Nate's Imaginary Sibling

A lot of people have asked us about if we're going to have more children.  The answer is a) where are your manners and b) we hope so but don't know if we'll be able to.  When we first got Nate's diagnosis we met with a genetic counselor who walked us through our options for possible future children.  They are:

1) Roll the dice and get pregnant the old-fashioned way.  There is a 25% chance any future kid will have SMARD.  The fetus can be tested for SMARD through an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling.  There is the option to terminate the pregnancy depending on the result.

2) Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).  This is similar to in vitro fertilization but the embryo is tested for the disease before it is implanted. 

3) Sperm or egg donor

4) Adoption

Obviously there are lots of pros and cons for each and what's right for one family may not be right for another.  But it is amazing to live in a day where these options exist.  We hope that someday we may be in a position to give Nate the little sibling he never knew he always wanted.