The good news: We are still seeing all the signs that this is an "isolated" case meaning that the omphalocele is the only thing wrong with Karsie. The technician, Gennifer, told us that the hole in the abdomen is about an inch at this point. Karsie is around 14 or so inches long (we're not sure where she fits in Michelle) and about a pound. At this point in the pregnancy she is mostly gaining weight. Very soon she will stop growing longer and just be getting heavier. Karsie is kicking at extreme rates. She's pretty feisty. When Gennifer and the doctor put the ultrasound scanner on Michelle's belly, Karsie would immediately kick back. But the movement is an excellent sign. In fact, Gennifer said that she was the most active of the day and one of the most active she has seen. We were able to see four full chambers in the heart and all of the limbs were the way they should be. Her ears were also where they should be (one of the associated problems with omphaloceles has an indicator with the ears set low).
The cautious news: Karsie's omphalocele has not shrunk nor has any of it gone back in. (From now on we will call the omphalocele Bob because it's annoying to continue to type that word). Bob is about as big as the abdomen, which is good, but it means it will be a little more intense of a surgery than a "normal" Bob. However, our chart from our UCLA doctor said it was definitely not the worst case he has seen, so maybe we can call it an above average Bob. We also saw another part to Bob that stuck out and is filled with fluid. This can be a variety of things that we will not know for a while, but one of the things we are nervous that it is is part of Karsie's bowels. This is probably not life threatening, but if it's swollen like that there's obviously a problem and will require more surgery.
The doctor said that Karsie will be in the hospital for a week minimum, but was optimistic about the timeframe. In other words, we could be able to take her home much sooner than we thought providing nothing weird happens between now and then.
In a couple of weeks we have a slew of doctor's appointments: one here and two in San Diego, so this will be a hotbed of information very soon. Keep posted. Thanks for the continued prayers.
