| How Potter's Syndrome Took Our Angel We had tried to get pregnant for several months. Even though I had morning sickness for two months, the pregnancy was wonderful. We were so excited to be parents again! Our first child had been born with a condition in his renal system that had to be corrected surgically. We were told that this was a fluke, and it wasn't likely to happen again. Six years later, our dreams came true with a second pregnancy. During our 20-week ultrasound we were told that there wasn't any amniotic fluid to speak of. I was sent back to my doctor, who referred me to a perinatologist. We had a level II ultrasound and were expecting an amnioinfusion (we had read into the condition and were expecting to be able to fix everything). An amnioinfusion is when the placenta is injected with artificial amniotic fluid (IV fluids). This was not going to happen for us, however. The doctors and radiologists told us that there were no kidneys, no bladder, no evidence of any renal arteries, and there were the beginning stages of a heart problem. This news was and still is devastating. We left that office with the knowledge that our child would not live no matter what we tried to do. The baby had Potter's Syndrome. Bilateral Renal Agenisis. No kidneys on either side. No amniotic fluid, which means that the lungs cannot develop (hypoplastic lungs). We went home to think about what to do from there. We had a 6-year-old brother to tell. He took the news better than we did. We decided to end the pregnancy because I only have one kidney myself, and both the baby and I were living on my kidney alone. During the 25th week of my pregnancy (I waited as long as I could just to keep the baby a little longer) I had my pregnancy induced at a hospital 200 miles from our rural home. There were more qualified doctors in this field and more sophisticated facilities at this hospital. It was the most saddening, lonely and horribly painful experience I've ever had. The labor was started with laminaria sticks, then double-strength Pitocin and every two hours a prostin suppository. The doctor told us that because of the compression of my uterus during contractions, the baby's heart wouldn't hold out through delivery and that he would die during labor. Sure enough, he was stillborn at 1 pound, 14 ounces and 13 inches long. He had my dark hair and my husband's chin. After 14 hours, we finally had our baby! We baptized him, held him, loved him, talked to him, dressed him and even took finger and footprints and pictures to remember him by. It has been a month tomorrow since we lost the baby we so badly wanted. We send our love and best wishes to any parent grieving a child. May they be safe in the arms of Jesus. This story was written by: Christina |
| Aidan's Birth Story |