At the 16 week ultrasound, we were told that our baby was a boy! But then, to our dismay, the sonographer informed us that he appeared to have clubfeet. Still, clubfeet are usually easily corrected so we weren't too upset at this news.
At 20 weeks another ultrasound was done. The radiologist told us that he saw several other problems beside the clubfeet: spina bifida, short forearms, bent wrists, and gestational growth that was far behind what it should have been. We were shocked and frightened by this news, but already so much in love with our little boy that we decided to prepare ourselves to care for a special needs child.
At 24 weeks, another ultrasound - this time a level 2 ultrasound at the University of Washington Hospital. The perinatologist/radiologist told us that in addition to the other problems already seen, Daniel had Lemon Sign (abnormal skull shape) and Hydrocephalus. Even without amniocentesis, given all the markers observed, he was 95 % certain that Danny had Trisomy 18.
As sad, difficult and scary as all this was, we knew we had to see it through and give our son a chance to live. We hoped we would be able to meet our Danny boy, living, and be able to spend some, even a little time with him.
This was not to be. Our sweet baby died in utero at 31 weeks gestation and was stillborn on August 29, 2000. He was a beautiful little baby - and weighed just 2 lbs, 1 oz. Our birth experience was handled very reverantly and gently by our wonderful nurses and the doctors who attended us. We were able to keep Danny with us for about 5 hours. We baptized him, sang to him, took photos, and told him how very loved he was and how very much we had wanted him. He was there with us, though not in his tiny body. Even so, it was very hard to let him go when the time came.
We had a beautiful funeral mass for Daniel. Our family, friends and community embraced us with their love and support and helped us celebrate Daniel's short life and his worth as a child of God and of the Universe. These good folk had also surrounded us with love and prayer all during our short time with Danny. And this energy, this coming together of all these Humans is one of the miracles of Danny's short stay with us. There have been many more since.
We miss our son incredibly. Yet, we have been so blessed. We are grateful.
~ Kurt, Lee Ann and Rebecca Scherman Fralick
