Hope and Compassion when it’s needed most

We all learned about Gregor Mendel and his pea plants in middle and high school, and who could forget those Punnett Squares? Dominant and recessive,
chromosomes and the double helix, these concepts were so interesting in biology class (at least to me), but what happens when they become more
than abstract concepts and vocabulary words? When they become real and personal? What happens when it’s your child who is struggling and diagnosed
with a rare disease?

In the genetics clinic, we work with families everyday for whom these concepts aren’t just things to learn for a test – they are real and they are
scary. We can share information, educate them on where that extra chromosome came from or what’s the chance that this condition will recur in the
family. And patients need that information, but they need something else even more – hope.

Hope – that despite everything you may have read online, your child is not a list of symptoms, is not defined only by their diagnosis, but he or
she is an individual and that we will do everything on our power to support and encourage their health and development.

Hope – that someone, somewhere is researching this disorder, no matter how rare, and that progress can be made.

Hope – that even though you may be the only family in Greenwood, or even in South Carolina with this diagnosis, you are not alone.

Through careful clinical evaluations and compassionate genetic counseling, our goal with all of our patients is to educate, inform, and support,
but taking it a step farther, we want to make sure they leave our clinic with a renewed sense of hope that someone is there for them – someone
cares.

Through the Greenwood Genetic Center’s five clinical locations across South Carolina, along with
a new telehealth initiative, we strive to ensure that if you need our services, if you are seeking to find that hope, you can connect with
us.

If you’re planning a pregnancy, but are fearful of your family history; if your son or daughter isn’t hitting their milestones as expected, if
there is cancer rampant in your family and you’re afraid of being next – you are not alone.

Information, support and hope are available, you just have to reach out and take it.