Expectant Parents by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin

Author:Suzanne Hadley Gosselin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Family
ISBN: 9781624054198
Publisher: Focus on the Family
Published: 2014-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

“AS LONG AS THE BABY’S HEALTHY”

When Jason and Kristin headed into the twenty-week ultrasound for their fourth child, they deliberated about whether or not they should find out the gender of the baby. “This is the typical decision a couple makes at this point. Do we find out or not?” Kristin says.

Instead, as the technician guided the ultrasound wand over Kristin’s pregnant belly, and the couple watched the monitor, they thought they saw something unusual. The technician explained she’d show the pictures to the doctor, and they could expect to hear from him in a day or two.

“Nothing was said between us,” Jason says, “but I think we both saw it. Kristin voiced it when we arrived at her mom’s house to pick up the kids. ‘I’m just concerned,’ she said. ‘What if our baby doesn’t have legs?’”

The next day the doctor called, but the news was not hopeful. “This was the one that smacked us hard,” Kristin says, “the one that took us to the edge of fear and doubt. The beginning was rough.”

Initially, the doctors believed the baby might have phocomelia, a condition where the baby’s organs and facial features do not develop properly. “It was gut-wrenching,” Kristin says. “This was not how our child should be, not how any child should be. But God was there. God was telling us that we had to accept whatever was to come. That this life was one that He was creating for His purposes.”

Jason adds: “It was the most powerless feeling to simply have no control over the news or situation unfolding in front of you. It seemed unreal that it was happening at all. But I felt peace somehow. I felt God was still there and that He needed me to carry us through. I knew ultimately, though, it wasn’t me at all. He was giving me peace so He could use me.”

Dr. Kevin Weary says, “Some of the hardest moments of people’s lives are when they find out about something that’s wrong in utero.” He encourages couples to keep the proper perspective. “If the baby has a club foot, that’s not ideal,” he says. “That baby’s likely going to need surgery. But it’s going to be okay.

“Then there are other things that aren’t going to change, such as a genetic diagnosis. You thought the baby’s chromosomes were going to be one way, and they’re not.”

A few days after Jason and Kristin learned of their son’s potentially devastating condition, they went in for an appointment with a specialist. “We prayed. We walked. We rode the elevator to the fourth floor . . . we waited,” the couple wrote on their blog. Jason says dozens of friends and family members were already praying—some not even knowing the situation—and the couple felt those prayers acutely.

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