Sophia Wieberg is nothing if not a miracle. When Rachel, her mother, was 20 weeks pregnant, she and husband Craig went for a scheduled morphology scan that measures bones and checks organs in the unborn child. "We noticed they kept measuring spots in her brain," Rachel said. "We didn't think anything of it, and then we got a call two days later."
Doctors told the Wiebergs that their yet unborn, first child had hydrocephalus and Dandy Walker Malformation. (Hydrocephalus is having too much cerebrospinal fluid, or water, on the brain. Dandy Walker is when there is no cerebellum or a very small one.)
So the Wiebergs went to see a maternal/fetal specialist in Columbia, who said Sophia had an enlarged space in the brain that was holding fluid. Being a nurse, Rachel said, she wanted to rule it all out, so the family went ahead with further testing, each had been suggested by the new physician as well.
- Florida (21-2) beat Tennessee 94-78. Next: at Georgia, Wednesday.
- Wisconsin (22-2) beat Northwestern 69-52. Next: at Penn State, Wednesday.
- North Carolina (20-3) lost to N.C. State 83-79. Next: at No. 8 Duke, Wednesday.
- Ohio State (20-3) beat Michigan State 63-54. Next: vs. Michigan, Tuesday.
- UCLA (20-2) beat Oregon State 82-35. Next: vs. Southern California, Wednesday.
- Kansas (19-3) vs. No. 10 Texas A&M. Next: vs. Kansas State, Wednesday.
- Pittsburgh (20-3) did not play. Next: at West Virginia, Wednesday.
- Duke (18-4) did not play. Next: vs. Florida State, Sunday.
- Oregon (19-4) lost to Southern California 71-68. Next: vs. Arizona State, Thursday.
- Texas A&M (18-3) at No. 6 Kansas. Next: vs. No. 22 Texas, Monday.
- Memphis (19-3) beat SMU 88-52. Next: at UAB, Thursday.
- Oklahoma State (18-4) lost to Colorado 89-77. Next: at Oklahoma, Wednesday.
- Butler (22-2) beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 66-47. Next: at Cleveland State, Thursday.
- Marquette (20-4) beat Providence 69-62. Next: vs. Rutgers, Wednesday.
- Nevada (20-2) vs. Hawaii. Next: at Fresno State, Thursday.
- Virginia Tech (16-7) lost to Boston College 80-59. Next: vs. Virginia, Saturday.
- Air Force (20-3) beat Wyoming 88-43. Next: at San Diego State, Tuesday.
- Washington State (18-4) at Arizona State. Next: vs. No. 23 Stanford, Thursday.
- Alabama (17-5) beat South Carolina 64-61. Next: vs. Mississippi State, Wednesday.
- Arizona (15-7) beat Washington 84-54. Next: at Arizona State, Thursday.
- Notre Dame (18-4) at South Florida. Next: at DePaul, Thursday.
- Texas (16-6) lost to Kansas State 73-72. Next: at No. 10 Texas A&M, Saturday.
- Stanford (14-6) at California. Next: at No. 18 Washington State, Thursday.
- Vanderbilt (15-7) vs. Georgia. Next: at Tennessee, Saturday.
- Clemson (18-5) lost to Georgia Tech 80-62. Next: vs. Florida State, Wednesday.
An amniocentesis came back as "hopeful," Rachel said. At 30 weeks, they went to St. Louis to have a fetal MRI done. Waiting for the results was hard, especially when time passed and no one had called. When she called the hospital, Rachel, who was very sick and in the hospital and on bed rest herself, said she was told they needed to return to St. Louis for a followup ultrasound.
"I was bawling," she said. The tests again showed Sophia had Dandy Walker, a malformation that is typically fatal. "We didn't know if she would live after birth. Doctors told us if we wanted to end the pregnancy, we could."
Recalling the difficulty they had in getting pregnant with Sophia, the family decided they would give Sophia every chance they could, and wait and see what happened at the time of her birth.
So they met with a neurosurgeon and NICU intensivist, and waited for her arrival.