When Mommy was around 10 weeks pregnant with me she had to go in for an unexpected ultrasound and the doctor detected that I had an owie. Daddy and Mommy were completely devastated that something was wrong with their little baby.
The condition is called Omphalocele (oom-fal-o-seal) it is an abdominal wall defect where the baby's organs are outside of its body when it is born. During the first 10 weeks of pregnancy the organs are developing they go up inside the umbilical cord and are supposed to turn around and go back inside but with omphalocele they do not return back into the abdomen. Once I am born they can do surgery to fix it and put everything back in.
Baby's with omphalocele can have other problems too, chromosomal abnormalities. A lot of the doctors encourage couples to terminate the pregnancy if these chromosomal disorders are found and just "start over". My Mommy and Daddy got frustrated with the doctor's who said these things because they knew they loved me from the second they found out I was on the way and would never hurt me. Mommy had a test done, sort of like an amniocentesis, called a CVS test and a FISH test. Some of the associated chromosomal problems that we babies with Omphalocele can have are called Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome). Trisomy 13 & 18 are lethal, which means that the baby will either die in utero or soon after birth. There are also other problems that can go along with Omphalocele. But the 3 mentioned are the main ones. With the FISH test it tests to see about these 3 chromosomes. We are only suppose to have 2 each, like a pair, of these chromosomes. If it shows 3 that is when there is a problem.
Mommy and Daddy got the results back from the FISH test around August 9, 2004. The geneticist said that the test came back good that they tested 50 cells for each of the chromosomes and all 50 only had 2 like they were suppose to. So that is AWESOME news!! Mommy dreaded that phone call for a week. She can now breathe a slight sigh of relief. Praise the Lord. So many people are praying for me and God is answering! Mommy has a specialist is in Houston and that is where I will be delivered by a scheduled C-Section. Sometimes baby's like me have to stay in the hospital for months at a time so Mommy & Daddy may be there awhile until I am all better. There is a Ronald McDonald House that Mommy and Daddy can stay in. The cost is $15 a day so please pray that they can afford to stay there so they can be close to me while I get well.
By the way, the test also told Mommy and Daddy that I am a little GIRL! That is how they knew to bring on the PINK!
