Victoria Silvestri always wanted to be a mother, and when she finally realized it was happening with her loving husband, she was overjoyed.
According to Victoria for Love What Matters, her pregnancy began as smoothly as one could dream. She and her husband went to regular appointments, visited doctors as necessary, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.
That is, until the couple went to the doctor for an anatomy scan.
“Our pregnancy was everything we expected; actually it was better than expected. I never experienced morning sickness, my belly grew normally, and the appointments went great – that is, until our anatomy scan on October 2,” Victoria wrote.
“The lady was doing her thing, she writes in the envelope, and then very calmly tells us she will be right back, that she is going to see if the doctor is ready to see us. I didn’t think anything of it, but my husband looks at me and says, ‘there’s something wrong.’ I will never forget the look in his eyes.”
Victoria told her husband that it was likely nothing, and the couple waited patiently for the doctor. When the doctor finally arrived and started the scheduled scan, she did in fact have some scary news for the soon-to-be parents.
She told them that some kind of abnormality was present in their ultrasound around their child’s face, although there would be no way of knowing what it was except through genetics and time.
Victoria, as a first time mom, was understandably upset and began to cry during the appointment. In discussing her experience later, she recalled:
“As she made her best diagnosis, cystic hygroma, I still had no clue what to feel. I didn’t even know what that was or what that meant or even what to ask. I was so devastated that something was wrong with our perfect little baby and we had no clue what to expect.”
Their doctor recommended an on-the-spot amniocentesis while they were there to rule out any kinds of genetic abnormalities. The couple agreed and additionally discovered some wonderful news–they would be having a baby boy!
“Joe took my hand and tried to be as happy as he could, for my sake, (all he wanted was a boy). And from there, I just couldn’t stop – the waterworks and the emotion flooded every bone in my body,” Victoria explained.
Other genetic testing came back normal for the couple, as did any physical tests and examinations completed by doctors. Even still, the couple was aware of the hygroma affecting their baby.
Victoria’s desire for a magical pregnancy began to crumble a bit as she was subjected to constant testing and check-ups. She explained:
“As I approached my third trimester, our high-risk doctor wanted to see me twice a week every week until I delivered because not only did I have his condition to worry about, but I also had gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. I had a special diet I had to follow and had to prick my finger and test my sugar 3-4 times a day.”
Eventually, a fetal MRI revealed an official diagnosis of Lymphatic Malformation. The couple had to consult with various medical professionals in order to prepare for the high-risk birth, which was set to be in February of that year.
Sadly, when delivery finally began, Victoria’s husband was many miles away on a business trip. Her nearest family still being hours away, Victoria had to go through the special delivery alone.
Thankfully, their son Gavin was born largely healthy in that procedure and her husband was able to watch it happen via FaceTime.
Gavin’s previously diagnosed malformation was present in a severe manner, and he was therefore subjected to special shots for many of his first months of life.
Gavin had his first surgery just a few months after birth and his road to recovery was tricky. Eventually, he was home and largely healthy with his parents.
“Working a fulltime job with a special needs baby can be very stressful. Thankfully we’ve been blessed with amazing home nurses to help us on this adventure,” Victoria wrote. She added:
“Home life is yet another adventure we are on as a family of three. From dirty diapers to changing trach ties, to smiles and meeting milestones, to physical therapy and story time, to holidays and birthdays, all memories we will cherish forever as we continue this thing we call life.”
