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Abby's Story
"Our journey began in 2004 when Abby was diagnosed with congenital Cytomegalovirus..."
We found out something wasn't right with my pregnancy when I was about 20 weeks. After many tests, the doctors found that I had contracted CMV for the first time during my second trimester and it had crossed the placenta and affected Abby.
At 29 weeks, I went into the hospital on bedrest where they monitored Abby several times a day. At 34 weeks, during a routine ultrasound, they found that Abby was struggling to survive, so we decided to do a C-section that day. Abby Rose McPherson was born on April 1, 2004, weighing 2 lb, 4 oz. She was in the NICU for 5 weeks and we got to take her home the day before Mother's Day...the best Mother's Day gift I've ever had.
Over the next 3 years we were on a roller coaster ride of new diagnoses. It seemed like we'd just accept one diagnosis and then another one would come. First profound hearing loss. I still remember the day I got this diagnosis and had to pull off the road on the way home because I was crying so much. The thought of my little girl never being able to hear mommy and daddy talking or singing to her was too much to bear. Then a few months later we found out she had hydrocephalus which was followed by 2 VP shunt surgeries. Next was the cortical vision impairment diagnoses and then she started having seizures.
About that time we began physical, speech and occupational therapy which taught us about a whole other world that we would be living in now. At 18 months, she was blessed with the miracle of sound through a cochlear implant. The first day she heard us was an emotional day...filled with excitement for us and screaming for her. Can you imagine never hearing a sound and then all of the sudden being able to hear for the first time...scary!
Later on she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, failure to thrive and acid reflux. At 2 and a half years old she stopped eating so we got her a feeding tube. Her seizures were out of control for about a year and she would spend her days sleeping, seizing and crying. I would sit and cry with her at that point. Thankfully, God provided relief through her seizures through the Ketogenic Diet combined with 2 seizures medicines and this changed her quality of life dramatically.
Things started to slow down for us after the first 3 years. I had grieved the loss of having a healthy child, accepted Abby just as she is and began enjoying what had become "normal" life for us.
Now I can't imagine a life without therapies and doctor appointments. If a week goes by without either, it seems weird and I miss her therapists. Her teachers and therapists have become our friends and are a huge blessing in our lives.
There are still days when I think about what it would be like if Abby didn't have CMV, for instance when I see two sisters playing together at the park and for a second I think about what it would be like for Katie and Abby to be those sisters. That still brings me to tears occasionally. But after a second I remember that God has a plan and purpose for Abby's life just as she is and Katie and Abby play together in different ways. Abby will teach Katie things she may never learn otherwise, like compassion and unconditional love and acceptance for children who aren't like you.
I can honestly say that God has been gracious to us through Abby's life. He's taught us so much about Himself, ourselves and that He can use everything (even a special needs child) for His glory. So I'm greatful for Abby just as she is and can't imagine our lives without her.
- Shared by her mother, Jenny