This morning we walked over to the Children's Hospital with all three of the kids. We took Rachel in for a tummy ultrasound and a blood test. Dave took Ethan and Abigail to play elsewhere while I had Rachel. The tummy ultrasound took a long time - things are complicated and the radiologist had not seen her before. We haven't spoken with a Doctor about those results yet. Rachel had to fast for 3 hours before the ultrasound. This turned out to be no problem for her. In fact, I think she only had 10mls between 6am and noon. (15mls is one tbsp) As I waited for the Radiologist to finish looking at the results (i was alone in the room with Rachel), she had her eyes open for a long time. I sang songs to her about Jesus and heaven. It was a precious time.
As I waited at the Lab to do the blood test, our Geneticist came over to talk with me. From the start, there were a combination of factors that indicated the presence of a genetic defect of some kind. The results of the initial blood test (from the cord blood at birth) are in. They are normal, meaning that all 46 chromosomes appear to be intact and there are no extra or missing ones. The blood they drew from Rachel today will be used for a more in-depth test in which 40,000 genes will be studied. We will not get the results back from that test for another 6 months. Whatever the result, Dave and I know that Rachel is not here by chance - she is designed by her Creator. Whatever we know about her body or will learn does not change our love for her.
We are still thinking of going home with Rachel. But we know there will be extra challenges. For one, the kids have gotten used to watching alot of TV...they actually know what Treehouse is now. The first day we were here, Ethan kept asking me to 'pause it' because he was used to just watching movies...yes, this movie runs all day....
We don't know how long we will have with Rachel - if God give us more than a month with her, we want some of that to be in our home. We are so thankful for a place like this to come back to when we need.
ok, we're off to supper...
4 comments:
WOW! Each day is a blessing.We are still believing for the impossible.God said "ALL things are possible"luke 18:27
It would be a blessig to have her at home,knowing you can go back anytime..I can almost picture her bedroom with this little rocking chair close to her crib...Thanks again for sharing so much... ,so we also know what to pray about.
Peace to you
Much love
Janet
I was just looking at the pictures, and I had the one where Abigail is holding Rachel above the one of Rachel sleeping (with her soother above her head, and boy, are their facial features ever similar! I think rachel has exactly the same nose and mouth as Abigail. I also think in this particular picture Abigail looks a lot like her Auntie Jen - I never noticed that before.
I'm glad the ultrasound wasn't stressful for you and Rachel. I'm praying that you guys will have wisdom to make a good decision about whether or not to go home with her. May you sleep very peacefully and well, and be renewed for tomorrow.
Love to you all,
Carol
Thanks for updating us so regularly. I was home too late to call you tonight (Camerata Nova concert -- Venice, Vespers and Viols), so it was nice to see you had posted about your day of testing etc on your blog as I was very curious about how it had all gone. Glad it went well, whatever the results may be. I like how you say that Rachel is not here by chance, but made by her Creator for a purpose. Love you! Mom Funk
Rachel is definitely not here by chance. Such a little tiny angel, and yet the blessings that have come because of her are endless. We've never met her, and yet we have forever been touched by her, and her family.
Glad to hear that she wasn't upset for all the tests.
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