News from Dawn and Harry

I’m sure some of you may have noticed a change in Dawn’s appearance, she is not challenging David for the “Potbelly of the Year” award . . . we are happy to announce that we are expecting baby number 5! Even though we were excited to learn of this development, we were concerned to find out several weeks ago there was a possibility of a chromosomal abnormality. Because of Dawn’s A.M.A., “Advanced Maternal Age” (she loves that term, I prefer O.L.T. “Old Lady Test”) she had a first trimester screening test. When we received the results of the first test they told us there was a 1 in 7 chance we would have a baby with Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) and a 1 in 21 chance our baby would have Edward’s Syndrome (Trisomy 18). We began several weeks of anxious waiting (because Dawn had a bad experience with the CVS for her last pregnancy) and had to wait a few extra weeks for the amniocentesis. Last Monday Dawn went in for the amnio and pre-amnio ultra-sound. She went with Trudy Atherton, who is a saint and was there to hold Dawn’s hand and support her. I could not go because I had to stay with the other kiddies.

The results of the pre-amnio ultra-sound were not good. The doctor told Dawn our baby had a host of abnormalities – bilateral cleft lip and pallet, short femur, distended kidneys, and calcification on the heart, to name a few. The doctor was very kind and understanding, he told Dawn it looked like Trisomy 18, but we would not know for sure until we got the results of the Amnio. Dawn called me and told me the news. The first few days were very hard. We got the results of the Amnio two days later and found out our baby has Trisomy 13 (Patau’s Syndrome) which is very rare.

Dawn and I feel this baby has been sent to us for a reason. We feel honored to have been chosen to be the one family in ten thousand to welcome this baby. We know it will be a tough road for us all, but we are ready for the challenge. The baby will have an uphill battle just to make it full term and survive the birth process. We hope and pray that we can have the chance to hold him in our arms even if it is only for a few moments. That’s right, we broke the Terrill tradition and found out the gender . . . our little baby is a BOY!

I posted a link to a video that Dawn and I really like. If you would like to learn more about Trisomy 13 www.livingwithtrisomy13.org is a very insightful and supportive website.

I hope no one is offended that we did not call everyone individually, however, we felt this would be the best way to share the news and provide information.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Love,

Harry, Dawn, Eve, Porter, Harry William, Isla and Baby number five.