Turner's Diagnosis

We knew early during my pregnancy that Caroline could have Down syndrome or Turner's syndrome.  I prepared mentally for both and honestly expect Down syndrome over Turner's.  During my many perinatologist appointments, Caroline's heart was GREAT!  A lot of girl's with Turner's have heart complications and many of them are found in utero.  So, I just thought this was a sign that she didn't have Turners.

Like I mentioned in her birth story post, she was born with lymphedema (swelling) of her hands and feet.  Because of this swelling and having the cystic hygroma during utero, the NICU team tested her for Turner's syndrome.  We got the results back a week after she was born and it confirmed that she does have Turner's.  We will find out in January if she is missing all or just part of one of her X chromosomes.

The amazing part of this whole thing is that only 1% of babies with Turner's make it to full term.  About 99% of affected babies are miscarried or stillborn.   I remember being told that if I made it to 24 weeks, we would most likely make it to full-term.  So, at 24 weeks I bought my first little dress for Miss Caroline.  I know the statistic are awful (if you don't want statistics, don't read my blog), but this just goes to show that Caroline is the true definition of a miracle.