[MUSIC]
So, about 26 weeks into my pregnancy,
Muriel had been very consistent.
I would feel her kicking like clockwork.
And over the course of the fourth of July week,
started to slow quite a bit.
To the point where on the 4th of July, I didn't feel her at all.
>> Fetal tachycardia has two big problems associated with it.
One is, it can lead to heart failure.
And if you don't treat it, it can actually kill the baby.
The other thing is that it damages the heart muscle.
If the heart muscle works hard all the time,
then it takes a while to recover from that.
So, for those two reasons, it's important to actually treat
a tachycardia before the baby is born.
>> The ultrasound actually showed hydrops,
fluid in her system.
>> So, I simply said, well,
we don't have the technical experts.
Johns Hopkins does, so
you're going to have to go up to Baltimore.
>> Fetal therapy basically is managing or
treating fetal disease while the baby's still in the womb.
And it can take several forms.
Sometimes, it can be just monitoring the baby just to make
sure the well-being is still preserved.
Sometimes, it could be treating the mother with medications that
cross the placenta and treat the baby.
Sometimes, you actually fetal surgery where you go into
the uterus and operate, it depends on the conditions.
So, the first step is always evaluate the problem,
find out exactly what the diagnoses is, and
then choose the appropriate treatment.
>> He said, well, let's admit her.
Let's admit your wife and we'll get her on the machines and
we'll try and figure this out.
>> Some testing, figure it out.
>> He basically said, but
I wanna check one more time on the ultrasound.
As soon as he started wanding her, her heart rate went into-
>> Shot up.
Her heart was basically beating double-time.
>> The baby just happened to show me an episode of a rapid
heartbeat when I examined the baby.
So, that actually made it easy for us because we had
a diagnosis and we knew what we had to treat.
We treat fetal arrhythmias regularly.
>> You have to understand. It was such a roller coaster and
there was so many, we had no idea what was happening.
And to have him sit there and kind of chuckle and go, oh,
it's SVT.
>> It's almost, in my mind, he said I got this.
And his point was, I understand what this is, and
this is treatable.
From that moment on, we were visiting at least twice
a week through the rest of the pregnancy.
Going up for ultrasounds, and in the care of Dr.
Bashad and his team.
>> Each of the visits, we didn't talk necessarily about me,
even though I'm technically the patient.
It was all about Muriel.
We were treated as two people, not as a mother and fetus.
She was part of the process.
So, I mean, I think that was one of the most reassuring pieces
about the entire process.
>> And now we're facebook friends.
>> [LAUGH] Exactly.
>> And I have to say, it's the most personalized care I've ever
experienced in my life.
Between the pregnancy and then through the birth, which is also
another fun one, coz Dr. Bushot didn't have to be there.
But there he was at 1 AM.
>> For fetal therapy specifically,
you have to be able to take care of the mother and the fetus.
And once the baby is born, of the child.
And so, Johns Hopkins Hospital is one of the very few
institutions where actually all the services are in
the same hospital at the highest level of acuity.
So, you have the highest level of acuity of maternal care,
of fetal care, and neonatal and pediatric care.
And that's rare, actually.
>> This baby is now happy and healthy, and
we're getting ready to wean her away from the second medication.
>> Yeah. >> In time for
her first birthday.
>> Yup. [LAUGH]
[MUSIC]