The beginning

           On January 17th 2011 I received the amazing news that I would be expecting a little bundle of joy. The beginning of my pregnancy was typical, aches, pains, and crazy cravings! It wasn't until my 20 week U/S that we found a problem. During the appointment we were made aware of an abnormality in her heart and were sent to a specialist in TN. During my trips to the specialist we found that the baby had a size discrepancy on one side of her heart and swelling of the hands and feet. Later it was discovered that my amniotic fluid was lower than normal and I began NST (non stress test) and U/S weekly to make sure the level did not drop further. At 35 weeks pregnant I went for a checkup (2 hours away from home) to tour the hospital and to decide on a date to be induced. My husband could not attend that appointment due to work obligations so my mother went with me. At the appointment my fluid levels were measured at a 3 (normal is 12 and they consider a 4 low enough and dangerous enough to take the baby) I was notified right then that I would be taken over to the hospital to be induced that day. The first thought that came in my mind was that Darren (my husband) would miss the birth of our first child. I began to cry and begged that they wait until he arrived to start the induction. The doctors would not wait for fear of the baby and sent me to labor and deliver right away.

          I frantically made phone calls to my husband and family to let them know what was going on. Thank goodness our little girl had plans different from the doctors because she gave everyone more than enough time to get to the hospital! 34 hours later Halyn Faith Jackson was born weighing 4 pounds 10 1/2 ounces.  After her birth came Heart Echos to see what was going on with her heart. It turned out Halyn had a coarctation of the aortic arch and she as set to have surgery 6 days later. That same day we received word from the lab that Halyn had Turner Syndrome which is what caused the issues with her heart and the swelling that was seen during pregnancy.
               On the day of her surgery friends and family gathered in the waiting room and waited for the outcome. Darren and I were so scared and overwhelmed that we gave our cell phone number to the front desk and slipped outside to the garden area where we sat alone in silence and prayed. When we returned to the waiting area we received news moments later that the surgery went well and that she was in recovery.Within 12 hours our little worrier was taken off the ventilator and was breathing on her own. Doctors and nurses were amazed at how well she was doing and 4 days later we were given the green light to take her home.

          Before we left we met with several doctors nurses and counselors that gave us information about TS. We googled photos and info online and scared ourselves to death with what we found. We were looking at this beautiful baby girl and imagining the worse.
        We finally sat down and prayed to God to give us strength and understanding. But most importantly we asked God to give us guidance when it came to raising her in a happy and healthy home. When we had educated ourselves we found that with TS usually came infertility. For me that was the hardest thing to cope with. How do you tell your little girl that she wont be able to have babies of her own?
        How do you explain to your daughter that she is different from other little girls without giving her a complex and causing some of the social issues that we were reading about. The outcome of how Halyn saw herself and the way she felt about herself rested on our shoulders. So I began reading blogs and forums to see what other parents were saying. I found that material was limited and alot of stories were doom and gloom.     Halyn is 11 months old now and is a happy, beautiful, and spirited little girl. I have decided that I am not going to stamp her with a label that reads "DIFFERENT" I plan to put her in gymnastics when she is 2 and schedule playdates with other children on a regular basis. I will do everything I can to make sure she excels and has a happy life. I want to talk to other parents and find out how they tackled certain topics with their child or how they plan to. I would love to hear stories and share them with others.