Final Appointment with Dr. Van Gundy

This afternoon, Greg and I had our last meeting with Dr. Van Gundy. When we had our echo last week, we still had so many questions for him and we was willing to meet with us today just to talk. So, we sat down and discussed where we were at and where we had decided to deliver. We told him we had decided to deliver at Stanford after all and he seemed to think that was a good idea. He said it made the most sense because we don't know what to expect when Caden is born. His heart could be totally fine, or he could have coarctation of the aorta which would require surgery. With that being said, he said it would be better to be at Stanford in the event of surgery being required because if Caden was born in Sacramento, he would have to be transferred to Stanford for the surgery anyway. And, when you're talking about transfers, that can be risky depending on how stable the baby is.

It sounds like if Caden does have coarctation, it would most likely be a single surgery fix. He said there's a less than 10% recurrence rate of it and if it did recur, it could be taken care of with a catheterization instead of surgery. That sounds pretty good to me. Of course, we don't know how the diaphragatic hernia or eventration will complicate the situation. This is another reason for us choosing to deliver at Stanford. They have all the surgeons we could need right there in one place.

We told Dr. Van Gundy how much we have appreciated his input and willingness to talk to us throughout this whole process. I feel we are so blessed to work with him through this experience. I don't know if we would have been referred to him if we didn't already have a relationship with him because of Kyler's heart issue. But, we are very grateful he was our cardiologist and the one to work with us through this journey. God has definitely been putting the right people in our path!