Eight years ago today, I gave birth to our second son Brody. My pregnancy and delivery were great. -No problems whatsoever! I remember after Brody was born, the nurse kept patting Brody's back. I asked her if something was wrong? She stated, "He's just a little blue. I'm trying to get him to give us a little cry." Brody never did really cry, and his color didn't change very much. I was able to hold him for just a minute, then they whisked him away to the NICU. Brody stayed in the NICU for about a week. It was a very stressful time. My doctor didn't know what was wrong with him. Maybe he swallowed some amniotic fluid? Maybe he had an infection of some sort? No one knew what was wrong.
Aaron had just begun Chiropractic school in Dallas, Texas a couple months before Brody was born. I stayed in Utah because I didn't want to change doctors and I had good insurance with my work. A couple of days before my due date, Aaron flew into town. I was so thankful that he made it to the delivery. The day after Brody was born, Aaron flew back to Texas. Before he left he gave Brody a blessing. In the blessing, he was comforted that everything was going to be okay. I prayed and prayed that everything would be okay. I remember pleading with Heavenly Father that no matter what handicaps Brody might have, I would take him. I just wanted him to live. I wanted to be his mother!
The next couple of weeks, Brody was given several antibiotics. He went through several blood draws and IVs. I remember one of his IVs was in his head. -Poor little guy. I'd never seen that done, even in nursing school. A few days after being in the hospital, we got some of Brody's labs back. Brody's platelet count was 3,000! A normal platelet count is 150,000 +! The doctors and nurses were amazed that he hadn't bled to death. Brody had a MRI done and the results were good. Aaron and I had some blood tests done as well. Finally Dr. Cheng from Primary Children's Medical Center gave us a diagnosis. Brody was sick due to a genetic disease called Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia or NAIT.
Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (NAITP or NAIT or NAT for short; or fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, FNAIT, feto-maternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, FMAITP or FMAIT) is a disease that affects fetuses and newborns. Genetic differences between the fetus and mother may result in the expression of certain antigens by fetal platelets, not expressed by the mother. Fetomaternal transfusions result in the recognition of these antigens by the mother's immune system as non-self, with the subsequent generation of allo-reactive antibodies which cross the placenta. NAIT, hence, is caused by transplacental passage of maternal platelet-specific alloantibody and rarely human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allo-antibodies [1] (which are expressed by platelets) to fetuses whose platelets express the corresponding antigens. NAIT occurs in somewhere between 1/800 [2] and 1/5000 [3] live births. More recent studies of NAIT seem to indicate that it occurs in around 1/600 live births in the Caucasian population.[4]
I've mentioned in many of my posts that Brody has autism. I don't know what caused Brody's autism. Autism has changed the way our family looks at the world. I think we all have more patience. I also think we're more accepting of others. Most of all, it's helped us look at the big picture of what our life here on earth is all about...Family. I'm so thankful for my husband and children. I'm thankful that Heavenly Father entrusted Aaron and I with such a perfect spirit as Brody. We're so lucky to have him in our home. We love you Brody! Happy Birthday Buddy! Love, Mom
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