Dominic Gundrum had not yet been born when his parents saw something on the 20-week ultrasound that no parent wants to see.
An encephalocele: brain tissue and fluid were protruding through a facial cleft, forming a golf-ball-sized bubble under the skin of his forehead. He also had a Tessier cleft, a triangular opening that began at his upper lip, passed through his nose and extended up to his forehead. According to Fox News, doctors initially thought his chances of survival were slim.
Mary and Mark did not sit around waiting. They searched online and found John Meara and Ed Smith, surgeons at Boston Children’s Hospital who had already treated a severe case of encephalocele. They emailed them the ultrasound. Dominic was born in 2012 without complications and was operated on by a team of fifteen professionals over eight hours. The surgery was a success. Would you have had the courage to go ahead with that diagnosis?
