Maggie's Twin - !GINORMOUS!

well, we have the most definitive information so far.

one of the things i didn't talk about during Laura's first ultrasound was the extra surprise. after checking on Maggie, the ultrasound technician took a peek at Laura's innards to see if the ducts from the kidneys were kinked by the baby or if anything else was cramped. while you're in a doctor's office and someone is giving you an examination and they say, "oh", that's not the most comforting of situations. The "oh" was followed by an extended pause. then she typed "cyst" on the screen and pressed the button to take a picture of the display. this is how we were informed that Maggie had a playmate while she was growing inside of Laura.

right up to the ultrasound i had been teasing Laura that she was going to have twins. there they were. we definitely heard the jokes about how fun it was going to be that Maggie was going to have a little "cyster".

Laura had an MRI on the 3rd of December, just to make sure that the cyst wasn't a danger to mom or the baby. the MRI was suggested because the ultrasound tech couldn't tell if the cyst was coming from Laura's liver, her kidney or her pancreas. the proximity of the cyst to so many potential danger zones gave Laura an early trip to the hospital but nothing was found that made anyone nervous enough to do something before Maggie was born.

with Maggie born, Laura could have her CT scan without endangering Maggie. The CT scan was on Friday, April 18th, to see if the picture was cleared up with out a big swollen uterus getting in the way. still, no one said anything about what was up with the cyst. eventually Laura was told that she had an appointment with a surgeon on Tuesday, May 13.

Laura was getting her mind set for a surgery on the 13th, when we got a call they day before to let Laura know that she was going in for a consultation and not the surgery the next day. Laura's stress level bumped up a level or two because it was now apparent that the possibility of a "procedure" was being pushed aside by the likelihood of an "operation". Laura didn't sleep much that night. this fluid filled cyst was getting more complicated all the time.

Meeting with Dr. Thomas didn't do much to alleviate Laura's concerns. having one surgeon say that he wants to turn over the surgery to a liver specialist but he still hopes to be in on the surgery to see what is actually inside you is a little spooky. no one wants to be the interesting case that the other doctors want in on.

finally today, the 16th of May, we got to see the specialist. he did the regular consultation then the internet connection came through with the x-rays and we got to see the scans of Laura's guts.

This thing is Huge!

it was easy to see that there was an object inside of Laura taking up quite a lot of room.

the top of the cyst comes in behind Laura's liver and her intestines, even pushing the duodenum out of place a little. it does tuck around her gall bladder and the ducts from the liver but Laura is healthy (no jaundice or digestive disorders) and the doctor doesn't think that the cyst is malignant. the cyst at it's widest point seemed to push over to nearly the midline of Laura's torso, and it stretched down pressing Laura's kidneys to the back. it's crazy that Laura has something so big inside of her and that it was there for the pregnancy too. the cyst starts just under her rib cage and stretches down to the upper part of her pelvis. the cyst could come off of anything from top to bottom: off of her ovary, off the membranes around her guts, or off her liver or gall bladder etc.

i'm waiting to see how Laura feels once this thing is out. Laura has felt well, no jaundice or digestion problems. Laura had all of the blood tests during her pregnancy and even some extensive labs on her urine for a 24 hour period when she had some blood pressure issues.

between the multiple ultrasounds, the c-section and a CT scan it's all part of the grand tour through Laura's insides. Laura would be content if this tour is over soon. surgery will be next week sometime.