The Day Our World Turned Upside-Down
Tuesday October 17th, 2017 - We had been looking forward to this day for months! We had our "target utlrasound" scheduled where we would get extra time with the ultrasound technician, looking at every inch of our baby girl while they checked all of her organs and took measurements to make sure everything was developing correctly. We started by seeing her cute little bum, all 4 chambers of her strong heart, and listening to her heart beat. Unfortunately, our world was flipped upside down just seconds later as the technician set down the transducer and turned to Jaelyn with a saddened look on her face. In barely more than a whisper she said "there's a problem with the baby".
(Tim) "I have always heard people talk about their "heart dropping out of their chest", but up to this point in my life, I had never experienced anything like this. When I heard these words it felt as if all my insides dropped about 2 feet, leaving my heart in the pit of my stomach."
The technician left the room to get our doctor to help examine further and explain the issue. A minute or 2 later, after having time to review the ultrasound pictures, she came into the room and explained that we needed to get to the hospital to meet with the prenatal specialist. She then left the room, explaining that she was going to call the doctor at the hospital right then, and make sure she saw us that day.
We drove to the hospital, feeling numb to everything; not knowing what was wrong with our baby girl, but expecting the worst. We knew she was moving, we could feel her. We knew her heart was beating, we had heard it. So many questions swirled through our minds, so many concerns that we pushed away for fear that they might quickly become our reality. After waiting in the lobby for what felt like an eternity, we were finally brought back to the ultrasound room. There, a technician began to look at every inch of our baby. We were excited to see our sweet baby Paetyn, but now an ominous feeling of dread and fear lingered in the room. After about 30 minutes the technician finished and told us the specialist would be in soon to go over what they found. We waited for about 30 minutes, as the specialist was called in to assist in a delivery, but those few minutes felt like hours.
The specialist had such a sweet demeanor as she came in and explained to us that Baby Paetyn has a condition called 'Acrania', which means the top of her skull never developed around her brain. From what we understand so far, without the walls of the cranium, her brain won't split into the 2 hemispheres, but rather will morph into a single mass which is "not compatible with life".
She then discussed our options with us. At any time moving forward, we have the option to induce labor and deliver Paetyn. However, since there is no sign of any other abnormalities and all her other organs are functioning as they should, Jaelyn can likely carry Paetyn to full-term. Because of the exposure of her brain to the amniotic fluid, and the lack of protection for her brain as she grows and moves, after she is delivered she will likely only live a matter of minutes in this world before she will return back to her Father in Heaven.
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