The 20-week ultrasound in our first pregnancy began as a joyful event, but quickly turned into one of those punched-in-the-gut experiences. After our peek at the baby’s profile and his 10 little toes, the technician became stone-faced as the ultrasound wand moved to our baby’s brain.
We were sent to meet with a grim-faced doctor who gave us the news that there were large choroid plexus cysts in his brain, a condition associated with the fatal Trisomy 18. Next, a genetic counselor implored me to undergo amniocentesis to confirm the diagnosis, a test which itself carries a 1 in 200 chance of causing miscarriage. Not liking those odds, we declined.
Four months later, the cysts had cleared up, as doctors now know they often do, and that baby is a thriving, 6 foot, 16-year-old boy — a straight-A student and cross-country runner.
