When I was pregnant and having my 20 week ultrasound I randomly asked the tech to check Tess's fingers and toes because polydactyly runs in our family and sure enough she had it. Basically it is a genetic trait where the baby forms extra fingers and toes. You can see it very well in these pictures that Amy took. Tess has 1 extra digit on each of her hands and feet. So I knew that both of my sisters and my dad had it when they were born. At the blessing my sister was talking to my Grandma Pulley and mentioned it to her. Well little did we all know it is in every generation of our family. My grandma had an extra finger as well as my great and great great grandpa's. The crazy thing is that none of my sister's kids have had it so it is very random.
Sometimes when babies are born with this the digits can be anywhere from just a loose piece of skin to a full finger with a bone and full mobility. All of hers have bones and mobility so that makes the surgery to remove them a little more difficult. They used to remove them soon after they were born, but now they usually wait until they are between 1-2 years old. It makes me sad to remove them because they are a part of her, but I know it is best in the long term.
Here are some great pictures of her hands and feet and my sweet Grandma Pulley holding her.
4 comments:
awesome! thanks for sharing. Runs in my family too, but never knew what it was called and only found out recently that it is common.
Cute story. And I love all the pictures. I'm so glad we were able to be there with you guys on that special day, Tess is adorable. We love you guys!!
I'm so excited to see her Ann! Her little digits are just adorable.
That's amazing! Do people who are born with them opt to keep them? I mean, full mobility and everything? What kind of a pianist could she be someday?! (Of course, I'm not an expert...)
Post a Comment