CF Anniversary

Exactly one year ago today, we got a phone call from a doctor at Primary Children's Hospital that changed our lives forever. We knew the call was coming, but we hoped the news would be different. Instead, we found out that our beautiful and perfect baby girl has cystic fibrosis.

Our feelings about her diagnosis are so much different today than they were when we first found out, as we knew they would be. And we're so grateful for that. I'm planning to write the full story of her diagnosis this weekend, along with sharing some of the things we've learned during the past year. For now, look at the contrast between the baby we had last year and the little girl we have today.

You have to know that in the above picture, Madeline was eight weeks old and just barely over six pounds. See how baggy her onesie was? It was still the newborn size, along with her diaper and everything else she was wearing. And her thighs only have bulk because warming pads were strapped to her legs and then wrapped up. This picture is of the first time Madeline had a sweat chloride test done, which is the test that determines whether a person has CF. She was too skinny to sweat that day, so we did not get the official diagnosis until two weeks later when she had gained some weight and had another test done.

Today, though, Madeline looks good.

And we feel very blessed.