DNA Testing for Answers
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My lovely husband and I have been married for 14 years now. We've always wanted to have a family. In May of 2006, we began trying to conceive a child. We were successful in february of 2007. We were so excited, imagining our future with our child, only to miscarry on March 3rd. "it just happens" they said. "No cause to be concerned". It was devastating and I thought I'd never get over the emotional pain of it all.
We kept trying, but in February of 2010, it was discovered that I had a football sized cyst on my left ovary that had "rolled over" and twisted the fallopion tube a few times. They removed the ovary, tube and even my appendix all at once. I was assured that I could still get pregnant even with one ovary and tube.
In June of 2010, I got pregnant but again miscarried soon after. I had been given progesterone once I had a positive pregnancy test, but it did not help. I was again devastated and wondering if our dream of having children would ever be realized. In 2011, I had another early miscarriage. It was so early, that I found out I had been pregnant at the same time I began to miscarry.
I have been referred to Fetal and Maternal medicine and that doctor didn't see anything overwhelmingly wrong with me. I was also referred to a Reproductive Endocrinologist who said that he thought he could help me. More blood tests were run and everything came out fine. I was remarkable in how unremarkable I was, the doctors said. The RE recommended that we get a DNA Karotype test done. The problem is that our insurance will not cover it and it's about 3,000 dollars! We did not have the kind of money available and could not do the test at that time. The RE was wondering if I had something called "Balanced Translocation". ( Translocation of the long arm of an acrocentric chromosome toanother chromosome, accompanied by loss of the small fragmentcontaining the centromere. Basically, there were the right number of chromosomes but they were all jumbled up.
Now fast forward to 2012. I have recently suffered my 4th miscarriage on the 24th of October. My OB/GYN did not know what to say, other than "keep trying" and that my weight was the culprit. I did get a new OBGYN that seems to think it COULD be the balanced translocation, but they are not sure. There are other hormone treatments that could be done, but without knowing for sure if the balanced translocation is an issue, we just do not know.
Watching my friends and family have children of their own is difficult. It seems as everyone can do this one little natural thing, but I can't. Every time I miscarry, a piece of my heart is lost. I just do not know how many more times I can piece it back together. People have told me that perhaps I am not meant to be a mommy and that hurts. I'm not convinced of that just yet. There are a few things that can still be done, yet I do not think I deserve to keep going through this because of a lack of funds. This test could mean everything to us. it can give us answers and perhaps hope for our dreams, which is hard for me to come by right now. I do not want to give up yet, as the reward would be so great and I dream about that day. I am getting older and I feel as if my time is running out.
Thank you for reading!
Organizer
Heather Walter
Organizer
Elsberry, MO
