A Stitch in Time

22 Weeks Scan and the Cervical Stitch

Sat waiting, waiting in the whitest room i have ever been in.  Just waiting.

It is 11:50am on the 28th October 2015, and I am waiting.  Clare has just been taken to theatre in the Central Delivery Suite, and I can do nothing more than wait for her to come back.

Yesterday we left the house feeling confident, it was the day of our 22 weeks scan.  Clare had been on bed rest for 4 weeks and was hoping to go back to work on light duties.  All we needed to hear was that the cervix had not shortened and was still doing as strong. Anything above 3 cm and we were on track.  I had made sure for the last few weeks that Clare had done nothing, the same four walls, the same routine, and Chewie was adapting well to the lazy days.

The scan rooms were very busy, so we had to wait for a while.  Our new sonographer had read Clare's notes and was up to speed, straight away the cervix was being measured and confirmed at 3.2cm.  The bed rest was working and Clare could go back to work for a few weeks before our next scan.  While the notes were being written we waited, happily smiling, confident.  We always take a sneaky look at the notes before handing them in, just to keep ourselves informed before the clinic meeting.  The measurements said 2.3cm, she did say 3.2 didn't she?  We went back and queried this variance.  The initial measurement, the one that gave us confidence, was the whole cervix wall.  The new 2.3cm measurement was the real crunch, Clare has been funneling for a while, this is were the cervix begins to open and the 2.3 cm was the measurement from the mouth of the funnel to the outer wall.  This was the area that had always been measured.  So 2 weeks ago it was above 3.7cm, and now, after all the bed rest we thought was helping it had dropped 1.5cm.  Anything below 2.5cm is very weak and within serious risk of giving up.

Before we had even had chance to digest this new finding, Clare was admitted to hospital with a pending cervical stitch to be inserted in the morning.  

So here I am waiting, what time is it? 11:55am, it has been 5 minutes? only 5 minutes??

Before we came down to theatre, one of the consultants had explained that there were two outcomes of this procedure, and only two outcomes.

Outcome one: The stitch goes in and Clare comes out of theatre and into recovery

Outcome two: The stitch goes in and there are complications, baby comes out sleeping 

The procedure, I was told, would only take 20 mins to half and hour, but I didn't realise how long this half hour would be.

After 35 minutes I think I stopped breathing, every footstep down the corridor I was waiting for news, doctors, surgeons, midwives all walking past the white room and still no update.  Every time I heard someone walking toward the open door, I sat up hoping that they were coming to tell me everything was fine, but nothing.  I understand that Clare and baby are the most important people right now, but please don't forget about the poor husband and father sat there in this whiter than white room with no update, nothing, just waiting

Waiting

Eventually a surgeon came into my white room and explained that everything is fine, and Clare the stitch procedure is now in action, the reason for the delay was down to Clare refusing to have any strong veins, and equipment to be cleaned, the set up took longer than expected.  She took me to the recovery room and explained that Clare would be around 20-30 minutes and then she would be joining me.

Another 20 to 30 minutes more! More waiting!

When Clare arrived in the recovery room looking like nothing had happened, she commented that I was looking rather pasty and teary! No wonder ! The procedure had been a success and the stitch had been put in place perfectly.  No issues, no concerns.  Clare was kept in hospital for another 24 hours purely to observe and keep a close eye.

After an uneventful and lonely night Clare is now back home and resting.  Every twitch, twinge, ache or groan makes my heart stop a little.  We have come too close now to lose hope, we have been given an extra bit of strength to carry on but I know at the 24 week scan we will not enter as confident.

Thankfully, now, this stitch will hold in the baby for another few months and give Clare the strength to carry on.  The stitch will be removed around 36 weeks mark, and baby should follow pretty quickly after this.

So we are now waiting, waiting for the happy day to come.  Still anxious, still nervous but still waiting