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The Diagnostic Ultrasound

I was able to get an in-depth ultrasound appointment scheduled a week following my initial midwife appointment.  It was a rough week of crying, praying, and wondering what, if anything was wrong with my baby girl and if she would be OK.    

We drove up to Long Beach because the center there had the earliest appointment available.  Sitting in the waiting room, waiting to be called back was nerve racking.  Finally the ultrasound tech took us back to one of the rooms.  It was so cold and I was nervous, and wondered what we would find out.  I remember the ultrasound tech was friendly enough and very surprised at hearing this was baby #11 for us.  I prayed as I laid on the table, hoping everything would check out OK and that our baby girl would be fine. The ultrasound tech had a hard time getting all the angles of the baby's heart but said she didn't see any holes or causes for concern there.  She then left the room and we waited for the doctor to come in and give us the results.

The doctor came into the room and was able to get a better picture of the baby's heart.  That's when she found the VSD (ventricular septal defect) in Imelda's heart.  She also mentioned her strawberry shaped head, clenched fists, and the cysts in her brain.  She said that it was very likely that Imelda had Trisomy 18, also known as Edward's Syndrome.  The doctor let us know about more in depth testing we could have done to confirm the diagnosis.  She also mentioned that termination was an option- more than once.  We finally, firmly let her know that termination was definitely NOT an option for us.  There was no way we were going to kill our baby girl.  She was a gift from God and He alone would get to decide when to take her home.  

After the appointment, we were scheduled to meet up with a priest friend for lunch.  We entered the church and I just burst into tears.  One of the priests prayed with us and blessed us with a relic of Blessed Imelda who we had chosen to be our daughter's patron saint.  He sent us home with a framed photo collage of a little boy, Gerard Joseph who also had Trisomy 18, and who he had the honor of baptizing.  Little Gerard lived for two years.  I prayed to him often during the course of my pregnancy.

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