I was born on July 12th, 1982 to my parents Mary and Terry. They had tried for several years to get pregnant with me. My mother had severe endometriosis, which was discovered as she struggled to get pregnant with me after getting pregnant quickly with my older sister, Heidi, who was born in 1975. Like so many other families, my parents had no known family history of CF so they had no idea that they were carriers.
At first I appeared perfectly normal. A 7lb 15oz baby girl. My parents brought me home and started to settle into life with two daughters.
It soon became obvious that something was wrong with me. I was not gaining weight. They tried switching me to formula, then to a high calorie/fat formula. All of these seemed to make a small change, then I went back to not gaining weight. My mother finally began documenting the amount they were feeding me, and when the doctor saw this, he knew that something was seriously wrong.
This picture was from right before I was diagnosed. My doctor ordered a litany of tests. The only one that came back positive was Cystic Fibrosis. I wasn't even 6 months old yet. After I was put on a proper diet and digestive enzymes, my health turned around. That will be the next chapter :)
1 comment:
I got here by following a post you left at CFhusbands website. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a child with CF or to have to deal with it all of your life. When my daughter had RSV and we had to give her breathing treatments, I cried every time we put the mask on her. I just thought about what it would be like if I didn't have the ability to give her the medicine - how she would be gasping for air. I've bookmarked your blog and look forward to reading more about how you deal with CF on a daily basis. I will also keep you in my prayers.
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