and anesthetized. They would go in through the femoral artery in her right groin to insert the stent. Once the procedure is done, she will have a few hours recovery and then she could go home or at least stay with the friends that lived in town. That was what was supposed to happen... Two hours, later the surgeon came out and broke the bad news to Dad and Nana. There is a 1 in 100,000 chance that during the procedure the stent can malfunction. Dora became chance 100,000. The surgeon did an excellent job in maneuvering the malfunctioned stent and essentially saved Dora's life but the stent was of no use now. The only option now was for the surgeon to perform open heart surgery on Dora to remove the stent and sew the hole up manually. Now, if you are like me... you think of "old people" having open heart surgery. But remember, Dora at this time was only 4 and a half.
If you know anything about Open Heart Surgery, it is exactly as it sounds. The surgeon had to cut through Dora's chest to get to her heart, where she removed the malfunctioned stent and sewed the hole in her heart. While in there, she had to insert a pace maker to help monitor her heart. The surgery took the maximum number of hours that the surgeon said it would so when that time was up, Nana and Dad were going crazy wondering what was going on. If you have ever been to a service center for your car, the more modern places have a monitor on the wall that tells you the status of your car and where in line you are. Sick Kids does the same thing. Nana and Dad watched this monitor for over 4 hours. Finally, the surgeon came out and he took them aside. Dora came through the surgery with flying colors. She is now resting in recovery and Dad could go see her.
It was a wonderful but pitiful sight. There was Dora. The kid we remember as smiling, giggling, running around getting into trouble now lying almost lifeless in a hospital bed, hooked up to a heart monitor. She had an IV in her arm, catheters coming out of both groins from the original procedure and wires coming out of her chest from the pace maker. This was hard to see. She had her 2 toys that she was allowed to have with her (Tasha and Uniqua from the Backyardigans) both with arm bands like Dora's.
Dad is not a religious man but I am betting that he said a few prayers that day and a few thank yous as well. Dora stayed in the hospital for the rest of the week, 3 more days at their friends in town and then had her follow-up appointment with the Cardiologist and the surgeon. Dora was recovering well. She was on multiple medications. Some for her heart and some for the fluid that was in her lungs from being on the heart and lung machine during the surgeries. Dora was able to go home after 8 days. It's amazing how fast some kids recover.
Dora is now over 5 years old and so far everything is going well. Except for the fact that about a month after she went back to school, she was running and fell and knocked here 2 front teeth back. This poor kid... what else can go wrong? The dentist was able to help her out.
As for the Mom, did she learn her lesson about smoking and drinking during pregnancy? Not so much... Dora's little brother Diego was also born premature. He was born after 29 weeks almost the same weight as Dora at birth. He was born with a brain bleed that required him to stay in the hospital for 3 months after his birth. He later developed Strabismus. This is a condition where your eyes are cross eyed. Diego was far sighted and had trouble seeing things up close. He over-compensated by crossing his eyes. He had to go for surgery at Sick Kids Hospital also. This surgery involved correcting the muscles around his eyes. He has to wear glasses for his eyesight and to help his eyes to heal. He was 3 when he had his surgery just a month before Dora's heart surgery.
When I visited the Mom in the hospital when Diego was born, she was sitting up on the bed cross-legged and feeling no pain. I couldn't believe my eyes. I told her, "Wow!! look at you sitting up already." Her response: "Yeah I am very lucky my babies are small". LUCKY!! I bit my tongue. You are not lucky when your babies are premature, not healthy and go on to have surgery after surgery. I have also heard nurses talk about delivering babies from smoking mothers where the placenta was like jelly, hence making it hard for the baby to breathe. Other babies are born with more life threatening conditions and are not as "lucky" as Dora and Diego.
If you know of someone who is pregnant and is still smoking or drinking, feel free to share my story with them. Maybe it will help them to quit, if not for themselves but maybe for their baby. It is no picnic going through all those issues when you are old, let alone when you are a newborn or a child.
The happy ending to this story is that as long as Dora and Diego continue to heal well from their surgeries and no other medical issues arise, they should be able to grow up and live normal lives. They are the "lucky" ones.
In September 2003, I got the phone call from her Dad. "I am going to be a Dad." That's wonderful I thought! Well everything after that all happened so fast. The Mom did not even know that she was pregnant for a few months mostly because her cycle had never been normal. My thinking might be biased but I am guessing that smoking didn't help that either. Well, here we go... fast as fast can be, here came Dora... November 2003. Yes her mom knew that she was pregnant a grand total of 2 months. Now that would seem great for all those who hate being pregnant like me but this was not a great beginning for a little girl. Dora was born on week 28. She was a little over 3 lbs. She was not a healthy little baby and being premature she had to spend the next 2 months in the hospital. She had the joy of spending her first Christmas in a prenatal nursery in the hospital. Even her mom had a few complications during the birth that made her stay a few extra days.
January came along and Dora finally got to come home. Mom and Dad were thrilled. For the next little while, everything seemed to be going well. There were the usual doctor's appointments. However, there was one catch... As far as I understand, all babies have a hole in their heart, but it closes up when we are born. However for premature babies, this hole can take up to 2 years after birth to heal. So the Doctor's told Mom and Dad that they would just monitor it until she turned 2 and then discuss options. This "monitoring" involved many trips back and forth from home to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto and they did not live in Toronto. So the next couple of years passed, Dora seemed like a typical little girl... hyper... terrible two's... first words... first smiles... first teeth. All the joys that come with being an infant then toddler. Everyone loved this little girl. She was the first grandchild in her family. There were a few other challenges in her life, for instance right after her baby brother was born, her parents went their separate ways but that's another story.
