San Francisco Trip **CAUTION** LONG BLOG!! :-)

We left bright and early Sunday morning to get an early start.  We wanted to be able to make it to San Fran and be able to find the hospital before it got dark.  The drive wasn't bad at all.  It took about 6 hours.  I know that seems long, but after we got over the pass after Reno, everything started to get really pretty.  The pine trees over the pass were so pretty.  It's crazy how just 3 hours away (home) the landscape is totally different.  We stopped at Chipotle in Roseville, CA for lunch....if any of you know Mitch and I really well, you know that Chipotle is our weekness...mmmm...fresh Mexican food!  After that, we got back on the road and made it to our hotel outside of San Francisco.  Our hotel was in Oakland :-/  I know what you're thinking:  shootings, police, sirens, etc....well we definitely heard our share of sirens, but thankfully no shootings! ha!  I was trying to save us money by staying out of the city, but I quickly learned an extra $50 is worth feeling safe!  Our hotel was actually really nice, it was just in a creepy area.
We went and found the hospital on Sunday afternoon.  It took us about an hour to go 25 miles...there was a toll for the bay bridge which we weren't prepared for.  I thought I'd have enough quarters to make $5, but I didn't, so the toll booth operator told us to just give him all our change! haha!!  He was probably thinking, "typical tourists".  We found the hospital.  We had to go through a couple "interesting" neighborhoods...at least our drive was somewhat entertaining!  After we found the hospital we went downtown to pay another $10 for parking just to eat dinner.  There were a bunch of surprise expenses like parking and toll fees on this trip.  After dinner, I was completely tired.  Being pregnant, I can't walk as far as I used to.  Mitch kept saying sorry because he often would start walking ahead of me because I can't walk as fast either!  It was a good excuse to hold hands so we could stay together :-)  We mentioned to each other that it felt like forever since we have held hands so much! haha
The next morning we made sure to get up at 5:30 and eat and leave before 7:00 because of the traffice.  I am so glad we left so early!  Once we got to the toll on the bay bridge, we were at a SLOW crawl for about 30 minutes before we even got passed the toll operator.  The drivers in San Fran are crazy!!  It's like their blinkers don't work as well as their ability to be curteous!  We made it to the hospital around 8:15 and had time to grab some Starbucks at the hospital before our first appt at 9:15.    The hospital is in such a beautiful area.  TONS of trees!!  We loved the area.
Our first appt was an ultrasound that lasted about 1 1/2 hours.  It started to get really uncomfortable.  Laying there having someone push around something on my stomach for a while got me feeling kind of nauseous.  Also, I had to crank my neck the whole time to see little man on the screen.  Talk about uncomfortable!!  We did get to see a great pic of his face.  Definitely not as boney as before, his cheeks looked a little bit chubbier!  So cute. He's an estimated 2.2lbs. Mitch and both thought that his lesion looked bigger than before, but the radiologist was telling us that she had it zoomed in so it probably looked bigger because of that.  His lesion is a bit higher than we originally thought.  Originally we thought it was around L4-L5, but now it's L3-L4 (L stands for lumbar).  It's higher than we thought, so there is a greater chance for more nerve damage than we thought.  His feet looked great.  Club feet is very common in babies with SB.  Even though club feet are totally fixable, it's just one more thing to worry about.  So, we are praising God for that!
Once we were done with that appt we went and ate lunch.  We weren't sure if we would have time for the rest of the day to eat, so we thought that we would take advantage of that spare time we had.  The hospital has a food court type of place with Jamba Juice, a pizza place, mexican food, Subway, and Panda Express.  it was nice because now we know that it won't just be "hospital food" once we are there for a while. 
