Gianna by the Numbers

As it's both football season and Keenland thoroughbred racing season in Lexington, a lot of minds are on "the odds" this time of year.  This got me thinking about how although Gianna's only a little over 2 weeks old now, she has already been so blessed and beaten so many odds herself.  At least 100 times a day Matt and I look at Gianna, look at each other, and marvel about how lucky we are and how incredibly well Gianna is doing.  When Gianna's encephalocele was diagnosed at week 20 of my pregnancy, here are some of the few statistics that were available on her condition and prognosis:

• Encephaloceles occur in about 1 in 10,000 live births.
• Encephaloceles are a prominent cause of spontaneous miscarriages before 20 weeks.
• An encephalocele reduces the likelihood of a live birth to 21%.
• Only half of those 21% survive.
• 75% of those survivors have varying degrees of mental disabilities, the severity is higher for those who have the brain herniation on the back of the skull, as Gianna's was.

Grim, huh? We knew that odds were against her to survive or thrive.  We know that Gianna's future is uncertain and that she has an uphill road ahead of her.  But regardless of what happens next, Gianna has already come out of the gate like a 50 to 1 Triple Crown winner.