I am sorry that I am just now emailing everyone about the ultrasound. It has been a very busy day with trying to unpack. But now I am utterly exhausted and can't unpack another thing. So I thought I would sit, rest, and give you all an update. :)
This was our first ultrasound with the maternal fetal medicine doctor we will be seeing here now that we have moved. The ultrasound tech was really nice and did another LONG ultrasound. This time the ultrasound showed slight bowing in all the long bones in Anna's arms again. The bones in her left leg look pretty straight, but the bones in her right leg look more bowed, especially that femur bone that has always been shorter and more bowed in every ultrasound. What this ultrasound tech was able to determine (and what we were able to visually see on the ultrasound as well) is that when you look at the bones at certain angles they do look straight, but if you look at them from a different angle they look bowed. Once again, her brain, heart, and all other organs look great. Her head, chest, and abdomen are all measuring great. She really looked so precious and is getting SO BIG. This ultrasound, the tech was moving the wand all over my belly! Anna is head down now and has been for a while. We also saw some precious 3-D pics of her sweet little face. She looks like a baby! :)
Sooooooo, while we saw bowing again in her arms, I really felt better about this ultrasound. The tech was really detailed but also very positive during the ultrasound. She was so kind in telling us all about our girl---all the sweet things of how well she is doing. No doom and gloom even though we saw bowed limbs. :) She was also great with Cara. She even took Cara with her for a while when we were meeting with the doctor and played with her! Cara thought it was great fun!
And the doctor was AMAZING!!! He took so much time with us. He actually said to us that we just wanted to answer all our questions! Wow! We haven't had a doctor say that yet! He also said that he is going to be doing research to give all the information possible for the next time we visit. Again, amazing. No rushed 2 minute conversation. So, from our conversation with him this is what we know about Anna thus far: When Anna is born she will most likely look like a normal baby--maybe just a little small. We may be able to look at her limbs and tell they are a little short, but that is really all. She shouldn't have any major problems after she is born. Her general prognosis at this point is that she will be shorter (as in even shorter than me :). She will have a form of skeletal dysplasia but there is really no way to tell at this point exactly what form she will have. They will run a few tests after she is born, but most likely it will just be watching her to see how she grows and develops over time. The doctor did think that she would be able to do normal things like walking, etc, but it just may take her longer (I know all about that with Cara, though!).
The doctor was really just so kind. He took the time to write down Anna's full name on the chart. He talked about how good she looked. He took time to just ask about me and Josh to get to know us better. He talked as if he is a believer. So, even though the report was maybe not what I wanted to see or hear (complete healing---yay!), I see SO MUCH of God's hand at work. He is PROVIDING for us and our sweet girl. My heart really just felt so blessed by God's tender care of us.
This does not mean that I am not continuing to pray for her complete healing! And I ask you all to do the same! I have once again received so much comfort from Psalm 139. God is forming Anna so perfectly---nothing about her little body is a mistake or an accident. She still may be born with completely straight bones! Or she may be born with bowed limbs. God knows and He will choose what is best. My heart finds such peace and rest in this. HE KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR GIRL. So we will keep praying. We will continue to pray for Anna's healing. And we will continue to pray for hearts that desire God's perfect will above our own. We will yield ourselves to Him joyfully as we place our full trust and faith in Him.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. I will have my next ultrasound in 3 weeks.
Charlotte
I am continuing to pray with you! Can't wait to meet this sweet baby girl! Xoxo -Linea
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