Limb-Different Buddy Wednesday: Corbin

“I still remember the doctor’s words so clearly, “we found a few things that need to be addressed on your sonogram.” What a whirlwind of emotions in such a short period of time. We had just had our 20 week sonogram to find out the sex of the baby. IT WAS A BOY! Exactly what both my husband and I had hoped and prayed for. The short 30 minute wait to see the doctor was filled with talk of baby names and what we hoped he would accomplish in his life. Our joy and excitement just could not be contained! Until we heard those words.. The sentence that would change our lives far more than we ever imagined. My heart sank into my stomach. With teeth clenched, holding back the tears I so desperately wanted to let go, we proceeded. Our doctor then explained to us that one of his kidneys had multiple cists and would most likely not function, and that our little peanut had no radius bone and a short ulna bone on his right arm. After trying for just about 8 months to get pregnant we never imagined we would be in this situation. We never imagined anything would go “wrong” or that we would find ourselves in a high-risk pregnancy. We were sent to a genetics specialist where we were asked every question under the moon about both my husband and I’s family medical history. Whew! After reviewing our case the specialist ruled out genetics totally and told us this was a very rare association called VACTERL. I will not go into all the details (if you have time look it up and read a little about it, there’s so much!) but basically VACTERL is an acronym, with each letter representing one of the common findings seen in affected individuals. Vertebral abnormalities. Anal atresia. Cardiac defects. Tracheal anomalies. Esophageal atresia. Renal and Radial abnormalities. Limb abnormalities. I’m sure just by reading this your brain is rolling with questions..as was ours when we heard the diagnosis. To make our very long story short, we saw a few specialists in the remaining 20 weeks of our pregnancy and had a 2 1/2 week stay in the NICU when Corbin was born, where numerous tests were ran on our baby boy. Hardest two weeks of our lives. No doubt! But what a mighty God we serve. He is the ultimate Healer, the ultimate Comforter, and he loves his children. Corbin was an absolute gift from God. He has taught us that our definition of “normal” isn’t actually normal at all! He has taught me to take joy in the “little things”..and to never underestimate what he is capable of. I know he will go on to do great things..”lucky fin” and all :)”



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