We had pretty much decided from the get go to have all recommended testing done throughout our pregnancy. I felt I had set the bar for this to be a medically guided pregnancy thus far and just didn't feel right not doing every test they felt was necessary. Did I have to allow all recommended testing to be done? Absolutely not. Did I know any better? Absolutely not.
Up until my 2nd trimester all testing was going well. Blood tests came back good, tests that were meant to be negative were and screens showed us a very healthy growing baby.
Throughout my 1st trimester and into my 2nd, I would, of course, get concerned when I heard what tests were being performed... Tests to check for Cystic Fibrosis, Down Syndrome, Trisomy-21, Trisomy-18, etc. They also performed and would perform what were called "structural ultrasounds" to check limb and spine development. I was always given the reassurance that everything looked great. Of course it didn't help that during my ultrasounds we could still see a teeny little empty sac... just sitting there. It took a very long time to "vanish". That was unsettling.
It came time for my OB's office to take blood to perform what is called the Alpha-Fetoprotein or AFP Blood Test. Just like before I rolled up my sleeve, gave the necessary amount of blood to perform the lab tests and went about my day. This test was not mandatory (none of them really were), but nonetheless I wasn't turning anything down that would continue to give me the reassurance that my baby was healthy.
I was at work when my OB called with the results. Like every other time I was expecting to hear all good news. Famous last expectations... He started telling me that they found elevated levels of protein in my blood and that without further testing they were unable to pinpoint the reason for those levels. And by further testing he wanted to perform an Amniocentesis or Amnio. What? But I'm only 29 years old... I asked him what it could potentially mean and as he began to say those words my heart just sank. Lower and lower... The elevated levels could've very well been due to the Vanishing Twin, but he wanted to rule out 100% the idea of Spina bifida. We needed to make sure the excess levels were not being released from a hole in my baby's spine. Oh God...
I lost it. Completely. What on earth was going on and why was this all happening? My boss wasn't in the office so I picked up the phone to call him and with what little voice I had, I told him I needed to go home and that something might be wrong with my baby. He is a daddy too and understood all too well what I was going thru, so he gave me a few words of encouragement and absolutely told me to go home and be with my family.
From the car I called my husband and he immediately said he would come home and meet me there. I also called my mom. I could barely even talk. Every emotion I had, literally, from day 1 of this whole journey and up until that very moment just hit me. And hard. I cried my poor eyes out until I was swollen times 10. Tears of pretty much any and every emotion. I was letting it all out.
I got home and let my love console me with everything that he could. And finally when I was able to be composed enough to to have a conversation, I called my OB... to schedule our Amnio. I couldn't believe I was having that conversation. There was no way I was going to get this far and let anything happen to my baby. And yet, there I was, accepting to do procedure that has been known to cause miscarriages. We made the appointment to go in for Genetic Counseling, (which my OB recommended we do, just in case the results were something we'd have to cope with) and then to have the Amnio performed. I hung up the phone and the rest of that day was a total blur.
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