Kathy D.-back after a LONG time

[Guest guest]

Wow! It has been a while. It's Kathy D. I originally joined this group as a

t-shaped uterus.

I was misdiagnosed by four top doctors in the Boston area. But one doctor, Dr.

ph

Hill, had doubts, did a hysteroscopy, and found that I had a septum. The septum

was

removed (along with 2 polyps) last spring. Less than 6 months later, I became

pregnant

through our altogether 8th IUI. Today I am 16w2d. You would think I'd be out

of the

woods. Such is not the case. The Monday after Christmas, at our ultrasound, we

were

thrilled to find out it was a girl, but not so thrilled to find out that I have

Amniotic Band

Syndrome. Our little angel has her right hand caught in fibrous amniotic bands

in the

interior of the amniotic sac. The band around her hand has been constricting,

and

although her thumb seems to be there, her four fingers seem to be small and

fused like a

little mitten. We're not even sure at this point if the finger bones exist. I

cried so hard

over the loss of her right hand. I started thinking about all the things she

wouldn't be able

to do, like play the piano or type her papers in college. But then the doctor

came back in

and let us know that in addition to the ABS, our little girl's kidneys were

dilated, which is a

marker for Down's Syndrome. An amniocentesis was highly recommended. We had

the

amnio done immediately on Tuesday. Nobody told me that an amnio wasn't

recommended for women with ABS. Tuesday night I had massive cramping and

bleeding.

I went back into the hospital on Wednesday morning. My amniotic fluid was low

and the

two walls of the amniotic sac were separated, which they were NOT on Tuesday

before the

amnio. But my membrane didn't appear to have ruptured. I was told to call if I

had a gush

of fluid. Sure enough, as I was standing up at home to give my parents a hug,

there was a

huge gush of fluid. Back to the hospital we went. Apparently, I had ruptured

my

membrane. Breaking water at 16 weeks can only result in miscarriage, and this

would be

my third. But there's nothing they can do for me now. I'm on bedrest until

another

ultrasound on Monday. If by some miracle, the leak seals over and my amniotic

fluid

begins to fill up again, our baby will most likely be born with a ton of

problems in addition

to the deformed right hand. I have cried for four days straight now. It's

possible I'm all

cried out. Can anyone tell me- is Amniotic Band Syndrome more common in women

who

have had uterine surgery? Does anyone have any words of encouragement or

stories?

Thanks!

-Kathy D., 29

SU 16w2d w/ABS