As most of you have seen, Riley and I are thrilled to become parents
early next year!! It’s going to be a
big, awesome change.
Some of you know, or don’t, that I have had some really random health
problems in my life. One of these health
issues started at birth when I had a semi-stroke that has caused me to walk
with a limp and have mild cerebral palsy on the right side of my body. It has never caused any pain, although the
limp causes the annoying “Is your foot hurt?” question quite a lot. My right side is just weaker and has a lot
less dexterity than normal. I can only
open and close my right hand in a fist.
I cannot move my fingers individually on that hand. It’s all mostly an inconvenience. I went for 21 years without other issues. Then, in college I had 2 random seizures 2
months a part. It caused migraines the day
after that would last the entire day until I went to bed that night. This was unrelated to the stroke. The only cause they could find was stress
(from a really bad relationship and studying for my certification) Ever since those, I have struggled with
migraines and a few other health issues. I didn't know how all of this was going to affect getting pregnant, but The Lord was gracious in that area.
No, I’m absolutely not trying to get sympathy. Trust me, I KNOW MANY who are much worse off
than me.
I’m writing this because with all MY random health issues and a few in
my husband’s family, I have been very anxious about OUR BABY on the way. I found out last week that I am a carrier of
cystic fibrosis. If you don’t know what
that is, look it up. It sucks….and I’m
not going to explain it. Anyway, if I’m
the only one who is a carrier, our babies won’t have the disease. However, if Riley is a carrier too, each kid
we have has a 25% chance of having it.
Not a big percentage, but still very scary…especially since we didn't
expect me to be a carrier since nothing like that has ever been in my family. And I have a close friend who has a 1 year
old with cystic fibrosis…so, I've seen just a glimpse of the scary and hard
times that go along with cystic fibrosis.
Love,
Leslie (and baby)
