July 5: A sigh of relief
In my dream world they would have a huge [pink?] sparkly stamp on each of the first-time moms’ medical files. It would read “First time mom. Please at least try to be nice".”
I hadn’t heard back regarding our genetic testing and it had been over a week. They told me I’d probably hear back by the end of last week, but when I didn’t hear anything by Friday, or Monday, I figured it was because of the 4th of July holiday. After getting through this morning with no call, I decided to call the office to see if they had the results.
During the ultrasound, the tech said that everything looked great and healthy, but still, in the back of my mind, I really want to know what the blood test results were. The actual results would combine the blood test with the ultrasound and determine a risk factor for Down Syndrome and other anomalies.
I called the office, told them my name, birthdate, when the appointment was, and the lady on the other end of the phone put me on hold.
A pit started to form in my stomach as I waited.
She got back on the phone and said
“Um, you’re going to need to talk to a genetic counselor.”
Click.
I thought she was transferring me to said genetic counselor, but she had indeed hung up.
So naturally, I called back.
“Hi, I was just speaking with you on the phone and I think I got disconnected as you tried to connect me to the genetic counselor.”
“Um, no. I left a message on her board for her to call you back.”
“When do you think I can expect a call?”
“I don’t know. Maybe this afternoon.”
Click.
WOW.
Immediately, the pit into my stomach grew into a full-up boulder and I called the Pilot. I was shaking as I called him—convinced that the woman on the phone had seen the test results, and couldn’t believe we would have to wait all day to hear back from them.
Being the calm-under-pressure guy that he is, he assured me that if they had news for us on a positive test they would have contacted us more quickly and that everything would be fine.
While I was talking to him, call waiting from an unknown number flashed up on the screen.
“I’ll call you right back, I think it’s them”
At this point, I’d stopped shaking but was still anxious.
“Hello?”
[Pleasant, cheery female voice] “Hi, is this Angelina?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“Hi this is so-and-so from blah-blah clinic and we have your test results from the Nuchal translucency screening and everything looks absolutely fantastic so far.”
She went on to go over certain statistics for my age and said that the risk for Down Syndrome was originally 1 in 700-something and after my test, my personal risk dropped to 1 in 8000-something. She kept talking, and I can’t remember what she was saying, but it was a huge relief to hear that everything came back normal. Of course, we wanted to do the test to be better prepared and research in the case that the test came back positive, but just to hear the results was comforting.
The number one reason I did the testing –I’m at low risk since I’m in my 20s- was so I could get a free ultrasound, since our insurance only covers a few and covers this test.
Was it worth the stress?
To see that little baby, flipping, moving and waving on the screen: 100% yes.
73 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I’m so glad everything came back okay!!
I had a student in my class this past school year named Angelina. She was very type A – like you described yourself. Teachers love type A students 🙂
Yay! You will get used to the medical professionals being iffy. You might be glad you don’t have that ‘first time mom’ sticker on your file. When I was leaving the hospital with my baby, the nurse handed her to me and said “How many others do you have?” I said “none”, and she said “Really!? I never would’ve guessed. You are so confident and comfortable with her.” I was kinda flattered.
Wow – I can’t believe the person you first talked to spoke to you like that! 1st time pregnant or not that is just RUDE. It’s SUCH a stressful time.
Glad you got GOOD news though. Yay!!!
SO glad everything is fantastic! Sometimes people in the medical field can be so inconsiderate. 🙁
Stories like this are so helpful to hear as a future nurse. I never want to be like that to people! I am so glad everything came out okay! 🙂
So glad your results are so positive and optimistic, Gina!
I remember going thru all those tests, the anxiety (that my type-A self would self-impose…ugh!) I remember the waiting game. Not fun!
But thrilled for you guys that all seems picture perfect 🙂
I’m a pre-med student and after working as a receptionist in a doc’s office for a year have been saying I will overpay my receptionists for the rest of my life…one of those jobs that’s way harder than it looks! That being said, I would DEFINITELY want to know if someone on my staff was treating patients the way you were treated….that’s COMPLETELY unacceptable!
So glad your results came out positive (well negative, as the case may be), no thanks to the nasty lady you spoke with!
They could’ve handled that more gracefully…. especially with something as sensitive as genetic testing. All-in-all good news is good news!!! Very awesome news indeed : )
Geez I can’t believe how rude rude she was to you – I would have been spas-tastic if I were you too! I had a horribly rude gyno once and when we’d discuss certain things she’d make me cry! So I switched and have never been happier, especially since we’re trying now I needed to get someone who I was comfortable and happy with. Happy to hear everything is ok though 🙂
Btw, I didn’t realize your full name was Angelina? I love that name, you don’t hear it often and it’s so pretty 🙂
Wow, that’s unacceptable. Honestly, bad medical receptionists are one factor in choosing a doctor. I would definitely speak to your practitioner about that kind of treatment. You shouldn’t be spoken with like that and you definitely shouldn’t be unnecessarily worried.
In the future, just remember– if they don’t call you, that usually means it all went okay. If something comes back with cause for concern, they will call you almost immediately and set up an appointment for you to come in, and usually won’t discuss negative results over the phone.
🙂 They definitely need first time mom stickers though!
Wow how rude !! We had a rude u/s tech when we were pregnant with our first. It was our 20 week u/s so we were sooo excited to find out what we were having. she was horrible and at the end shes like “oh look s like it will be girl not a 100% though” in a monotone voice and left the room !
whaaaa?! who does that?
They told me with girl predictions especially it’s usually about 90% accurate from ultrasound.
Glad for the test results you got- SO sorry about the rude woman you dealt with on the phone! That’s horrible, you should say something to someone higher-up at that clinic.
gina, I am SO happy to hear things are all GOOD.
as someone who has run a medical clinic, I would appreciate having a patient call me to share an experience like that. this person needs more training or a different job! even as the clinic director I cannot look in someone’s file and give any results, but there is definitely a better way of going about it. I would definitely suggest you say something.
I love your idea of stickers!! really, can I use that? 😀
yes! 🙂
A relief I’m sure!!! I was the same way. Have you seen this blog: http://www.kellehampton.com
Anyway, it changed my view on down syndrome as I did not know a THING about it. I too was scared for my results and it’s a subject I feel is kind-of unknown. Anyway, it’s the most amazing blog and worth a look! 🙂
While I’m sad you had a short receptionist, I am glad your experience with the genetic counselor was a good one. I’m going to school to become a prenatal genetic counselor and I can’t wait for the day when I get to hand out the good news like you got on that day. Congrats on your whole pregnancy and I love following your blog and progress. =D