... and I start to take things for granted.

I was worried when she told me she was pregnant again. She had Brody and 19 months later, she had Cloey. Now 14 months after Cloey we will be blessed by another baby in the family. Three babies in less that three years. She does pregnant really well. With the first two she slid into motherhood without so much as a twinge of morning sickness. I was with her during her labors, both of them, so I saw with my own eyes. She doesn’t feel the contractions. None of them. Hard labor for her is saying, "Oh, I felt that one a little." Brody was born in four hours, Cloey in two. So I start to take things for granted. I have two beautiful, robust, healthy grandchildren and I start to take things for granted. She’s flown through two pregnancies, and I start to take things for granted. Until last Wednesday.

Last Wednesday the Nurse called. She asked for Becca. I watched as my daughter’s face turned white. "Today!" I heard her say to the Nurse. A test that screens the baby for a few horribly upsetting diseases; spina bifida, Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18, Trisomy 21, anencephaly and encephalocele came back positive. The Nurse called Becca to make an appointment to come in to talk to the Doctor. Becca wanted it right then. After she hung up the phone she sat with me and told me what the Nurse had told her. Since the Nurse was not a Doctor she couldn’t say anything about the results, just that the screener came back positive. The soonest she could get Becca in was Friday morning at 9 o’clock. I started praying.

Becca couldn’t take the wait. She insisted I drive her to the Doctor’s Office on Thursday. The Doctor was out of the office and Becca, with tears across her cheeks begged the Nurse to tell her which disease her baby had screened positive for. After about 10 minutes of ‘ethics’ talk, the Nurse finally gave it up and shared that the positive markers were for Trisomy. Down’s Syndrome. Becca left the office somber, her face blanched white. "Mommy, I love it already. I’m glad the disease isn’t something that will kill it." I had to pull the truck over. She sort of fell into my arms and sobbed. I tried my best just to soothe her and reassure her, but I have to admit, I cried right along with her.

Friday morning came and we heard the Doctor tell us about the screener. It shows it’s results based on odds. There is a normal range, and Becca’s screener came back with her odds increased for the Trisomys. It doesn’t mean her baby has it, it just elevates the chance

that her baby may have it. Normal for Becca’s stats is 1 in 2000. Becca’s is 1 in 1148. So the Doctor scheduled an amniocentesis.

The amniocentesis was this afternoon. The procedure has it’s risks, but all went very well. When we left the hospital this evening she felt a little better. Becca won’t know anything for three weeks. They send the fluids to the University of Michigan and grow cultures to see all the chromosomes. They study the chromosomes to see if there are any triplets instead of the normal pairs. (That’s what causes Down’s Syndrome; that one extra 13^th, 18^th or 21^st chromosome.)

We were able to see the baby. They did an ultrasound prior to the procedure that showed us the most beautiful sight. I will never tire from the awe that I feel when I have an opportunity to peek inside my daughter’s womb and see my grandchild growing there. To not just hear, but see it’s heart beating, knowing that for the moment, all is well and good.

Becca is upstairs sleeping soundly tonight. I went to check on her a little while ago. She pulled her little ones out of their beds and cuddled up with her babies. Brody is on one side of her and Cloey is on the other ... and my tiny little precious granddaughter is safe in her mommy’s tummy tonight.

Please take a moment and say a prayer for my Becca’s baby, and while you are at it please say a little prayer that Becca finds the strength she needs to get through the unknowing next three weeks. It’s a very frightening time for her, for us, for our family. She has suffered so much emotional pain already at the hands of her husband. She is just starting to take her first tentative steps toward a brighter future. I know that when the results are in, all will prove to be just the way it was meant to be, but until then she could use a little extra prayer to see her through.

love me later~tj