Marine Sees Ultrasound via Video Feed

Multi-National Force - Iraq ^ | Cpl. Ryan Young, USMC

[SandRat]

Lance Cpl. Daniel Jordan turns up the speaker volume to hear the sound of his unborn child’s heartbeat during a video teleconference, March 14. The family spent nearly two hours talking and viewing images of their baby during the VTC. Photo by Cpl. Ryan Young, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Public Affairs.

AL ASAD AIR BASE — On the monitor is a smiling woman, happy to see her husband in such clarity and to hear his voice without the fear of losing the phone signal. The doctor’s office she is in is full of people with the occasional glimpse of family members and a local news agency’s cameraman in the background. Watching the excitement live, thousands of miles away, is a Marine, her husband, currently deployed to Iraq and waiting to hear the word … boy or girl.

Lance Cpl. Daniel Jordan, an aviation operations specialist with a Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2 detachment aboard Camp Korean Village, spent March 14 speaking with his wife Lauren as a Troy, Mich., ultrasound technician conducted an ultrasound to determine the condition and sex of their baby.

“It was great to see her on a big screen and talk to her without a delay like we get out here with phone calls,” said Jordan. “It was an uplifting experience.”

While the VTC itself included a live feed of video and voice transmissions, Jordan was also able to watch web-streaming video of the sonogram through a Web site the imaging center provided.

“I saw everything right along with her and it made us both extremely happy,” explained Jordan. “It was the next best thing from actually being there.”

The idea of sharing the discovery of the baby’s gender together came when Lauren Jordan learned about the Freedom Calls Foundation on a military supporter’s Web page, said Jordan. His wife contacted them and began to work out the details.

“I told my command what was being planned and they fully supported the effort,” said Jordan. “I am really impressed with Freedom Calls. They flew to Michigan to set it all up and seemed just as excited as us for the whole thing.”

The Freedom Calls Foundation operates call centers at seven military camps in Iraq and Kuwait, and conducts upward of 2,000 VTC events a month, according to John Harlow, the Freedom Calls Foundation executive director and founder.

“The family was fantastic to work with, as are all of our families,” said Harlow. “There is nothing more important to these families than the ability to keep in touch during deployments.”

The Jordan family has already experienced one previous deployment, but with their first child on the way, every opportunity to connect is greeted with gratitude, said Jordan.

The nurse showed the Jordan family their baby on the ultrasound screen, pointing out the arms and features of the face, and gave Jordan a chance to hear his child’s heartbeat. After some slight movements with the ultrasound, the nurse pauses and asks if they would like to know the gender of the baby. The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

The Jordan’s are now expecting a baby girl.

(By Cpl. Ryan Young, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Public Affairs)

[SandRat]

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[nickcarraway]

I bet he said, “Awww, what a cute clump of tissue that is.”

[MaryFromMichigan]

Aw, how sweet!
Nice to hear good news!
Great post!

[billorites]

I bet he said, “Awww, what a cute clump of tissue that is.”

Well, I've always had rather mixed feelings about obstetrical ultrasounds.

On the one hand, it was when I saw an ultrasound of our (not yet) first born child that I began to really feel like I was going to be a father. It's the the first picture in the baby book.

Nevertheless, the unspoken question asked by an ultrasound or amniocentesis procedure is something like this:

"So, what have you got there? Is it a baby or a lump of tissue?"

I thank Heaven that we've had three easy answers to that.

[El Gato]

Nevertheless, the unspoken question asked by an ultrasound or amniocentesis procedure is something like this:

Not necessarily. If there would be something wrong, it can often be treated in the womb, sometimes just with medications for the mother to take, but also sometimes with literal surgery in the womb. It can also reveal interesting surprises, like my identical twin granddaughters. :) I lost track of how many ultrasounds my daughter had with them.

There were concerns along the way about them, there was a size and proportion difference, and now 17 months after their birth there still is. The "little one" has always been a few weeks "behind" in her large motor skills, but in small motor skills, she way ahead of "big" sissy. Big sissy was anemic at birth, little sis had to stay in the NICU longer. Both seem pretty bright, but the little one is definitely more analytical, big one is somewhat more jolly. I get a big smile from the big one as soon as I arrive (a big change from their really big sister) and a high five from the little one. Big one gives me a goodbye kiss, while the little one waves bye-bye.

Being a grandpa has its rewards. :)

[billorites]

You're absolutely right.

Technological advances engender new questions. I can't learn whether my unborn child has a treatable prenatal condition without at the same time learning that he has an untreatable condition as well.

Technology has outpaced the progress made by students of moral judgment. That's our history over the past 2,000 years, more or less.