Update

Anna had her appointment today. My main concern going in was that she had gained sufficient weight. Her appetite is not consistent and since she did not register weight gain at her appointment in June, I wondered what would be the response if she did not gain weight this time. As it turned out, she gained 1 1/2 pounds which was enough to bring her up to the 90% in weight and she is also in the 90% for height. She is actually bigger than any of my other kids at that age! Alleluia!

Steve had a sobering thought the other day- what would life be like without the enzymes that allow her to digest and absorb her food? How blessed we are to live at a time when this medicine is available. Anna's doctor once told us that 20-30 years ago, the diagnosis of CF was an early death sentence. There was little they could do and most children died before the age of ten. A friend of ours told us that he once knew two children of the same family with CF and said that they were "difficult to look at" because they were so thin. They both passed away before the age of twenty. When a child can not keep on weight and grow properly, they have less of a chance of fighting infections when they come their way...

Another thought that Steve shared was thankfulness that we were aware of Anna's condition within a few weeks of her birth. Many children are not diagnosed until the age Anna is now (nearly three) or even older, some much older (the doctor told me he recently had a newly diagnosed patient that was in his early twenties). We have been able to give her enzymes and therapy and in doing so, prevent problems she may have had in these early years of growth and development.  I remember the staff at the CF clinic telling us we were "lucky" for the early diagnosis- and I wanted to scream at them for the pain that I was in because of the diagnosis of my baby child... but, like Steve, with a couple of years behind us, I see the value in knowing her condition early on- as painful as knowing has been.

By the way, Anna overcame that summer cold. Thank you to all who keep her health in their thoughts and prayers. We are extremely grateful.