One Year Ago Today

One year ago, we got an ultrasound done to determine whether Tayler had down syndrome or not. It was something that they had been telling us for 9 weeks (ever since I had an ultrasound at 18 weeks.) After many calculations, they found that there was entirely too much fluid around her and that she had chloroplexus cysts on her brain. 

I was a wreck. Week after week, I just sat and rubbed my belly wondering if my baby would live to be an adult? Would she struggle with different things in life? Would she make it through the birth? I had no idea what to expect. I remember going through all of the ultrasound pictures and just looking at her, trying to figure out if she 'looked' like she had down syndrome. I would google ultrasound pictures of babies that were also diagnosed with this. It was a bit morbid, but as a mother, I wanted to just be prepared. I did not want to be caught off guard anymore.

On December 26th, 2010 they declared me 'high risk' and my doctor's office no longer took me in as their patient. The only way they would do it is if I got a clean bill of health on our appointment at the OSU Medical Center on January 7th, 2011. 

That morning came. We had to be there at 745AM, so we had to get moving rather early! I remember throwing up 3 times before we even left the house... not really out of morning sickness... out of nervousness and fear. We got there and I filled out all of my insurance information. They did a physical examination and then it was the moment of truth.

I remember walking into the ultrasound room. There was a nifty little chair for me to sit in and there were plenty of chairs around it for my mom, dad, and husband, Ethan. I know they were just as nervous as I was. The ultrasound technician squirted the gel onto my tummy.. and we were off. 

At first, she confirmed that Tayler was indeed a girl. We'd already known this since I was 16 weeks pregnant, but it was still good to hear :) She showed us Tayler's lungs, her heart, her kidneys, her feet, her legs, her face... everything. She wanted to check all parts of her body to determine that everything was as it should be and most importantly--- that they were all healthy. As she check-marked down her list, the very last one was THE BRAIN. This was the scariest part. She flipped to one side of my stomach and you could see the top of our sweet Tayler's head. She started showing the different ventricles and what made up her brain. And she said those words, "If she does have chlroplexus cysts, you will see black circles right in this area." I could have sworn I saw them and my stomach sank. I thought I was going to vomit. We were all on pins and needles just waiting for the word. And the technician then said:

"I don't see anything. She is perfectly healthy."

THANK YOU JESUS!

We had been praying for SOOO long about this situation. We were all worried, but we knew all that we could do was put it in God's hands. He designed Tayler and He could take care of her better than any of us could. 

It was such a relief. I remember hugging everyone and crying. After that, we met up with my brother who lives near there for breakfast to celebrate. We are SO blessed and SO thankful that God hears our prayers and takes care of our loved ones! I would have loved and taken care of Tayler regardless, but I am just so very thankful that she is as healthy as she can be!

Prayer is powerful and that proved it to me! 

The following are the ultrasound pictures from that day. Enjoy the miracle of God :)

We love you, our spunky Tayler! :)