My name is Donna Wells and I am Duncan's mom. This page will hopefully relay information and our personal story of Duncan's birth and the unexpected plunge we took into a previously unknown world of Achondroplasiaand dwarfism. I will also have information on a medical condition called Hashimoto's Diseasewhich I was diagnosed as having six months after the birth of my son. It is my hope that if you, too, have been unexpectedly plunged into either of these two worlds and have been having difficulty finding personal stories that this site will be of help and comfort to you. You are not alone! If you've already looked at Duncan's Photos Page then you know that he was born in April of 1998. We never dreamed that three could possibly be any problem with the baby until the day of his birth. The pregnancy had been almost textbook perfect and I felt wonderful. We were so happy that our first child together would be arriving soon and Don's 12-year-old son, Chris, was ecstatic that he was going to have a brother. I worked as a Secretary/Receptionist until three weeks before my due date with few problems. Duncan was due to be born on April 7, 1998 and we couldn't wait.

April 7th came and went without any sign that Duncan was even considering making an enterance into the world. April 11th and he was five days overdue and I was absolutely miserable We tried everything to get him to come. We went to the park and walked until I thought my legs were going to fall off. We went to the mall and did the same thing. My mother-in-law, who is an avid Houston Aeros Hockey fan, even took us to a game so I would be forced to climb up and down stairs all evening. No Duncan! I was getting huge and desperate.

On April 14th I went to my doctor to see what the holdup was. He said that he would induce if the baby didin't decide to come on his own by April 21st. That seemed like an eternity to me. He also sent me for a high level ultrasound on April 15th to see if the baby's environment was still safe and he was getting everything he needed. They would also take body measurements again to make sure he was still growing properly as he had been at the five month ultrasound and from the doctor's abdominal palpatations. I just wanted the baby to hurry up and come. He was kicking like crazy so I knew he was fine. I wasn't worried about anything.

Duncan decided to get things rolling on his own at 1:00 am on April 16th. We were so happy and went straight to the hospital thinking that in a few hours we would have a perfect little bundle of joy. We would finally get to see the little boy we had waited so long for. We thought things would go smoothly with no problems. After all, there hadn't been any difficulties with the pregnancy. How wrong we were.

The doctor said I wasn't dialating so he was starting a Potosin drip to speed things up. He said that we would have a baby before the morning was out. Our first clue that there might be a problem was when my doctor told us that the ultrasound from the day before showed that the baby's longbones in his arms and legs were just a little bit shorter than normal so he was going to have a neonatologist present for the delivery. He said not to worry because he thought it was just that my family are all so very tall and my husband's family are all so very short. We were going for natural labor - no drugs, just breathing. I made it through the first eleven hours that way. At 12:30 pm I gave in and let them give me a couple of pain shots. I have no idea what the medicine was because I was still busy breathing. At 7:00 pm I agreed to an epidural because I couldn't breathe anymore. I was so exhausted that I went to sleep almost immediately.

I awoke when a nurse rushed in and yanked the covers off of me. "What's wrong?" I asked. "The baby's in fetal distress. You're going in for an energency Caesarian." They literally threw the scrubs at my husband and best friend who was my secondary coach. It was just a little after 8:30 pm. At 8:49 pm my beautiful son entered the world. The doctor's response to me was one of absolute surprise. She said, "My God, Donna! No wonder you couldn't deliver him. Your boy's got a BIG head!"

The doctor had the neonatologist present for the delivery. As my husband stood by and watched our new son being examined, she turned to him and flatly stated, "We're not sure what's wrong with him but we think it's non-lethal." My husband almost fainted. All he heard was "lethal". I remained blissfully ignorant.

And So It Begins . . .

Duncan was immediately placed on oxygen because he was having difficulty breathing. We had planned on rooming in with the baby so we had a private room. Only now my son would have to stay in the nursery while Don and I were alone in that big, private room. I would not be allowed to hold him until they could determine what was wrong. They had taken me through the nursery from recovery to see my baby and was told not to be alarmed by the oxygen tent, IV's, feeding tube and monitor electrodes that were hooked up to his little body. They said it was because he was having a little difficulty breathing due to the C-Section. I was too exhausted to ask any questions. I was allowed a five minute look and was taken to my room - without my baby.

Don got me settled and went back to the nursery to check on the baby. He met the neonatologist there. She told him that they had taken X-Rays of Duncan and they thought he might have something called Achondroplasia. He had never heard of any such thing. She told him that the baby was a dwarf. She also told my husband that the baby would have normal intelligence but his body would be very different and that there were special precautions that had to be taken. Duncan would be transferred to Texas Children's Hospital immediately by ambulance because he couldn't coordinate his suck, swallow, breathe reflex and was having difficulty breathing on his own. They also wanted a DNA test to verify a diagnosis of Achondroplasia. Don was now left with the task of telling me what they thought might be wrong with our baby and that they still didn't know if he would live. He decided to wait until morning to tell me what they thought might be wrong. All he told me that evening was that Duncan would be transferred early the following morning for special care and tests.

Don called all of our family and closest friends before going to bed. They were told that the baby would be transferred fairly early and could they please be there at the hospital with us when he was taken away. Sure enough, everyone showed up bright and early. The paramedics brought Duncan up to my room in an incubator, still under his oxygen tent and wired. For the first time, I was allowed to touch my baby through the side of the incubator from my bed. All I could do was stroke his tiny hand and tell him how much I loved him as tears streamed down my face. Within five minutes Don and I, as well as our entire family, said hello and goodbye to our newest member. When that small group of people walked out of that hospital room door with my baby I lost all control. It started as a low moan and grew. I knew that something was terribly wrong because of the looks of pity I received from the medical staff, friends and family; not to mention the transfer. I've never been so freightened in my life. My body was racked with sobs and I couldn't seem to breathe. After more than nine months and over 18 hours of labor my arms were empty.

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