Veins, Veins, Go Away!

You know, near the end of my pregnancies, when my legs were swollen, I sometimes noticed varicose veins. I hoped they would go away, and they did. Little did I know that I would soon be worrying about varicose veins of a different, more dangerous kind...and it would be in my baby girl.  Well, I may be getting ahead of myself...but I am just really nervous at the moment, since I woke up this morning and noticed a dark, prominent vein across Elise's tummy....suggestive of portal hypertension and the associated gastric varices.

About a week ago, I posted a graphic, somewhat shocking picture of a bloody diaper related to another child's GI bleed.  So one can imagine how easily I begin "catastrophizing," thinking that Elise has these dangerous veins in her tummy that are about to burst, bleed, need banding, and ultimately accelerate her need for a liver transplant.

Elise has not actually been diagnosed with gastric varices or portal hypertension, but I suppose I should provide a little explanation for anyone interested. Gastric varices are dilated veins in the stomach, which can cause GI bleeding and can be life-threatening. This problem is commonly found in patients with portal hypertension, or elevated pressure of the portal vein system, which is a complication related to cirrhosis of the liver. Elise's liver biopsy and surgical report did indicate that there there is some cirrhotic tissue present in her liver, although the surgeon stated that he did not find her liver to be severely damaged at the time of the Kasai procedure.

I'm going to try not to worry too much about it for now...but I will be asking for an ultrasound at our next clinic appointment.

Anyway...

Veins, veins, go away..

Don't come back some other day!

Elise's liver wants to stay...

Veins, veins, just go away...

And don't come back another day! 

So who's ready for some good news??  Here it is....Ethan started walking last night!! FINALLY!! Oh, we had so much fun watching him walk back and forth from me to David, and all around the kitchen and living room. Of course, he had lots of falls...and each time he fell, he would get so frustrated!  It was so cute!!

And Ethan isn't the only one reaching a milestone...Elise rolled over from her back to her stomach for the first time today!! She's not a big fan of "tummy time," but I've still been encouraging it, and all of a sudden, she just rolled right over to her stomach! These are just the best times ever!!

Tomorrow, Elise is scheduled to have her 4-month pictures taken! Kristen Purcell, of La Vie Fine Art Photography will be taking her pictures. Kristen took my maternity portraits for both pregnancies as well as all of Ethan's pictures, our family pictures, and Elise's newborn pictures. The time, thought, and effort she puts into her sessions is exceptional. She is truly a phenomenal professional photographer.  Anyway, I am so looking forward to Elise's photo session tomorrow.  It will be one of those wonderful opportunities to put liver disease aside and just enjoy my baby!