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They arrived at the office and went through the usual routine. It was the first time Tony had gone with her. The few other times she’d gone, it was to one of their after-hours clinics.
Tony helped her up on the exam table even though she really didn’t need it. He was out of his element, everything dwarfed by his size. The doctor came in and looked up at him like he was a giant, and then she started to giggle.
“We’re measuring this baby’s size today, and not a moment too soon, I see.”
He flushed and Bridget noticed he even kicked his toe around a little bit. She reached out for his hand and squeezed it, mouthingit’s all good.
“Okay, let’s get started.”
She explained about the cold gel she would use and the wand she’d press lightly over Bridget’s belly.
“Here we go! Oops, now that’s a cooperative baby!”
Tony hunched over to see the screen and promptly burst into tears seeing the little one spread-eagle.
“Oh, great.” Bridget laughed. “An exhibitionist.”
“Do you want to know what you’re having?”
“Yes!” Tony cried.
“It’s a girl!”
“Oh, how nice,” Bridget said.
Tony bent over again and kissed her, wiping his face with his sleeves.
The doctor continued with the examination. “Now we’ll look for specific indicators that will show us how well your baby is doing.”
“Tony, why don’t you go out and call Roberta and Alice? They’ll be so excited. Tell them to start thinking of names.”
He kissed her and left the room to make the calls.
“He’s had enough excitement for one day,” she said, laughing. “I’ll tell him if there’s anything more to tell.”
For the next ten minutes, the doctor explained what she was looking for, measurements that meant certain things, and everything looked good until she got to the back of the baby’s neck. She spent a long time looking at it and taking measurements, and then she went to the baby’s heart and did some more looking around, and then her legs. She returned to the back of her neck.
“This area right here, can you see where I’m pointing to?” She made some measurements again while Bridget looked on, terrified. “This area is a little thicker than we want it to be. It’s a fluid-filled space that usually goes away by the time you’re thirteen weeks, which is why we like to do the ultrasound in the first trimester.”
“What does it mean?”
The doctor looked at her with concern, raising anguish in Bridget that made her want to dive on the doctor and slap her.
“It could indicate a chromosomal issue. Trisomy 21. We would want to do more testing to be sure.”
“Is there anything you can do about it? Medicine or an operation?”
“Oh no, nothing like that.”
“Well, I don’t want to know, then. I’m not going to terminate. You saw Tony. He’s in love with this baby already.”
“Of course it’s entirely up to you. Everything else looks great. Her heart is fine; the length of her femur is okay. She’s tiny, but she’s proportionate. We’ll look again in a few months.”
“Can things change? Could she develop a heart issue later?”
“Her heart was completely developed by eight weeks. Her heart looks great.”
“Well, I don’t want another ultrasound, then. If she’s got something wrong with her that we can’t fix, what’s the point of knowing?” Bridget lost the battle to stay calm but didn’t want to get shrill in case Tony came back. “I’d make myself nuts.”
