The results from my bloodwork came back today, and high levels of Cytomegalovirus were found there in addition to the amniotic fluid taken during the amniocentesis. What this means is that at some point I contracted a primary (first-time) CMV infection, and passed it on to Carmen.
About 50-80% of adults have had CMV by the time they are 40 and once it is in your system, it stays there forever. In most people it causes no symptoms, or symptoms that are similar to a cold (I don’t recall ever experiencing anything more than a low-grade fever) . Less than 1% of babies are infected with CMV before birth, and many never suffer permanent problems. Those that do may suffer from vision and/or hearing loss, mental disability, or seizures (which may or may not be present at birth, or develop later in life).
If you want more information on CMV, here’s a link to the CDC’s page on it: http://www.cdc.gov/cmv/index.html, and if you click on the picture in this post, you can see a flow chart of how many babies are affected by it.
Now that we have a diagnosis (and because the diagnosis is a virus and not a chromosome disorder), the next step is an appointment on Friday to discuss treatment, if that’s even a viable option. It will mainly depend on Carmen’s condition, so we’ll be doing another ultrasound at the appointment to see how she’s doing. I might be getting my hopes up right now if it wasn’t for the way that the perinatologist was very careful to keep my expectations at the lowest of lows during our phone conversation today. Carmen’s outlook didn’t look good last week, and we knew going into this that having a diagnosis probably wouldn’t change that, so I can’t say I’m surprised or offended by it.
Please continue to pray… for Carmen, for James and I, and for any other parents dealing with this potentially devastating congenital illness.
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24