True Organized Chaos

We all have dates in our lives that carry great meaning. Perhaps it is your wedding date, or the day your first child was born, or the day your mother or father passed away. Each of us has at least one date in our lives [if not more] that changes us. Whether it's a day of profound joy or profound sadness, we're never the same once it passes, and we will always make note of that date when it arrives each year. For me, the most profound date was April 01, 2020. I was nineteen weeks pregnant at the time. On that day, we discovered that our beloved baby boy, who is to be our second child, was diagnosed with a major congenital heart defect (CHD). 💙 I remember waking up that morning filled with excitement. My husband, and I were going to find out if we were having a boy or a girl! That's all I could think about. Never did I even consider the idea that there would be something wrong with my baby.

The standard twenty-week (or so) ultrasound began normally, and our son cooperated with the technician and let me know his gender right away. (Well you couldn't miss his gigantic penis on the 2D screen!) It's a boy! My mind whirled on which name we would call him - as we had a list of boy names at the time; but what was supposed to be a twenty minute ultrasound stretched on for an hour; although the technician gave us no reason, other than saying she needed more pictures. The truth was that she could not find all of our son's right side of his heart and called in a doctor to help her.

The doctor expressed their concerns and informed me that they would like me to meet with a cardiologist ultrasound doctor ASAP. My heart dropped when she said, "There is a problem with the ultrasound." They asked me to wait to see if they could set up an appointment within the hour. Unfortunately the doctor they referred me to was out of town, so they set up an appointment for the following day. So I went home not crushed, not having any more information to relate to my family.

The following day I went to have a Level II Ultrasound done, and after a few hours of lying there, she finally explained her findings. At this point, it was imperative that we move quickly and get more information. I asked her for the bottom line, and she told me that some heart defects may be treated, but others are not treatable. Although she assured me that with finding it so early in the game, they have high hopes for our family. Unfortunately, she could not go into any more detail until I met with the Fetal Echo cardiogram doctor.

I felt numb as disbelief set in. How could this be happening to me? I was healthy! My child before this one was healthy. I went to all my OBGYN appointments, ate well, and took my prenatal vitamins. But like many people I have heard of birth defects, but I never, ever thought that one of my kids would have one.

Read more about our journey at