Just Unlucky
Diagnosis: Potter's Syndrome
By Cody's Mum
It is coming up to my son Cody's one year anniversary. The tears have started coming at a more regular basis.
In September 2005, my sister and I made the journey to Toowoomba for my 19 week ultrasound. I was excited and nervous. My baby was a very quiet
child. At 19 weeks he didn't move a lot, which to me was worrying. Everyone kept telling me everything would be fine. They couldn't have been more
wrong.
On returning to pick up my scan, I was told I needed to see my doctor as soon as possible. I don't know how I made it back to my car, but I did.
At first I sat there, crying, for ten minutes, then I drove the one-hour trip home with tears pouring down my face. Unfortunately, my doctor was
gone when I got home so I had to go back first thing the next morning. Mum turned up that afternoon to pick up my sister and I started crying the
moment she walked in. All I could tell her was that something was wrong. My fiance was away working and wouldn't be back until the following night,
so one of my close friends came to stay with me.
It was a long night with no sleep. Mum came the next morning and off we went to the doctor's office. It was bad, I could tell as soon as I saw
the look on her face. We went in and she told me my baby had Potter's Syndrome. She had never heard of it before. Potter's Syndrome meant my baby
had no kidneys and bladder. I went to Brisbane to see another specialist, one of the best. The news was bad and there was no way to fix it. My baby's
condition was not compatible with life. He was going to die.
I couldn't believe this was happening to us. We had two healthy children. What had I done wrong? Apparently nothing, I was just unlucky. I knew
it wasn't my fault, but deep down I couldn't shake the feeling that I had done something wrong at some stage. I was booked in two weeks later to be
induced to have my baby. I couldn't do it straight away. I had to get my head around it and find a way to tell my two children that their little
brother was going to die. They took it hard. My four-year-old didn't really understand, but my nine-year-old son did. I spent the next two weeks
telling my little angel how sorry I was and how much I loved him.
I was induced on a Thursday and was told it would only take two days. After a week of being in hospital in the maternity ward with all these
other happy new mums I gave birth to a stillborn perfect baby boy. He was little, but beautiful. I stayed with him all day, just holding him. My
family has been so supportive. I could not have done it without them. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him or miss him.