Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Part 5-Yep! Still pregnant.

As discussed a few times in this blog, I was born with a congenital bone disease called Fibrous Dysplaysia.
Say WHAT?
Long story short, my left tibia did not grow as fast as the rest of me and was left smaller and weaker. I broke my ankle twice and had numerous operations to try and "fix" my leg. The only one that worked was done when I was 13 years old. I had my leg lengthened (got 3 1/2 inches!) and through that process my ankle was able to heal, I was able to walk better and I continue to thrive as a walker/dancer/all around grown woman with a brace.
Needless to say, whenever I fill out a "medical history" form I give the short version and if the doc has any other questions, so be it.
So, that time that I got pregnant, obviously the doc had some questions although not as many as I thought considering that my tibia isn't terribly close to my uterus.
Now. I have ALWAYS known that this "disease" is not genetic. It is a fluke, one in a million shot and I got lucky.
Yeah, yeah, yeah I am me, not my leg and everything I went through made me the strong person I am today blah, blah, blah. Hey, I've worn a brace on my leg since I was 6 years old. I basically learned to walk on crutches. I've never really known any different so I don't worry too much about it. So there.
ANYHOO. As I was leaving the doctor after my first visit to establish that there was in fact a little bun in my oven, I was still high on the sounds of heartbeat when the doc stopped me. "I think you should see the high risk doctor for your 20 wk ultrasound."
Say WHAT?
This can stress a woman out for many reasons. What is wrong with me that I need to see the high risk guy? What is wrong with my baby? Does this mean I can't have preggo sex? Does this mean you think I am over 35??!?!?!!
Of course it all came down to the leg. I explained to her that it is not genetic but if my insurance covered it, whatever.
Fast forward to the ultrasound. We see all the stuff we're supposed to, they write down the sex of our unborn child and put it in an envelope as we requested and send the big doc in to chat about all the stuff they saw and we didn't understand. According to him, everything looks great, no need for concern anywhere and hey, what's this thing about your leg?
I go through the whole story explaining, in a nutshell, my life ages 3-14. He listens some what distractedly while running the transducer over my belly. "So here is an arm," he shows us. "And here is the left leg, and this right here is the left tibia."
I have seen x-rays of my left tibia so many times in my life that I could easily pick mine out of a line up of hundreds. I am am also aware of what a weak bone looks like on an x-ray. I am also aware of the fact that my baby's bones are not completely formed or hardened yet.
But that left tibia was so straight and bright white that I got a little misty in the office that day.
Yes, I knew that there was a slim to none chance that she would have this disease and frankly, mine wasn't discovered or diagnosed until I was 3 years old and walking. But something about that lovely doctor going out of his way to find her left tibia and show it to me made my heart swell.
Now if only I could try and guarantee a massively high i.q. and a love of showtunes, I'd be set!

1 comment:

Monica said...

Yay for healthy tibias!!!!