| Born With Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) |
| Our Family Benny, Bren, Benjamin (& Braelin) |
| Braelin at 10 wks gestation (profile) |
| Our story begins on October 13, 2003, my mother, "Nanny Ellen's", birthday. She had just past away, and we wanted to use this day to find out what we had already suspected. The test was absolutely positive! We were ecstatic as we began to think of 'tackling' once again the joys of newborn parenthood. The Lord had already blessed us 2 1/2 years prior, with the miracle of our firstborn, Benjamin. That pregnancy was absolutely flawless, with exception of an emergency C~Section, because of the cord being around his neck. (We did however, lose a baby girl, 12 weeks gestation on February 22, 2002 ). So after finding out our 'blessed news', we immediately went to our OB doctor, and he desired to do a Triple Screen Test due to our maternal age & history of pregnancy; having taken us 20 years to conceive Benjamin, in addition to the miscarriage. The test came back abnormal & high. So he then referred us to a specialist who did a Level 2 Ultrasound. As we 3 began to watch our little miracle on the screen, the specialist began to tell us of his concerns on how his heart appeared. He showed us how a fetal heart should 'beat'. We knew what we saw on the screen did not look right. The specialist then began to tell us his concerns of 'something else' looking suspicious to him. He wanted to perform an , & so we agreed. In just 3 days, we received a call from him stating that this was a Trisomy 18 baby. We had never heard of this before. He told us, because of his concerns of his heart, that he wanted us to go to Texas Children's, Houston, to see a Pediatric Cardiologist. We went, & they performed a Fetal Echo. Once again, we knew that his heart condition looked bad. His bladder was slightly enlarged; his urethra was 'sluggish'. They speculated seeing a 'possible spot' on his brain, but said "don't worry, it may not be anything". But then the discussion turned to his heart... ... this was their real concern. It was not only defective, but also deformed. The right & left ventricles were very small, and there was no "wall" that separates the two. His oxygenated blood was crossing paths with his red blood and they told us that this alone, would be a fatality to him once he's born ~ ~ "if he's even born alive." * At this point, it is now in the month of February, 2004 ~ our 5th month* (Feb. 22, 2003) We have never made a decision without talking, but foremost making it a matter of prayer. We had decided to do an "early induction". This decision was in our thoughts because I have an extreme amount of amniotic fluid. I already have above what a "normal amount" is, at delivery time, and with 4 months to go, the doctors said I would go into pre~term labor and that it would begin to affect my breathing. With this, we were made to believe that this 'early induction' was going to be like the one we had with our firstborn. When I began to inquire, they told us that it would not be that type of procedure. I asked what procedure it was, and they said, "The Laminaria". I had never heard of this, so she began to explain. As she was explaining, I went to my computer and looked it up. I sat there numb & speechless. I knew that we didn't have to make this a matter of prayer. We were not going to do this! My husband agreed. I must say, we have never been on a journey like the one we are on now, but we knew..."this was not a pregnancy gone wrong!" This was our baby ~ our little boy ~ and we were going to do whatever we prayerfully thought was right for him. We told our doctors that we wanted, as a family, to spend some kind of 'life time' with him, however long that may be, and that we were going to continue on with this pregnancy. We are a Christian family, and we face each day as a new & challenging day. Knowing that the Lord has "chosen us", because He knows that we are going to continue to trust Him completely! It doesn't make the burden any lighter, but it does give us peace & assurance. We hope this has been some type of information to you, as well as... a testimony, knowing that "He Is Faithful!" Please take a moment & e~mail us. This lets us know that you have visited his site. We would love to hear from you. And thank you for taking "Precious Moments" with us, & also, in sharing the story of our 2nd little miracle... Braelin Ellis. We are currently serving as missionaries to Jamaica, WI. Our 'home-base is Livingston, TX. We know what it's like to pray for many different types of needs and requests. Please know that each e~mail & request will be kept confidential. May you know, that we will be praying for each of you, and your "angel". With Love & In His Service, The Torbert Family |
| Braelin Ellis Torbert |
| "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come unto me..." |
| This site was inspired & created by Miracle Moments Network |
| Click on site below to see all updates of Braelin's life. Once in COTP site, scroll near bottom of page. Click on "In Memory", scroll down to Braelin ~ click on his name. This will take you to his personal site |
