I remember the genetics lesson in my Biology class freshman year of high school clearly. It shocked me so, that I remember exclaiming I was going to require any man of mine in the future to get genetically tested for bad recessive genes before I ever married him.
Little did I know, it would be me carrying the gene...
This is the first post where its hard for me to write. I was going to just skip it, but I want to write down our family history so its there for future generations (as I plan on organizing these posts in a prenatal baby book for Baby Mac).
At my 11 week appointment, our OBGYN discussed prenatal genetic testing that is optional but since its recommended for all patients by OBGYN society, its covered by insurance. She explained that they will only test for major and more common genetic issues such as Cystic Fibrosis (CS) and Down Syndrome (DS). We opted to do both, but had to wait a couple more weeks for the DS test. Therefore we left with just getting the CF test done.
Apparently, 1 out of 25 (more or less) Caucasians carry the Cystic Fibrosis gene. If one parent carries the gene but the other doesn't, there is no harm - the baby does not have a chance of getting CF. However, if both parents end up carrying the gene, the baby and all future children have a 25% chance of having CF. The doctor tested me, and further explained that in all likelihood I will be negative and no further testing will be done. However, if on the off chance I was tested positive for carrying the CF gene, then my husband would need to get tested to see if he was a carrier as well. As the doctor explained the probability, I listened, but kind of shrugged it off. To my knowledge, neither my hubby nor I had any genetic diseases herewith known to us in our family histories.
Imagine my surprise when I got a phone call yesterday from the nurse informing me that I tested positive for carrying the Cystic Fibrosis gene. After a couple of hours of processing it, calling close friends and family, I subsequently proceeded to freak out. How could I be the one that may cause harm to my children!? Since my chances were slim of being a carrier but I ended up being one, will my husband carry it too!? Oh. My. God. Seriously, I know nothing is wrong yet. But our probability just increased by leaps and bounds, and I am beyond myself with what to do. I realize how much I love this baby already and all my mother hen instincts are kicking in. I just want to protect this baby.
Today I feel a little better. My husband is incredibly supportive and a caring partner. We will roll with the punches. However, please pray that his results come back negative. If they come back positive, we'll have to do am amniocentesis on the baby to see if he/she has CF (25% chance) and meet with a genetic counselor to discuss future reproductivity. If he comes back negative, we are totally in the clear! I'll know that the gene is present in our children's gene pool, but as you know 1/25 Caucasians carry it. In fact many couples may not ever know they carry the gene, since if the mom is tested negative, the dad never takes the test.
Praying to my grandmother in heaven and God that D-Mac's test comes back negative.
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