This picture of my eldest daughter kissing my pregnant belly is precious to me, but the only way you can understand how precious is if you know that there was a very real chance that the baby in my belly was not going to live because she had been diagnosed with Potter's Syndrome.
Read more ¿Qué más?: Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler announces her unborn baby's fatal condition, is praying for a miracle
Congresswoman Jaimie Herrera Beutler, who is pregnant with her first child, recently announced that her unborn baby was diagnosed with Potter's Syndrome, which means her baby is most likely not developing kidneys.
If the diagnosis is correct when the baby is delivered, it will not survive. Babies cannot live without kidneys. The congresswoman is praying for a miracle and I empathize because I know what she is going through and even though I am not religious in the way most people understand it, I too prayed for a miracle when I was told during my second pregnancy that my baby most likely had no kidneys.
My husband and I went to get an ultrasound, excited that we might get to know if we were having another little girl (which is what we were hoping for), and the technician chatted with us happily as she set me up and looked at her screen and then she stopped and said that she had to go get the doctor. That's when it felt like my heart stopped because I knew something was wrong.
The doctor came in and took a look and very frankly (which felt like cruelty) told me that my baby appeared to have no kidneys, a diagnosis that was supported by the fact that I had a very low level of amniotic fluid. It was explained to us by a genetic counselor that a child without kidneys will not survive. We were given the option to terminate the pregnancy immediately or see what happens.
I believe in a woman's right to choose. I support it wholeheartedly, but this did not feel like a choice to me. My baby was planned, my baby was already a part of the family, and if there was even a small chance that she had even one kidney, then I had to take it.
My pregnancy was monitored closely and up until the cutoff of when the pregnancy could legally be terminated, I felt like I wasn't being given much hope. It was the hardest decision of my life to stay pregnant because I'm going to be honest with you and say that I could not imagine myself going through the birthing of my child just to have her die in my arms moments later.
I chose to stay pregnant because although my amniotic fluid was low it never got lower, which was a positive sign. My doctor wanted to induce at 37 weeks and I said, no. Two days after I hit 37 weeks of pregnancy, I went into labor and gave birth to my second daughter.
My miracle baby was born with one kidney and she is thriving! She is under the care of a kidney specialist who thinks she is doing great. She gets an ultrasound every year to make sure that the cysts that are where her second kidney is supposed to be, don't grow. If they grow, she will have to have an operation to get them removed because they could turn into cancer.
So you see, I really do understand what Congresswoman Jaimie Herrera Beutler is going through. I find myself sobbing for her and anyone who has ever had to go through such a difficult situation. I got my miracle, I hope she gets hers.
This is what my miracle baby looked like when she was born. So small and so perfect! We are beyond lucky.
Image via Claudya Martinez.
