Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Cystic Hygro-what?

I've delayed writing this for a while simply because I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. I've decided to stick with the facts and leave it at that for now. We went 2 weeks ago for a routine ultrasound and found out the baby has a cystic hygroma, which is basically increased fluid and cysts on the back of the neck. It can be an indicator of chromosomal abnormalities, most commonly Turner's syndrome. We met with a specialist last week who confirmed the diagnosis. Here's what we know: there's a 50% chance that this child could be born with a genetic syndrome. There's also a chance this baby could develop fluid around the heart and experience heart failure. There's a chance the baby might not make it to term. And there's a chance the baby will be fine. 

We're pretty sure we won't be having an amniocentesis to check for genetic problems, so we'll just be monitoring the baby every 3-4 weeks with ultrasounds to check for fluid around the heart. Right now everything else appears to be fine and the baby's growth is on track. During the ultrasound last week, we watched the baby bounce around and even drink the amniotic fluid. We could see his/her little chin moving back and forth. Despite the grim statistics and negative information the specialist insisted on reiterating, this little baby is a gift from God and we're trusting him, regardless of the outcome. 

3 comments:

Brooke said...

keeping yall in our prayers! keep us posted!

and goatee...ha!!! :)that is funny!

~ Kelly said...

Oh Whit. I hate to hear that. I'm sure it's scary to think about. I'll keep you guys in my prayers.

~Kelly

Cassie said...

We are praying for you all! I am so glad the new doctor has been encouraging. When Kohen made his traumatic entry, there were several doctors who wanted us to put him through brain scans to look for damage from lack of oxygen- we were a wreck thinking about all the "what ifs." It was so reassuring when one doctor told us, "I don't see a reason to [do brain scans]- just take him home, love and enjoy him and watch his growth. Don't think about it unless you see something, just like you would with any baby." So that is what we did. And he has followed the developmental text book almost to the day. I think some doctor feel they need to emphasize the "what ifs" instead of giving a realistic picture. Keep us posted, we wanna know who to expect- baby boy or girl!!