My life has never been as full of so many surprises, until my darling daughter came into this world. After seeing my OBGYN twice, as I had been going to my GP for the first several months of my pregnancy, he decided that I was gaining way too much water, and my blood pressure was rising. He ordered complete bedrest for the weekend at least, as he knew I had just finished working the day before, and had been moving to our new apartment in the city for the last day or two. Guess he didn't trust me to stay off of my feet! Ha Ha. Boy was I mad! Our phone was already disconnected for the move, and we temporarily had no vehicle, as well as the fact hubby had to stay in the old apt out of town because the heat had not been turned on in the new one yet! Basically, I could not reach him directly...though I had no idea I would have to. I settled into the hospital at 4:30 pm that day, mad as heck cause I was stuck there. Well, at 11 pm that night my water broke!!! A month early so I didn't beleive it at first. Neither did the nurses, as there was no warning. After they determined that there was no way my bladder could hold that much liquid (duh!) they called the on call Resident and she called in the doc, as my contractions started exactly two hours later at 3 minutes apart. By that time, I was glad I was there after all!!

All attempts to reach hubby had failed (he sleeps like a rock, and the neighbours couldn't get him at the door - I still bug him about it!), but I really didn't get nervous until the doc examined me, declared her breech and said "Emergency C-section. You want to be awake or asleep?" Chicken that I am, I choose the latter.Boy was I sorry...I missed all the excitement, and the expressions on the faces of the OR staff when my little surprise was born.

No one was prepared for this one, as there was NO abnormalities that showed on 2 U/S I had during pregnancy....dd was born with four legs! Six toes on each extra foot, hence the 22 toes part. Wow! She was taken out at 4:30 in the morning, and they didn't tell me until after 7:30. Guess they didn't know how. My only regret...no one gave me any time to be with her, or hold her, before she was airlifted to The Hospital for Sick Children for further assessment. I only was able to touch her hand through the plastic isolette she was in. So tiny, and so beautiful. I finally got to hold her when she was two weeks old, as I was severely sick with an infection in my incision, and was not able to join her in the hospital which was 3 hours away, until then. We didn't even know for sure she was a girl, as the birth defect also affected her genital area as well, and had to wait for a chromosomal test to be positive, though I named her the day she was born and knew in my heart I had a precious little girl angel.

Now she is 5, happy, energetic, and a survivor of 9 surgeries, including an emergency one just before Christmas to remove an extra bowel no one knew she had, which had burst. She is healthy and outgoing, and very surprisingly, not afraid of doctors, nurses, or even needles - the bravest person I know. She may even still be in pullups for years to come, as a result of a related birth defect, but is the strongest, and most truly beautiful girl I am aware of, who bears her "battle scars" as badges of courage, and a reminder that, after what she has been through: nothing is impossible, nothing is out of reach if you strive for it, and nothing, but nothing, is more precious to us than our children, regardless of who they are or how they look. We need to love them unconditionally, just as they love us the same. Everyone give their little ones a hug and a kiss!!

As an after note, we are searching for survivors of this condition, which is called Caudal Duplication Syndrome, or Dipygus, Pygomelous or Parasitic Twinning. There are only 9 photo documented cases in world medical history, since 1890, and we are unsure of how many of these children are still alive. If you would like any more information, or have any questions, please contact me at jnicholls@kos.net She has also had a very new procedure to deal with her incontinence caused by an imperforate anus, called a Cecostomy Tube. It is only done at Sick Kids in Toronto, Canada, but is being taught to other hospitals as a way of helping them stay accident free every day. Contact me if you are interested in how this works and I will try to put you in touch with the people you will need to talk to. Take care everyone!