During the ultrasound today, we were as usual excited to see how the little one is developing, and also heard the loud
heartbeat when our gynae placed the fetal doppler on my belly. However, as Dr
Ong continued with the ultrasound, his facial expression changed. And he informed us of the bad news... our baby suffers from a rare condition called
Acrania (which will normally develop into later stage condition named Anencephaly).
It is a rare congenital disorder & it has a 100% fatality rate. With this condition, the baby will not
survive more than hours, at the most days outside the womb once delivered, and
Acrania may cause a fetus to spontaneously abort before reaching term.
This was an extremely shocking
news for the both of us. While I tried to remain calm at the gynae’s clinic,
Justin was unable to withhold his tears. Dr Ong told us the 2 options, 1) to
terminate the pregnancy, which he will recommend another gynae for this
procedure as he does not do termination of pregnancy due to his beliefs, 2) to
continue pregnancy to term and he will journey with us throughout.
Well, we made our decision very
quickly. We were both very clear that termination of pregnancy was definitely
not an option for us at all because of our religion and faith. So Justin and I
decided to go through this difficult journey, even if it means leading to the
birth of the baby in July for a few precious moments of the little angel's
life.
Dr Ong also stopped all my
hormonal injections and tablets from today and we will let nature takes it
course. Dr Ong also asked us to see a priest who we are close to so that he can give us some spiritual guidance.
After leaving Dr Ong's clinic, we went to Blessed Sacrament Church, where we have been serving there since we were teenagers, to look for Fr Anthony Hutjes. Though it was his off day, he didn't hesitate to see us. When we were seated in his office, he asked us what has happened and we told him. And he said, "I am sorry to hear of your situation. I was very happy to know that Eileen is pregnant and I can see during the past few weeks, the both of you very happy and smiling when I saw both of you in church. However, whatever I am going to tell you, is what you already know I am going to say to you. But let me tell you nonetheless because that's what you needed to hear."
"Everyone will have to die someday. Some people die at an older age, some at a very young age. But what's important is that they have lived a good holy life. Your baby, if she is going to die at birth, is sinless and will go to heaven because she did not sin. And you will have to baptise her as soon as possible after birth, and I am sure Justin will do a good job of it. And if time permits, you can come to the church and one of the priests here will go and baptise her at the hospital. Both of you are good catholics and I am sure your faith will sustain you in this time of need. I will be praying for both of you."
After leaving Dr Ong's clinic, we went to Blessed Sacrament Church, where we have been serving there since we were teenagers, to look for Fr Anthony Hutjes. Though it was his off day, he didn't hesitate to see us. When we were seated in his office, he asked us what has happened and we told him. And he said, "I am sorry to hear of your situation. I was very happy to know that Eileen is pregnant and I can see during the past few weeks, the both of you very happy and smiling when I saw both of you in church. However, whatever I am going to tell you, is what you already know I am going to say to you. But let me tell you nonetheless because that's what you needed to hear."
"Everyone will have to die someday. Some people die at an older age, some at a very young age. But what's important is that they have lived a good holy life. Your baby, if she is going to die at birth, is sinless and will go to heaven because she did not sin. And you will have to baptise her as soon as possible after birth, and I am sure Justin will do a good job of it. And if time permits, you can come to the church and one of the priests here will go and baptise her at the hospital. Both of you are good catholics and I am sure your faith will sustain you in this time of need. I will be praying for both of you."
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