Baby update

On Wed, Jan 9th we went in for our first perinatal visit with our new insurance provider, Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Hamner was very personable and answered all our questions. We spent about an hour doing the ultrasound, and were able to see that the hands appeared to be turned in (because of the missing radia bones in the forearem) and there was a Ventricular Septal Defect (hole in the heart walls). Dr. Hamner indicated that heart problems aren't necessarily fatal and babies can be taken to heart surgery immediately after being born. He also pointed out that Garrett's head wasn't perfectly round as it should be, and was sort of "strawberry shaped".

We went ahead and had the amniocentesis done. The initial results of this test would diagnose problems with chromosomes 13, 18, and 21 (the 3 most common chromosome disorders), and then further DNA testing could possibly also give us some insight into why we keep having "genetic issues". The initial results will be ready in approximately 24 hours, but the further DNA testing will take 8 - 10 days.

Our test results came back late Thurs evening. The amnio indicated that our little Garrett had Trisomy 18, otherwise known as Edward's Syndrome. The survival rate (according to Wiki) is very low. About half die in utero, and of the liveborn, only 50% live to 2 months, and only 5–10% will survive their first year of life.

At this point, we can only pray for a miracle to save Garrett. God has mercifully given both Cher and me peace about this situation. We're still hopeful that God will grant our wish and let us have this baby boy to raise, but we understand that it's not our decision to make. Given all that we've been through, it's only God's compassion and mercy that could keep both Cher and me from being totally wiped out by our circumstances.

Please join us in asking God to deliver our baby to us in May and to let him live out a full, healthy, and complete life.

Love,
Tom and Cher