I went to a normal check up with my OB about 2 months ago. He asked if I had got an appt scheduled with some specialist. I didn't know what he was talking about and so he explained that in Zachary's ultrasound (this may be super late but we've named our little guy Zachary Mike May in case you hadn't heard) they found an EIF in his heart. EIF is an acronym for a really long word that makes you sound smart if you know it but is basically a calcium deposit in his heart. They also found some bright spots in his bowels, which also has a fancy word that I don't remember. So they were sending us to a specialist but not to worry, these things usually end up being nothing. Okay, great. I was a little concerned but Tommy and I felt like whatever the Lord had in store for us, we would be able to handle.
Two days before the appointment, I looked up the place and the doctor. Come to find out, this doctor specialized in high risk pregnancies such as babies with heart issues, older moms, and a lot of scary stuff. Okay, I was a little more nervous but still felt like things would be okay. We get to the place, we're getting the ultrasound done and the tech says, "yep, there's that EIF" and I ask, "is that bad?" and she says, "Well, it's a soft marker for down syndrome" WOAH,WHAT?!! So Tommy and I are sitting there not even knowing what to think while the ultrasound tech is silently kicking herself for realizing what a huge bedside manner mistake she made.
So we're led into another room have a nurse, a nurse practitioner, and the specialty doctor herself all explain to me the same thing. The bright spots in the bowel and the thing in the heart are in and of themselves not a big deal but they are soft markers for downs syndrome and increase the likely hood when they are both present. Everytime one of them leaves, I start to cry. Having a baby is a life changing experience. Having a baby with downs syndrome is a doubly life changing experience. Tommy and I felt completely blindsided by the information. I was prepared to hear that he might have a heart issue or need surgery in the future, but this was big. So then we were told we could schedule an amniosenthesis (however you spell that one) and we could know for sure.
So my excuse for not writing more on this blog is I really was dealing with a major issue and didn't really feel much like blogging. First off, the test results came back negative and Zachary is alright. Looking back, we may have overreacted, but when it's your child, I think it's different. Emotionally at times it was draining. But it increased my testimony tenfold of the atonement and brought me so much closer to my savior. Tommy and I grew closer as well, a feat I didn't think was possible. I learned so much through this experience and I could go on and on about it. I won't because in some ways its just so special, but lets just say it was a long 6 weeks or so. One cool thing is that we got a print out of Zach's chromosomes.
But onto happier topics, my sisters and mom came into town. It was soooo much fun. And, I took pictures!! They are mostly of my niece Delainie, but she's quite frankly the cutest out of all of us so it makes sense. I will admit to one and all though, I'm a terrible aunt. I never changed a single diaper while she was here. Shellie, the younger sister, would get up in the middle of the night with Delainie. Do I have a good excuse of being seemingly really pregnant, sure, but Shellie's at 21 weeks pregnant and she's like super aunt. I promise to make it up some day.
