Wednesday, February 18, 2009

my first international heart check-up

so as a precaution for my pregnancy, i was referred to a achd (here they call them GUCH - grown ups with congential heart defects) card for a 17 week check-up. he did an ekg and an echo, and all looks great. my heart is responding well to the pregnancy and my new valve doesn't seem to be affected at all.

he will see me again at 30 weeks, and at that point he, my high-risk OB, and an anesthesiologist will meet to discuss how to proceed with labor and delivery. the good news is that my heart condition will not likely be any concern. other than a big fat dose of antibiotics, but hey - who am i to complain? my shortness of breath, dizzy spells and arrythymias are just pregnancy issues, not heart issues. great news.

the truly amazing thing is the socialized healthcare system that is in place in sweden. i've heard many things about how difficult socialized systems can be, but from my experience, it's some of the best care i've ever recieved... and it's free!

you don't get to choose your docs, you're just assigned to your neighboor hood clinics unless you need to see a specialist. but i get notices in the mail for my appt times and where to be, and that's it. i show up, get great care, and leave. it's all extremely efficient. for some specialists (achd included) there is a $10 copay. however, no patient can pay more than $100 in copays per year. so if you hit that max, then even your specialist copays are free.

this turned into a bit of a rant, but when are we going to get our heads our of our asses in the U.S. and offer this kind of care to EVERYONE?! FOR FREE!!!!

anyway, we have an ultrasound with a pediatric cardiologist in 2 weeks to make sure the baby's heart is developing normally... but other than that i've had a very uneventful pregnancy so far. we also have a normal mid-pregnancy ultrasound that week, and we're hoping to find out if we're having a Zack or a Zoe.

OH! and i'm starting to feel our little peanut moving. a little everyday. so cool!

3 comments:

Zach said...

I hope its gunna be a Zack! :D

sounds like this socialized healthcare really is cool! glad to hear all is well! see you in a few weeks!

Libbie said...

Amen, sister! Glad everything is coming along as planned! Miss you.

Unknown said...

So glad you're having such a great experience, and that you and little Zack are healthy... Feeling the little bugger move is the best too! Congrats!