Joshua's Heart

On Friday we had a Fetal Echo Cardiogram done to assess Joshua's heart.  One of the big things Nathan and I had been praying for before this and any other appointments is that we would be paired with Doctors who where Christians and whom believed that our son was a child of God.  God showed himself to Nathan and I on Friday by the Cardiologist we had an appointment with.  We were originally supposed to have our appointment on Thursday morning with a different doctor but last minute they called and moved us to Friday afternoon with Dr. Lantin so that they would have an extra day to get things squared away with our insurance.  First off our appointment was at the new wing of Texas Children's, the Women's pavilion, that just recently opened.  The building is amazing and the equipment was state of the art.  When we got called back to our appointment and met Dr. Lantin we immeadiatly noticed the cross around her neck and her soft spirit and felt at ease.  Dr. Lantin took about an hour and a half to do the Echo without really saying much.  Then she walked us to a conference room and sat us down to talk.  Immediately we knew it wasn't good when we could see her eyes filling up as she looked at Nathan and I.  She told us that she too saw the signs of Trisomy 13 or 18.  She proceeded to tell us that if that is the case than there will be no reason to do any of the necessary surgeries on his heart.  That being said she told us what was wrong with his heart.  Joshua's left side works beautifully but his right side is basically not functioning.  There is no fix for his heart but there are surgeries that can be preformed to allow it to function until he would need a heart transplant.  She said there is a whole wing devoted to Joshua's heart problem at Texas Children's and that the doctors are very successful at these surgeries.  He would need his first surgery almost immediately and then another around 3 months and another at 3 years and then he would go on a heart transplant list when he was older.  She kept stopping and saying "assuming this was his only problem".
If Joshua does have Trisomy 13 or 18 then they will not be able to do any of the surgeries meaning his heart will probably be what kills him assuming he is born alive.  After telling us this she continued by saying that in fatal cases like ours she is obligated to give us termination as an option, however she personally would not choose that.  When she said this I broke into tears and told her how she was an answer to our prayers and that we really appreciate her telling us that she would not personally recommend termination.  We told her how we feel like that has not only been a choice with every other doctor, but rather their strong recommendation.  Dr. Lantin stood up started crying and came to give me a hug.  She told me that her faith is very important to her and that she brings her faith into her profession as a doctor.  (I can't tell you how awesome that was to hear)  She told us she would be praying for us and praying for Joshua and that she knew God had a plan for our son.  It turns out she goes to St. Vincent de Paul's which is where Nathan and I got married and where I taught.  She also recognized my maiden name because her kids attend school at SVDP and we know a lot of the same families.  God allowed her to be our doctor for a reason and it was such a comfort knowing that she was chosen by God to take care of Joshua.  We ask for everyone's continued prayers for a miracle.  What a blessing it would be to only have to worry about a few heart surgeries.  Tuesday we have an MRI to look at Joshua's brain please pray for a miracle.