Sad news...

August 9th, Matt and I went to the Calgary Women's Imaging Centre for a routine ultrasound. Everything went well, and Matt was able to see our little baby for the first time. What an amazing experience! We left the imaging centre as proud parents holding the first photos of our baby. I don't know if it was instinct or the vibe that I got from the ultrasound technician, but I had a feeling that something was wrong. Matt told me that his view of everything looked good, and maybe I was just being nervous. The next day I got a phone call from my doctor saying that I needed to come in as soon as possible. Matt and I presumed this was routine, as I had my first appointment with my new obstetrician later that week. The next morning I went off to the doctor on my own as Matt was still recovering from jetlag. This doctor's appointment turned out to be the worst appointment of my life. He told me that the ultrasound showed that there was possible defects with our baby's right arm and both of the feet. He said that we needed to go to the Fetal Medical Centre in Calgary immediately. I called Matt and tried to explain what I had been told through many tears. We immediately went to the Genetics Hospital and spoke to several doctors and genetics specialists who said that we needed to come back in a few days for further testing.

On August 15th, Matt, my mom and I went back for testing. This turned out to be one of the worst days of our lives. After several hours of ultrasounds and an amniocentesis, we found out what was wrong with the baby that we were expecting. The results were worse than we expected. The doctors confirmed the radial ray defect in our baby's right hand and the presence of clubfoot in the right foot. The next piece of information we received dealt us a crushing blow as we learned that our baby had a severe case of Scoliosis. As the doctor scanned my belly he pointed out the curve of baby's spine, it was approximately 90 degrees. As a result of the curvature in the spine, our baby's heart and lung development was being seriously compromised. At that moment we knew the situation was more complicated than we anticipated. Sadly, as we left the clinic we realized that we may never have a chance to see our baby born healthy or get the chance to raise her... We were expecting a baby girl.


Jenn