Its too much for me to get my head around right now. I need to think. I promise Ill get back to you in a day or so. I left the office in a daze. What was I going to do? Where would I begin? Who, besides Dr. Sam, would be able to advise me? My parents were on the other side of the world, teaching in China. I felt that if I could talk to Mom, held in her comforting arms, she would give me some of her wisdom. If I could be face-to-face with Dad, he would give me strength. They were all I had left in my world. My husband, Paul, had been killed in a traffic accident six weeks ago. Mom and Dad had gone back to China a week after the funeral, when they thought I was able to cope with my loss. There was nowhere to turn.
I had to face reality. This was a decision I would make on my own. I needed to gather all the information I could about Downs syndrome. I wasted no time. I went to the library to begin my research. The steps to the future were in my hands.
The first medical journal I chose explained the causes of Downs syndrome. Normally, each egg and sperm cell contains 23 chromosomes, and, when they unite, 23 pairs or 46 in total. Occasionally, an accident occurs when the egg or sperm cell is forming, creating an extra chromosome number 21. This extra chromosome results in the features of Downs syndrome. In the past, this disorder was called Mongolism because of the facial characteristics including slanted eyes and a small, flattened nasal bridge. It is a common genetic birth defect affecting about one in 800 to 1000 births when the mother is 30 years of age. The odds of my having a Down syndrome increased to one in 100 because I was in my fortieth year.
【读文章记单词备战英语六级】相关文章:
最新
2019-11-23
2019-11-23
2019-11-23
2019-11-23
2019-11-14
2019-11-14