Lifetime Continuing Education: Learning from My Son
TL;DRAbstract
The birth of my first child, Daniel, a rather large experience in itself, initially had a relatively and surprisingly small impact on me as a genetic counselor. Daniel has Down syndrome. I found out in the 31st week of my pregnancy, when ultrasound identified ascites and the beginnings of pericardial effusions-which prompted me to undergo amniocentesis. While waiting for results, I remember thinking, "This can't happen to me." Not only was I a genetic counselor who gave other people this type of news, but we also had a next-door neighbor with Down syndrome. Now that statistically just wasn't allowed-two children with Down syndrome, not just on the same block, but next door to each other? Impossible! Yet, it was possible. Exactly 1 week after receiving the FISH results, Daniel was delivered by C-section. He spent the next 2 months in the NICU and came home on his due date.
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The birth of my first child, Daniel, a rather large experience in itself, initially had a relatively and surprisingly small impact on me as a genetic counselor. Daniel has Down syndrome. I found out in the 31st week of my pregnancy, when ultrasound identified ascites and the beginnings of pericardial effusions-which prompted me to undergo amniocentesis. While waiting for results, I remember thinking, "This can't happen to me." Not only was I a genetic counselor who gave other people this type of news, but we also had a next-door neighbor with Down syndrome. Now that statistically just wasn't allowed-two children with Down syndrome, not just on the same block, but next door to each other? Impossible! Yet, it was possible. Exactly 1 week after receiving the FISH results, Daniel was delivered by C-section. He spent the next 2 months in the NICU and came home on his due date.
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