Handsome, funny, energetic and carries a huge heart to go with his giant personality. He is now 7 years old. At 12 weeks in utero the Dr.'s discovered that my sister was a carrier of the CF gene. The Dr. wasn't concerned yet that their baby would have CF, as both parents have to be carriers --and then that still only leaves a 25% chance for baby. Well a week later my brother in law got tested and found out that he too was a carrier of the CF gene. They decided to do an amnio so that if their child did have cystic fibrosis they could begin researching the heck out of it. The test turned out positive and the researching began.
At only one day old Donovan already began taking enzymes before every feeding. Shortly after my sister and brother in law started to manually pat Donovan's back and chest to clear any mucous from building up. At 14 months old Donovan was able to fit the smallest size vest which plugged into a machine that vibrated his body. This replaced his mom and dads patting. At 2 years old he added in the nebulizer, which essentially delivers meds in the form of a mist to make inhaling easier.
At 3 years of age Donovan went into the hospital for 9 days because he was not able to fight an infection on his own. He had his first PICC line surgery to receive antibiotics through a PICC line. After this hospital stay more meds were added to his nebulizer. He currently takes albuterol, pulmozyme, and hyper saline. Donovan takes 13 enzyme pills and does 2 twenty minute breathing treatments daily. Every time he gets a cough the treatments are increased to 4 times a day.
What is CF?
Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems in children and adults in the united states and worldwide. A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life threatening lung infections and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food
In the 1950's, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended the life of children and adults with Cf. Many people with this disease can now expect to live in their 30s, 40s and beyond.
(wording from cff.org)
Thanks in advance for your support!
