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Curtis' Story
"My name is Danielle and as I write this I am 21 weeks pregnant..."
My fiance and I found out we were pregnant in August after having just gone through a miscarriage in May and were beyond excited. I have two little boys already but he has no children so his excitement was more then just contagious.
My last three were rough to say the least so as I progressed through this pregnancy I was relieved to know that everything was smooth sailing and that baby and I were doing exceptionally well. But due to all my past complications I still had to see a perinatologist. It was during my first appointment with him, back in November, that we learned all was not well.
I was told during my ultrasound that my unborn sons bowels were enlarged and echogenic. My specialist drew blood and so the journey began.
When his lab ran my CMV they only ran half the panel; my IgG levels. Those levels showed that I'd had CMV and this levels were high, right around 6.06. But his lab only ran half the panel.
When I returned to my regular OBs office I was told the entire panel was going to be rerun and I had yet another ultrasound done. My ultrasound revealed what I already knew; my sons bowels were enlarged and I was 19 weeks during this ultrasound.
Well, yesterday I got my full CMV panel back. I'm 21 weeks as I write this and 21 weeks when I got the full results. I am positive for the primary CMV infection. I am both IgG and IgM positive.
My perinatologist has scheduled me for another ultrasound plus and amniocenteses on December 28th. I will have these results in a week. My specialist is pretty sure that my son has congenital CMV even though he is still in the womb. I have been told that with his enlarged and echogenic bowel and the fact that I am positive for the primary CMV infection that my son will have congenital CMV though he's not making that diagnosis official until we get my amnio results back.
My fiance is currently in Kentucky staying with his family and trying to get a good job and house for us and our son. We're both terrified and unsure of what to do or how to go about anything. The worst is that we've been told that we won't know how badly it's effected our son until he's born. The only indicators in the womb are growth restrictions, enlarged and/or echogenic bowel, or a decrease in amniotic fluid. Outside of those signs we have been told that we won't know how badly he's been effected until birth. Imagine knowing that there's something wrong with you unborn child and then being told you have to wait until you delved before you know exactly what's wrong. That's how a pregnant woman with Primary CMV feels.
-Shared by his mother, Danielle