I Couldn’t Wait To Welcome My Fourth Child. Then a Scan Changed Everything
Newsweek · C · trust 49/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. When pregnant with your fourth child, it’s easy to think you know exactly what to expect. Having already delivered three healthy and beautiful daughters, my husband Mark and I were so excited to welcome our fourth and final child in 2026.
I found out I was pregnant last October, and although it did not feel dramatically different to the previous times, I felt much sicker. The nausea started earlier and lasted so much longer.
Not to mention, I was much more eager to find out the baby’s gender this time. I’m not sure if it was because I knew this was our last baby, but I was just so anxious to find out who we were adding to our family. But to our delight, I got to hear those amazing words, “it’s a girl!” for a fourth time.
Four daughters whom I get to raise as loving sisters. What could be better?
Our entire family was delighted about the new arrival, and the girls were so excited about their new baby sister.
Once I got through the nausea, my pregnancy seemed to be going well. But by the time we reached the 20-week ultrasound scan, everything changed.
It was February 2026 and as the technician rubbed the cold gel on my bump, I instantly saw her face drop. Her expression shifted from sheer joy to undeniable concern.
“What is it?” I asked, desperate to know more.
The ultrasound scan was troubling, but the technician could not tell us anything at the time. Instead, we were referred to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist to look over our case in more depth. There was just one problem—we had to wait 10 days to see our new doctor.
Those were the longest and most painful days of my life.
We knew there could be something wrong with our daughter, but there was nothing Mark or I could do. I already felt so attached to my unborn baby, but now we just had to wait and see.
When we eventually met with the specialist, she confirmed that several of the baby’s features were not developing sufficiently. She was extremely small for her gestational age, had extra digits on her hands and feet, and some of her fingers and toes were fused together. Worryingly, they also could not see her eyes, and her lungs were not developing properly.
It was so much worse than we anticipated.
In order to get more clarity, we had to go through with an amniocentesis, followed by a six-week wait for the results. When you’re pregnant, you are already working against the clock, so six weeks felt like a lifetime.
I was nearing my third trimester by the time the amniocentesis results came back, and it was devastating. Our beautiful baby, whom we had already named Sunny, was diagnosed with Goltz syndrome, also referred to as focal dermal hypoplasia.
It’s a rare disorder that hinders the development of skin, hands, feet and eyes. It can cause thin streaks, lesions or growths on the skin, missing eyes or tear ducts, dental abnormalities, a cleft lip, microcephaly, heart disease, kidney problems and hearing impairment.
When the doctor listed all the developmental problems that Sunny could face, then came the news that no parent should hear. As I sat there listening, she warned me that Sunny may not survive the birth, and if she did, she would need specialist care throughout her life.
This was a baby we had prayed for and wanted so badly. Hearing that we might not get to bring her home was crushing.
Upon hearing all the challenges that Sunny might face, I knew that I would do whatever I could to give her a fighting chance.
I went into autopilot, determined to fight for my baby.
None of our doctors in Idaho had treated a patient with Goltz syndrome, so there wasn’t any experience available locally. While they provided incredible care, we wanted to get another opinion from someone who had actually seen this syndrome before.
That was when we connected with a geneticist in San Francisco, and we knew the best option for our family was to relocate. We wanted to give Sunny access to doctors who had experience with her condition and give her the best possible chance.
So, at 36 weeks pregnant, we packed up our lives in Meridian, Idaho, and moved to San Francisco, California. We moved our whole family more than 600 miles, not even knowing whether Sunny would survive.
Honestly, the decision itself wasn’t difficult. We immediately knew we would do whatever we could to help Sunny.
Thankfully, everything came together much more smoothly than we could have imagined. The hardest part was leaving our home in Idaho. I was scared to leave our family, friends, and support system without any idea how long we would be gone. We didn’t know if we would be home before school started, or if we would be in California for months—or even years.
But I will say, one of the hardest things to process was the possibility that we might have to figure out how to bring our daughter home if she survived—or how we would bring her home if she didn’t.
On June 12, 2026, the day finally came when I got to meet my youngest daughter. Sunny was born weighing 4 pounds and 4 ounces and she was utterly perfect.
The delivery was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I was in this unfamiliar hospital, not knowing whether I would have to say goodbye to my baby, and mentally I was struggling.
I was induced at 37 weeks, but because of how high-risk Sunny’s condition was, I had to deliver her in an operating room so that every lifesaving measure would be available. It was incredibly bright, and there were dozens of people surrounding me in gowns and masks. I was in tears the entire time.
For months, I was told that Sunny might not survive. I prepared myself to say goodbye, but I still wasn’t ready. How could I be?
As soon as she was born, my little fighter was immediately taken to the NICU. By the time Mark and I got to visit her, we were told something that we never expected: she was…
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