I remember the day we were heading to the hospital for our 20-week ultrasound hoping to get verification that baby girl was indeed a baby girl. As I mentioned in my last post the whole news of having a girl was a little bit of a shock, the first girl in Marty’s family in over 50 years so a little reassurance wasn’t going to hurt anything. Besides, if we got confirmation we already had a name picked out for our little one.
Lorris Louise
The name Lorris was after my aunt Lorie. Lorie was my mom’s only sister and she and I had always been very close. When I was a little girl I spent many weekends at her house and as a teenager I would spend many summers babysitting her two boys. She later gave me my start in what would be my 16-year career in insurance sales at her State Farm office. She invested in me with her time and made a huge impact on my life. She battled ovarian cancer for 6 years and passed away in 2003.
Her middle name, was after my grandmother, Louise Beasley. My granny is one of the most amazing women I have ever known. She never fails to show the love of Jesus through her smile, words and actions. She loves life and finds joy in the simple things. Last month she turned 94 and she still mows her own grass and will tell you she doesn’t feel a day over 71. Every single time I talk to her she makes me laugh without even meaning to. Just the other day when were chatting on the phone she had been painting rocks to hide at our town's local walking trail and mentioned she’d like to try the taco truck that everyone was talking about on Facebook. Yes, that’s right she saw it on Facebook. She is full of spunk, she is full of life and has a laugh that is completely contagious. Everything I wanted for Lorris.
This ultrasound was called the “anatomic survey” for a reason. Finding out the gender of the baby was just a very small item on their to do list. They would also be taking a very good look at all of her organs to make sure she was doing ok. I had put this ultrasound in front of me as a checkpoint. Once this was over and they told me Lorris was fine I could start really preparing for her arrival. Getting the crib put up, decorating her nursery, and there would be hair bows, lots and lots of huge hair bows.
I was nervous as we made the drive to Bowling Green for the appointment and was looking forward to having the whole experience behind me. Luckily after arriving we didn’t have to wait long before we were called back. The ultrasound tech quickly confirmed that our baby was a girl but really didn’t have much else to say during our appointment, no warm fuzzy details or chitchat. Marty and I left the ultrasound and headed up to the Dr’s office for my regular appointment where he would go over the results. We were heading straight home after the appointment to finish packing for vacation. We were leaving the next day to spend a week in Florida with our boys and Marty’s parents.
When the Dr. came into the room he made some small talk about our upcoming trip and then things suddenly took a serious tone.
“Jenny, I’m going to tell you something and I don’t want you to worry, but I know it will be hard for you not to. (Did this doctor know me or what? ) The ultrasound revealed that your baby has some fluid like pockets on her brain called Choroid Plexus Cysts. I see probably one or two ultrasounds a month where a baby has these. Most of the time they completely resolve themselves before birth and cause no further health issues at all. However, these types of cysts can, in very rare cases be a marker for a chromosomal issue so I am going to send you for a level 2 ultrasound when you get back from vacation just to be on the safe side ”
He went on to say that due to Lorris's position during the ultrasound there were a few measurements and images they weren't able to get and that the level 2 ultrasound would be a perfect opportunity to get those as well.
My heart began to race, and I was barely able to get out the words “When you say chromosomal issue do you mean Downs Syndrome?”
“No Jenny, the cysts are actually a marker for another one that is more severe called Trisomy 18. It’s extremely rare and honestly, I really don’t really think that ‘s what it is but we want to be sure. But Jenny, whatever you do don’t Google it."
When I left the doctors office that day I had an appointment for a level two ultrasound for the Monday after we got back from vacation. I was a mess on the inside, my head was spinning on the way home with a millions thoughts.
"Choroid Plexus Cysts?"
"My baby has a cyst on its brain?"
"More severe than Down’s syndrome?"
I was not a good patient because of course the “googling” began as soon as I had the chance. First I looked up choroid plexus cysts and found that they were indeed very common and more often than not harmless. Much of what I read said that if that was the only abnormality present on the ultrasound then there was a less that 1% chance that there were any chromosomal issue with the infant. However, it also said that if there were any other “soft markers” found, other things going on with the baby, than the chances of the baby having trisomy 18 increased. Then I searched trisomy 18 and found that it was a condition where the baby has an extra 18th chromosome. Then over and over I saw the statistic.
Ninety percent of trisomy 18 babies did not live to see their first birthday. I stopped there, I couldn’t read anymore.
All I had wanted was to get the all clear at the 20 week ultrasound. The “everything looks perfect” pep talk that I had gotten with both my boys when I was expecting them. Instead it was more to worry about than I really ever expected. I’ll be honest; at the time the only chromosomal disorder I knew of was Downs Syndrome (Trisomy 21). I didn’t even know that “may not make it until your first birthday” chromosomal disorders even existed.
Marty tried to encourage me by reminding me of what the doctor said, that Trisomy 18 was rare, and that more than likely Lorris didn’t have it, we were just checking to make sure.
I asked in tears “But what if she does?”
“Then it’s in God’s hands and we have to trust Him.” And as he said it I looked at my husband knowing that for right now he was going to have to have enough trust for the both of us.