So age 2 came along... Dad took Dora to the doctor's and he got the news that he didn't want to hear. Her hole was not closing up at all. They would wait a couple of years and then she would have to go to Sick Kids Hospital for a special heart procedure. This procedure involved going through her femoral artery in her groin and inserting a stent up into her heart. This stent would be strategically placed in the hole and over time, pull the hole closed and allow it to heal. Sounds crazy but this was apparently a well known procedure and her chances were great. So for the next couple of years, we put this in the back of our minds.
So age 4 came along, Dad had to schedule her heart procedure with Sick Kids Hospital. Of course, there was a waiting period, but this would not affect the outcome. Dora was scheduled for her procedure in September. September finally arrived... Dad and Nana were extremely nervous. They travelled down for this procedure that was to take place on Monday morning and she was to go home that night. Dad, Nana and Dora arrived at Sick Kids Hospital. If you have ever been there, you will agree with me what a wonderful place it is. It looks like a huge shopping mall that is all decorated with themes that kids love. But hopefully, you never have any need to go there.
The Doctor's sat down and talked to Dad and Nana about everything that was to take place. Dora would be prepped and anesthetized. They would go in through the femoral artery in her right groin to insert the stent. Once the procedure is done, she will have a few hours recovery and then she could go home or at least stay with the friends that lived in town. That was what was supposed to happen... Two hours, later the surgeon came out and broke the bad news to Dad and Nana. There is a 1 in 100,000 chance that during the procedure the stent can malfunction. Dora became chance 100,000. The surgeon did an excellent job in maneuvering the malfunctioned stent and essentially saved Dora's life but the stent was of no use now. The only option now was for the surgeon to perform open heart surgery on Dora to remove the stent and sew the hole up manually. Now, if you are like me... you think of "old people" having open heart surgery. But remember, Dora at this time was only 4 and a half.
If you know anything about Open Heart Surgery, it is exactly as it sounds. The surgeon had to cut through Dora's chest to get to her heart, where she removed the malfunctioned stent and sewed the hole in her heart. While in there, she had to insert a pace maker to help monitor her heart. The surgery took the maximum number of hours that the surgeon said it would so when that time was up, Nana and Dad were going crazy wondering what was going on. If you have ever been to a service center for your car, the more modern places have a monitor on the wall that tells you the status of your car and where in line you are. Sick Kids does the same thing. Nana and Dad watched this monitor for over 4 hours. Finally, the surgeon came out and he took them aside. Dora came through the surgery with flying colors. She is now resting in recovery and Dad could go see her.
It was a wonderful but pitiful sight. There was Dora. The kid we remember as smiling, giggling, running around getting into trouble now lying almost lifeless in a hospital bed, hooked up to a heart monitor. She had an IV in her arm, catheters coming out of both groins from the original procedure and wires coming out of her chest from the pace maker. This was hard to see. She had her 2 toys that she was allowed to have with her (Tasha and Uniqua from the Backyardigans) both with arm bands like Dora's.
Dad is not a religious man but I am betting that he said a few prayers that day and a few thank yous as well. Dora stayed in the hospital for the rest of the week, 3 more days at their friends in town and then had her follow-up appointment with the Cardiologist and the surgeon. Dora was recovering well. She was on multiple medications. Some for her heart and some for the fluid that was in her lungs from being on the heart and lung machine during the surgeries. Dora was able to go home after 8 days. It's amazing how fast some kids recover.
Dora is now over 5 years old and so far everything is going well. Except for the fact that about a month after she went back to school, she was running and fell and knocked here 2 front teeth back. This poor kid... what else can go wrong? The dentist was able to help her out.
As for the Mom, did she learn her lesson about smoking and drinking during pregnancy? Not so much... Dora's little brother Diego was also born premature. He was born after 29 weeks almost the same weight as Dora at birth. He was born with a brain bleed that required him to stay in the hospital for 3 months after his birth. He later developed Strabismus. This is a condition where your eyes are cross eyed. Diego was far sighted and had trouble seeing things up close. He over-compensated by crossing his eyes. He had to go for surgery at Sick Kids Hospital also. This surgery involved correcting the muscles around his eyes. He has to wear glasses for his eyesight and to help his eyes to heal. He was 3 when he had his surgery just a month before Dora's heart surgery.
When I visited the Mom in the hospital when Diego was born, she was sitting up on the bed cross-legged and feeling no pain. I couldn't believe my eyes. I told her, "Wow!! look at you sitting up already." Her response: "Yeah I am very lucky my babies are small". LUCKY!! I bit my tongue. You are not lucky when your babies are premature, not healthy and go on to have surgery after surgery. I have also heard nurses talk about delivering babies from smoking mothers where the placenta was like jelly, hence making it hard for the baby to breathe. Other babies are born with more life threatening conditions and are not as "lucky" as Dora and Diego.
If you know of someone who is pregnant and is still smoking or drinking, feel free to share my story with them. Maybe it will help them to quit, if not for themselves but maybe for their baby. It is no picnic going through all those issues when you are old, let alone when you are a newborn or a child.
The happy ending to this story is that as long as Dora and Diego continue to heal well from their surgeries and no other medical issues arise, they should be able to grow up and live normal lives. They are the "lucky" ones.
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