Friday, November 16, 2007

Great News

We found out on Wed that little Will does not have cystic fibrosis. In fact, he is not even a carrier. He had as much a chance of having the disease as not being a carrier for it (25%). It was a huge relief to find out that he will never have to think about CF in his life.

We discovered back in March or April that both Brig and I were CF carriers and that each child we had would have a 1 in 4 chance of having CF, and a 50% chance of being a carrier for the disease. We opted not to get an amnio to find out whether Will was sick, since there is nothing that can be done to treat it during gestation and the amnio does present a risk to the fetus. The worry over his possible medical condition was a dark cloud hanging over us the entire pregnancy. I thought that I would be able to handle whatever befell, but after Will was born, I knew that hypothetically dealing with that disease and actually watching your child struggle with it were two very different things, and that I would be devastated if he were sick. It has been a tremendous relief that all is well.

He has, however, failed both of the hearing tests administered on his right ear. I am not feeling too terribly concerned about this, though. The IUGR and the CF both turned out not to befall us, and I think out luck will continue to hold. Poor doctors probably have to be alarmists because of the legal profession (I am convinced that was the reason behind the IUGR diagnosis. Also, after concerns that my little boy will suffer a terrible and debilitating illness that would certainly take his life before he reached 40, and possibly much much younger, a hearing impairment in one ear really seems like no big deal. Nothing we couldn't handle.

6 comments:

Sean said...

Glad to know he's good. He'll surely do something crazy and cool with his life. Just got the email today about him. Congrats, Alexandra and Brig. Hope all is well.

Jacqueline Auna and family said...

I'm so happy and relieved to hear that! You always seem so at peace and happy - I don't think that I knew that, I feel like such a bad friend... Yay, Will! He's so handsome - just like Andrew. (Thanks for having us over the other day!)

Paul said...

We're so glad to hear that everything's ok! We haven't wanted to ask, but just assumed you'd tell us when you knew. What a blessing! We can't wait to meet little Will. We're in DC now, at Sarah's parents house. We're planning on sepnding the day with you and the rest of the family on Wednesday and Thursday, but if you guys want to get together before then, just let us know. We love you! Again, we're thrilled about the news!

Tiana said...

I am so happy to hear he doesn't have CF. What a relief. I hope you are all well.

Ashley said...

Hi Alex! I just found your blog from the BYU alumni notes Aerie emailed me about. How fun to catch up on you and your darling boys!!! Congratulations and what a relief that your little Will is ok. I am currently pregnant with my second boy, too, and I don't think I would be able to be as strong as you about it. Do you loving being a mom? It looks like you are doing a great job, especially that dump truck cake! Well good luck with both boys!
Ashley (Warner) Carter

Unknown said...

such wonderful news!!