Edinburgh couple's joy turned to despair after noticing sonographer's concerned look
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An Edinburgh couple were devastated after finding out their unborn child had a life-limiting condition during a routine scan.
Euan, 33, and Megan Higgins, 29, were over the moon when they discovered they were expecting in October 2022, but their joy soon turned to heartbreak when a 12 week scan revealed Leo was measuring too small.
The couple, originally from Edinburgh but now living in Ormiston in East Lothian, were given further bad news when their 16 week scan found chromosomal abnormalities that put Leo at risk for extremely rare Edward's/Patau syndrome.
Later tests found Leo had triploidy, a rare genetic condition that causes a developing fetus to have 69 total chromosomes in their cells instead of 46, with the couple told he would likely not survive outside the womb.
Teacher Megan showed incredible strength giving birth to sleeping Leo shortly after 16 weeks, with personal trainer Euan describing the experience as horrifyingly traumatic.
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'I remember the exact moment my phone rang on the way to work and I immediately thought something was wrong,' Euan said. 'With our jobs everything is meticulously planned, so when Megan rang out of the blue, I thought something had happened to her or the dog.
'To hear the words 'I'm pregnant' literally made my whole world stop for a second, I froze in shock and amazement. I just burst out crying, it was such a relief.
'For some reason I had it in my head I wouldn't be able to have kids and I'm not really sure why. The emotion overcame me and I just broke down knowing we would be getting what we always wanted, a family.
'People always tell you not to get too excited or don't start buying things until further down the line, but I think that's impossible. Especially when it's the first time this happens to you and it's literally everything you ever wanted.
'So we went to Asda and bought the baby its first outfit. It was the number one thing on our minds all day, every day. It was exciting, precious and magical.
'Like a lot of couples we got a private scan as soon as we could and we were a bit naive looking forward to all of the scans. We just saw it as an opportunity to see our little baby at the start of his journey but in reality these scans are to check their health.
'Everything seemed fine at first then our NHS 12-week scan came around and that is when we were told the baby was slightly too small.'
The couple did not fully panic at this stage as they were informed not to worry and come back in a week's time. They remained excited and it never crossed their mind anything was seriously wrong.
But it was in a small room in East Lothian Community Hospital that the sky fell in. Euan described the smile being wiped from both their faces.
'I felt sick and faint, something wasn't right,' Euan continued. 'Our sonographer was lovely and he had such a kind approach but we could see the look of concern on his face.
'We were sent along for blood tests and told if we did not hear anything back within two weeks then it was a good sign. We had told some people we were pregnant but not everyone.
'Megan began to become really concerned whenever she felt ill. We went through Christmas 2022 really low, unable to fully share what we were going through and not knowing what would happen.
'Two weeks passed and our confidence grew. Our fear of chromosomal abnormalities was now low but the following week, we got a call from Fetal Medicine telling us to come in as our baby had a high risk of Edwards'/Patau syndrome.
'From here we had another scan and appointment which confirmed everything and we then had to make a decision - one that everyone thinks won't happen to them. To continue with the pregnancy or not.
'Everyone has their own views on this, but unless you've been in the situation you really shouldn't comment. We received advice and it felt like the best option for us was not to continue with the pregnancy as our baby had an extremely low chance of life.'
The following days consisted of Megan taking medication to 'start the process.' She then had to give birth, awake and aware of what was happening around her - an extremely traumatic experience for the couple.
'The process was long, painful and soul destroying,' Euan said. 'I'll never forget it.
'I'll also never forget the strength Megan displayed and the one positive through all this was I found a whole new level of love for my wife. We then chose to have a post mortem performed on our baby.
'We found out our baby was a boy who he was since named Leo. He had severe abnormalities with his hands, feet and heart and only had one kidney which was lying far down.
'We also found out that he didn't have Patau's or Edward's syndrome and instead had Triploidy. Whereby, he had three of each chromosome and his chances of survival would have been days, possibly weeks had he made it to full term.'
The couple decided against receiving support from a charity and instead tried to work through their grief together. They scattered Leo's ashes but remained resolute in their desire to build their own family.
A number of months after losing Leo, Megan fell pregnant again. The couple admit they were riddled with anxiety throughout after their previous loss but the pregnancy led to the birth of their incredible daughter, Runa.
'I feel that everything does happen for a reason; good or bad, happy or sad,' he said. 'We would not have our beautiful little girl and a happy family now had it not been for this traumatic experience and journey.
'We often say it's a conflicting cycle. If we hadn't lost Leo, we would never have Runa. However, we wouldn't wish for what we went through on anyone and wished we never had to go through it.
'We are now expecting our second child on August 12 later this year.'
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Despite not receiving support from a charity out of choice, Euan has set his sights on this year's Edinburgh Marathon to raise money for 'Held In Our Hearts.' The charity assists parents who have experienced baby loss.
'I'm doing this for him and I'm doing this for all the other mums and dads out there who have experienced baby loss,' Euan said. 'Unfortunately, it is more common than many of us realise and I only became aware of this sadly when we lost Leo.
'We never reached out to a baby loss charity. I guess we never really spoke about it.
'However, we had people mention Held in Our Hearts to us, many times, and knowing there was someone there we could talk to if we needed it made a big difference. Your support would be greatly appreciated and if anyone ever wants to reach out and share their story or needs any help and support, I'd be happy to help if I can.'
To support Euan's fundraiser, click here.
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