Welcome

First, we would like to congratulate you on your pregnancy or the birth of your child[ren].  It often seems in the midst of heartache, people tend to forget that you are still celebrating the miracle of life and focus only on the diagnosis or loss.  Our hearts ache for you as you navigate uncharted waters, but hope you will find peace as you utilize resources from our site.  

My name is Jamie and my husband's name is Brian.  We have two beautiful girls Earth-side and one beautiful baby girl named Abigail in Heaven.  We were blessed (and admittingly, naïve) to have had two healthy and uncomplicated pregnancies.  We soon found out our third pregnancy was different, and our sweet Abigail had Trisomy 18.  We never imagined the heartache and love that could come with starting/growing a family.

While trying to understand what Trisomy 18 meant for Abigail, our family, and our future, we felt alone and abandoned.  Doctors were quick to use outdated information regarding Trisomy 18 and often refer to it as "not compatible with life", frequently offering the option to terminate or induce.     

Following the phone call from the geneticist, we took time off of work to research and try to prepare our family for the journey we were about to embark on.  Our fight for Abigail was just beginning.  We tried making contacts at our area hospital, only to be transferred to different voicemails before we were finally connected with the hospital social worker a week later.  We researched therapists and the best options for emotional well-being.  We studied different birth plans and connected with a support group at our church, which included meetings with out pastor.  We researched all the information we could get our hands on.  We also connected ourselves within the Facebook community for Trisomy families.  It was within the Facebook community that we soon discovered children can live with Trisomy 18.  The families we have met and spoken with would strongly disagree that Trisomy 18 is "Not compatible with life".  Our fight continued.