After eating lunch we went to see the pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Gupta.  Believe it or not, we only waited about 5 minutes for him to come talk to us!  He explained spina bifida more thoroughly with us and the complications and effects that we will face once our little man is here.  He will be performing the "closure" surgery.  He said that surgery is about 2 hours long.  It really depends on the width and length of the lesion, he may have to call a plastic surgeon to come in and assist with a skin patch.  If it is too wide they can't stretch his skin too far so they'll have to put some kind of patch in.  What's difficult right now is everything is "wait and see"...Dr. Gupta couldn't tell us exactly how much nerve damage there will be.  The higher up the lesion, the more damage.  So, he could have strong hips, but his thighs and calves and shins may be really weak, along with his ankles and feet.  Another complication is bowel and bladder. They NICU will be cathing him at first and we'll see how that goes.  A lot of kids with SB grow up having to cath themselves.  The thing to remember is that it is normal for them.  They don't know any different.  The reason for cathing is because they lack that muscle to release urine.  It's not like they don't have control and are always wetting themselves, it's the fact that they lack the function of knowing when to empty their bladder.  So, cathing every few hours prevents infections.  The whole bowel thing, I'm not sure about yet.  I think they can do that on their own, but they need help as far as getting that moving. (hopefully that's not too much information!).  Dr. Gupta also talked to us about physical therapy and the possibility of him needing a shunt.  About 3 weeks ago his fluid levels between his ventricles was 11-12, now they are 14mm.  When we first heard this, we were disapointed, but Dr. Gupta made a good point, of course the levels are going to increase because he is growing and his head is growing, so they will naturally increase.  Whether he will need a shunt is all wait and see after he is born.  Dr. Gupta was pretty informative, although we wish we could have left with more definite answers, which he just can't give us right now.
After that appt. we went and met with a social worker.  Her name is Stephanie.  Boy, was she a hoot.  She is a Jewish lady with a little bit of a New York accent.  She wears round dark rimmed glasses and has a bob.  She is just like a movie character!  She was so incredibly nice and so comforting.  She definitely has the personality for the job!  She said that she is going to be our right-hand lady when we are there to deliver.  She gave us a tour of the NICU.  You should see the babies in there!  They were SO tiny and fragile.  So cute.  It was so crazy to think that our son will be there.  She showed us the O.R. room where I'll have the c-section.  It was cold and sterile in there.  Definitely not trying to win a decorating contest there!  It was a little overwhelming to see that.  I am nervous about having a c-section already and that room made it a tad worse.  We saw the room where the baby will be checked out by a slew of nurses/dr.'s.   
We also met with the neonatologist then as well.  He is going to be one of the people checking little man out right after he is born.  They will put some medicine on his opening and wrap it good so it can't get infected.  The sac is only covered by what they called "wet tissue paper".  Very fragile. 
After meeting with them, we went and spoke with the perinatologist.  She informed us about the delivery and what to expect.  We set a date to come in on 10/3, get an amniocentisis and check for lung maturity.  If he is mature enough, we will delivery that afternoon.  If not, I will be put on steriods that day and then next morning and deliver 10/4.  Then on 10/5, little man will have his back closure surgery.  From there we just fly by the seat of our pants!
All in all, the appts went well.  I guess we were a little disapointed at the end of the day, because of course we want every question answered with details, but with SB you just can't get that while your pregnant.  They say being pregnant is the worst part and let me tell you...it is!  Now, just thinking, we have to wait 10 weeks still!  I know it will fly by, but it just seems like SO FAR away!
God gave a us a peace while we were there though.  We know that we are going to be in good hands there and that little man will be taken really good care of as well.  God is in control and His plans are far better than the plans that we can make.  It's so comforting to rest in His comfort and knowing that He will carry us through this time. 
We will continue to be monitered by ultrasound every 4 weeks in Reno by the perinatologist that discovered the SB.  Also, regular OB visits to my local dr.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers.  One big concern now is going into labor early.  If I go into labor here, they'll have to come get me by helicopter ($$$) and fly me to San Fran.  If I labor too long here, I'll have to deliver here and they'll come get the baby and fly him to San Fran...while I stay here until discharge, talk about heartbreaking!  So, we really need prayer that we could make it to San Fran before delivery.  Also that God would continue to give us peace and that we wouldn't worry about things we don't have control over (everything!).
Thank you for praying for us.  It gives us so much strength and encouragement to know that people are praying for us.
We'll continue to keep you updated as we progress!!