Annabel Leigh Villadiego

Our daughter was born on April 30, 2009 at 7:20am weighing 4 lbs. 12.5 oz. She has been in the NICU at Grapevine Baylor hospital since then and her whole family has been by her side loving and caring for her and praying for her well being.

No tests were performed in utero and up until 34 weeks nothing wrong was suspected. We decided to do a 4D sonogram and at that point our doctor discovered there was excess amniotic fluid and she was referred to a specialist. The specialist discovered that she also had a 2-vessel cord. My wife and I were worried, but none of the ultrasounds revealed any defects or abnormalities. We remained optimistic. My wife was scheduled to have a c section at 38 weeks. 

On the morning of the delivery, I waited in the recovery room because my wife had to be completely put under for the delivery since her spinal block did not take. I was brought in after Annabel was cleaned up to see her, but she was quickly rushed to the NICU. 

The neonatologist came in and provided my wife and I with an update saying that she was really struggling to breathe and that she had "physical features that were concerning to her" and that my wife's placenta had been sent to the Mayo Clinic for chromosome testing. My wife and I were horrified at the news and we wept together for hours.

The first update we got was that Annabel had a heart murmur and that her right lung was much smaller than her left lung. Next, was that she had VSD and ASD as well as PDA of the heart. This led to the diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension which, after researching, left us very fearful for Annabel's chances. Annabel continued to strengthen and within 48 hours the doctors informed us that her hypertension had corrected itself, her right lung had grown to normal size and that her PDA and ASD were no longer a concern. We began to gain some optimism about our situation. She had 2 stable days and nights in the NICU as her mother and I prayed with friends and family for her recovery.

Then, on Monday when Annabel was 4 days old, the neonatologist came to our room and informed us that we had some results from the Mayo Clinic. The preliminary test results indicated that Annabel had Trisomy 18. Additional results also confirmed that it was complete across all her cells.

Her mother and I are now facing some difficult decisions. We are going to extabate her soon and see if she can continue to breathe on her own. So far she has not had any apnea, so we are trying to stay positive and we hope to bring her into the comfort of our home soon.

My heart goes out to all the t18 families and I look forward to the support my wife and I can receive and provide to others from this ordeal.

In the meantime our entire family is loving every moment we get to spend with our little angel, Annabel Leigh.

UPDATE: Sweet Annabel has been home with us since Thursday May 7th and we have a Hospice care provider. Our primary goal is to keep our little girl comfortable and continue to love (and spoil her) for however long as we can.