The rain forced Janaya Moscony to slow her usual breakneck pace as she drove her black Audi convertible to Paoli Hospital.
She was nervous about the big needle they would stick in her belly for the amniocentesis. What if it hit the baby? Was it worth taking a chance, even a small one?
But she was 35, an age that technically made the pregnancy "high risk." So she had taken a few hours off that Tuesday morning last September to get the test, just to be sure everything was OK.
Her financial clients could wait. Besides, Janaya didn't have to be at her home office in Phoenixville to stay connected. She always carried her BlackBerry.
Janaya signed in for the test, checked her e-mail one more time, and nervously took a seat in the waiting room.
Within minutes, she was following the receptionist down the hall to the exam room.
She didn't have to undress. She lay down on the examining table and bared her belly. They would do an ultrasound first, the technician told her.
Do you want to know the sex? she asked Janaya.
Yes.
She was 16 weeks pregnant. The technician looked at the screen and paused. I can't tell. Let me get the doctor to check, she told Janaya.
Moments later, the doctor came in and repeated the ultrasound.
It's a boy, he told Janaya. And then the hammer.
There's a problem.
What? What did he mean?
The doctor was matter-of-fact: The baby had a birth defect. His intestines appeared to have spilled out of a hole in his abdominal wall.
The doctor told her it was probably something called gastroschisis or possibly omphalocele, a similar defect.
She started to shake. She tried to hold back, control her emotions, but she could not.
Janaya began to cry.
You need to see a specialist, the doctor said. He mentioned Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Some women, he was telling her, consider termination at this point.
Her mind was reeling.
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