On Monday April 7th, Gerard and I received some solemn news about our little Lyric. I had taken a special blood test a couple weeks before this day to check for any chromosomal abnormalities due to a soft marker on my anomaly scan. In the detailed level II ultrasound done by a perinatal specialist she found nothing of concern and said I had a beautiful baby. She offered the blood draw right before we left simply because its covered by insurance, 99% accurate, and zero risk to the baby. I looked at G and said Why not? 2 weeks later a personal call came in from my OBGYN telling me that my blood test results came back extremely high risk for Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome.) He explained this test is 99.9% accurate and that there was a .01% chance of a false positive. In these tests they are able to test the placental DNA in the mothers blood. They cannot test fetal DNA without an invasive procedure and that is why the results cant be conclusive. My instant reaction was shock and sadness. Not because my baby wasnt going to be societys idea of perfect but because a flood of concern about her health came over me. Im aware of the major health issues Downs babies often have. I cant speak for G and how he felt immediately but I can share his reaction. 5 and a half months ago I remember taking a pregnancy test and being shocked at the plus sign. Instant fear thinking to myself this cant be, we just booked a venue for our wedding, this is all too fast. I walked upstairs afraid of his reaction and what stress it would cause him. I handed him the test. My heart was beating out of my chest and I felt faint and on the verge of tears. He raised his eyebrows, looked at me and smiled. I will never forget that moment. Fast forward to me sharing these results with him after asking him to leave work and come home early. He sat there looking insanely worried. I told him what the doctor had said and his face immediately relaxed and he said, You scared me. I thought it was serious. At that moment I realized what I had always believed to be true but was so blatantly obvious in this moment.....I am marrying one of the most amazing individuals on the planet. Hes strong as an ox yet more gentle than any man Ive ever met. I could not imagine a more perfect and more selfless father for our child and his little girls are his first priority above EVERYTHING else. Ive done hours and hours of research and Ive met with genetic counselors. I am surprised to find that 1 in 800 babies are born with Down Syndrome and only 3% of these babies inherited this abnormality from a paternal chromosomal issue. 97% of DS babies are simply an accident of cell division. It is also true that 80% of DS babies are born to mothers UNDER the age of 35. I personally do not believe in accidents of this kind. Lyric is a blessing to us. Sent to us for specific reasons. He already knows this family can love special children unconditionally and Gerard and I now have 3 perfect little girls! Im sharing this publicly because I love my friends and family and I want to ask for prayers. Not for prayers that she comes out completely normal and we find the results to have been wrong but prayers that she is HEALTHY. That is ALL we care about.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 16:28:58 +0000
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