The Two Week Wait

Two weeks ago at my last routine prenatal visit, I had a blood test to find out if I am a carrier for the cystic fibrosis gene. They told us to wait two weeks, and they would call if the result was positive, but after two weeks I might want to call in myself just to find out either way. So, as the days came and went leading up to the two week mark with no phone call, I became more optimistic, especially the day before and day of the two weeks. Since no call came, I basically assumed they were going to tell me I tested negative, and all this waiting would come to an end.

So yesterday I called in and left a message for them to call with my lab results. At the end of the day, after their office was already closed, the phone call finally came. A perky sounding nurse apologized for not catching me earlier. Apparently they had tried to call my cell phone first, and I hadn't heard it. She said I did in fact test positive as a carrier for cystic fibrosis.

After all my optimism, this was pretty disappointing news. There still isn't a reason to assume our baby has the disease, but it just brings the possibility that much closer to home. This morning Mark went in for a blood test, so now we are back to the two week wait again. I thought two weeks was long when trying to conceive, but this seems so much longer!!

If he tests negative, we are most likely in the clear, but there is still a very small chance because they only test for the most common form of the gene, and there are some more rare forms that he could carry that wouldn't show up on the test. If he tests positive, there is still a reasonable chance our baby might not have the disease, but of course the likelihood jumps considerably. In that case we would start preparing ourselves for dealing with it if he is born with it, and the waiting game would continue until he could be tested after birth. I'm not sure if there is any more they can tell via ultrasound than what they have already seen with the echogenic bowel, which is inconclusive.

So in the meantime, we are just waiting again, while still praying and hoping for the best. Thank you for your prayers, I'll keep updating when we find out more!