Updates From The Thorson Family: Week 35

Hello Friends and Family,

Well, this week we had a dry run. The first part of the week was absolutely normal, as we continued to prepare for the babies' arrival and the Christmas season.

On Wednesday, we headed to the hospital for a routine non-stress test (or NST) where they hooked Kealy up to fetal monitors to keep an eye on the babies' heartbeats to make sure they are moving and are healthy. After hooking Kealy up, we enjoyed watching and listening to the babies' heartbeats. The nurse was thrilled with the little ones's activity and was ready to send us home, when they began to be concerned about Kealy's blood pressure. It had increased to the point where she was in stage 2 hyptertension. We really had no idea what that meant, but Kealy felt fine and the babies' were great. However, they were increasingly concerned so they ran some blood tests. Again, we weren't really sure what they were looking for, but we waited patiently.

The nurse came back in and told us that Kealy's blood work was fine, but her blood pressure was high, so she needed to take it easy and rest in bed or on the couch at home and we would come back in a few days. I went out to get the car and pick Kealy up, but as I pulled up to the hospital door, the nurse was meeting me instead of my beautiful wife. She informed me that our doctor wanted Kealy admitted right away and that if her blood pressure wasn't lowered they would have to deliver the babies that day!

The next while was quite dramatic. They were rushing to get Kealy situated and on monitors, the nurse told her that she'd be in the hospital until the babies were born, I was frantically trying to call family members and figure out if the babies were coming today and all we could think was, "the dishes are dirty at home!"

Apparently they were concerned with Kealy's high blood pressure turning into a disease during pregnancy called preeclampsia that affects the nervous system and can be serious and the only cure is delivery. We prayed together and prepared for more testing and to see the doctor.

We were thankful that our doctor showed up quickly and reassured us that he simply wanted to observe Kealy for additional symptoms of preeclampsia and would prefer to avoid delivering the babies if at all possible. A little bit relieved, we knew we would be in the hospital overnight, so as Kealy got settled in, I ran home to prepare the house, try and pack what we might need and get back to Kealy before anything else dramatic occurred.

When I returned, I realized that everything had settled down and we were in for a lovely one night's stay at the hospital hotel! Kealy had ordered room service and the nurses were taking excellent care of her. We spent the rest of the day resting and Kealy enjoyed the great hospital food (really, it was good, I had a few bites). We enjoyed a visit from my mom, played some cribbage and watched some tv. Kealy's blood pressure continued to go down and the babies continued to do just fine as well. The nurses continued to monitor Kealy through the night, and she even slept surprisingly well. We had fun in the middle of the night laying their half asleep listening to the beating of our kids' heartbeats. That morning the doctor came to see us again and said that it would be okay for Kealy to be released, but on strict bed rest at home, and that we would need to come back on Saturday (tomorrow) for another NST and blood pressure test.

We checked out of the hospital hotel and arrived home at 11am. We got Kealy settled in and I went out again to get everything Kealy needed and wanted.

She's be doing a great job of resting and taking good care of herself. I am sure it is hard for her being on bed rest, but she has had a great attitude and it has been fun relaxing and pampering Kealy with anything and everything she needs. We've got all the dishes done (thanks to Michelle's help last night) and the house clean and laundry done, and still had time to watch that famous Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story". We've got plenty of work ahead of us when the babies arrive, so today and yesterday has been a time to rest and prepare for the 'not so dry' run that will be coming sometime in the next two and a half weeks.

The doctor told us he'd still prefer to let the twins stay inside of Kealy as long as they can, so we're shooting for the 30th of December when the babies are 38 weeks. But with the prospect of the next 18 days on bed rest, we wouldn't be remiss if they took the babies soon. I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes as we wade through this final stage of pregnancy, waiting for the soon-to-come joyous moment of our little ones' birth.

in Christ,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson