The Call

Ecclesiastes 11:5 "As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things."

You know how there are some things that happen in life and you will never forget where you were or what you were doing when you found out? Like when 911 happened, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. I'll never forget. Well, this was one of those moments. The phone call I got after my first ultrasound at 18 weeks. The nurse informed me that an abnormality was found... fluid on the heart and I needed to come in for another ultrasound as soon as possible. It was a Friday and I was leaving for Florida for a family vacation for 10 days... could it wait? They said it could and I was free to go. I figured that meant it wasn't so bad... I mean, fluid on the heart seemed like a physical problem they could fix. I refused to look it up online or ask anyone about what it could be for those 10 days (anyone who knows me, is not surprised!). It turned out to be fluid on the lung and not the heart, but it wasn't until I was sitting in the genetic counselors office talking about trisomys and amniocentesis and termination of pregnancy and all sorts of major complications did I even realize that this was more than a simple physical problem. I didn't even understand what I was doing in a genetic counselor's office at all... I mean who was this lady and why did she want me to talk about "termination of pregnancy?" Really? Nothing made sense to me. I was blind sided to tell the truth. This sounded really serious all of a sudden. So, when I don't know what is happening, I always go back to what I do know. God is good. God loves me. God is in control. God knows and loves this baby. God has a plan and it is better than mine.

Here is part of our first update.

Our baby boy (100% positive on that now) has a pleural effusion in the left side of his chest which is pressing against his left lung and pushing it and the heart to the right. The fluid buildup is not allowing the lung to develop normally, but praise God there is nothing wrong with his heart. There is also a slight buildup of fluid at the nape of his neck, which is a marker for Downs Syndrome. There is a very slight chance that the cause is a chromosomal abnormality other than Downs (trisomy 13 and trisomy 18 are the ones we discussed); they are highly lethal, and the baby would likely not survive long if that were the case. We spoke with a genetic counselor who said that the likelihood of a trisomy 21 chromosomal abnormality (Downs) being the cause of the effusion is between 2 and 5%. The other possible known cause is an infection. We were given the option of performing an amniocentesis, but there is a 0.5% risk of miscarriage with the procedure, and it can be done at any point during the pregnancy, so we declined. If the fluid in his chest does not decrease by next week, the doctor will go in and drain the fluid, and that fluid will be used to check for chromosomal abnormalities and infections. If the fluid does not replenish itself (which is preferable), the lung will be able to develop normally, otherwise they may need to put in a shunt. Whether or not a cause for the effusion is found, we will need to monitor our son throughout the pregnancy, and if there is no cause found, the doctor is confident that the situation will resolve itself after he is born.

Please pray for our baby and his mother as we all go through this together.

The biggest decision we had to make that day was the amniocentesis.  You see, if I had done it that day as they suggested,  I would get the results before 21 weeks... leaving "termination of pregnancy" as an option.  They didn't "advise" a "termination of pregnancy," but they wanted us to have "options."  Didn't they know who my Lord was?  Wasn't God still on His throne?  He was not surprised at my circumstances and He had not made a mistake in giving us this child (Colossians 1: 16-17or in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together). God was going to have to take this child if that is what was in His plan... I wasn't giving up!