By Misty Phillip
Much to my surprise, a few weeks before I turned 40, we found out that I was expecting! I was both in shock and thrilled when my doctor told me the news. This was quite astounding to us, especially after suffering through many difficult pregnancies and losses and years of struggling with infertility.
Because of my history and my age, I was considered a high-risk pregnancy. My doctor carefully monitored me from the beginning. On a routine blood draw, we found that my progesterone levels were deficient. We immediately began supplementing with progesterone, and things seemed to be going okay.
I felt thankful and cherished each day that I was pregnant. We had our first ultrasound, and everything was moving right along. I passed the first trimester and began to let my guard down a little. When it came time to have another ultrasound and find out if we were having a boy or a girl, I was so excited!
All eyes were on the ultrasound screen as we awaited the news. After having three boys, would we finally get a girl, or would we add another boy to Team Phillip? The tech informed us that the baby was a boy. Everyone was ecstatic!
Everyone it seemed, except for the ultrasound tech who kept taking measurements. She measured his spine over and over. She meticulously measured and remeasured each body part. She brought in the doctor, who informed us that it looked like our son had a heart condition. But that was not all. His arms were not fully developed, and his hands seemed clenched.
To read the remainder of this article, visit the Celebrate Life Magazine website at clmagazine.org/topic/human-dignity/our-son-liam.
