Test results are in...

So, as I was taking a 20 minute snooze on the couch today, I was jarred awake by the sound of my cell phone ringing... and I knew exactly who it was before I looked.

I answered and recieved the news.

Eric's test for a chromosomal translocation came back positive. It's a translocation on chromosome 13, which means a piece of his 13th chromosome is defective. It breaks off and attaches somewhere that it shouldn't... causing a genetic mutation that my body recognizes and then miscarries the baby.

The nurse gave me the name of a genetic counselor that I am going to make an appointment with tomorrow. As far as what I have read, they will talk to us further about the test results and talk about our family history. Eric doesn't have anything in his family history that relates to this, so at this point we aren't sure what to think.

Now, we were hoping it was Eric instead of me, because it gives us a little bit more of a chance. He carries it in his sperm... which there are thousands of at any given time... but if I carried it, it would be in my egg... which is only one a month.

However, after further research, although we still have a chance to carry a baby to term... this puts us in a higher risk not only for the recurrent miscarriages, but for a LOT of other issues. Underdeveloped body parts, mental retardation, and slower to learn being just a few.

It's scary. I would of course love our baby just the same if any of the issues came about, but now that we know it's a possibility, we have a lot to think about. We can still look into the PGD with IVF, or we can just try our luck... but the thought of all the defects that can possibly happen have us very worried... so we are kinda stuck.

After the appointment with the genetic counselor, we will decide what to do. They can lay out risk factors and give us percentages that our doctor can't. However, we are kind of preparing ourselves for the idea of no more children... just in case. We could literally ALWAYS get the ONE sperm that has this defect and have another 10 miscarriages and we can't handle it emotionally. The thought of IVF is scary and expensive as well. We also have ruled out adoption entirely due to my personal experiences and past.

So, while this was the news we kinda wanted... it's a little more serious than we once though. I will keep everyone updated with our genetics appointment, but things are looking scarier and scarier for us. So if everyone could keep us in your prayers as we make these important decisions regarding our family's future.