October was a whirlwind for our family. Jordan's parents came out to visit and the next day I was admitted to the hospital for bacteremic pneumonia which means the pneumonia was in my blood stream. I was 18 weeks pregnant at that point and was super super sick. While at the hospital, an infectious disease doctor did some tests on me since this is the third time I have had pneumonia in a short period of time and found out that I have Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID). Not a good thing to have since it means my body is incapable of producing antibodies to anything…illness, vaccines, etc. The next few months were some of the most unsure of our lives as we had to make some major decisions about health care and how we were going to treat me during pregnancy as this condition is dangerous for the baby too. We finally made the decision in December to have me get IVIG transfusions (intravenous immunoglobulin transfusions). Basically a bank of donors donate plasma which the immunoglobulins are then removed from cleaned and tested and then I receive them via a transfusion every few weeks. In short, I receive other people's antibodies so that I can have a certain level of protection against everyday illness, major diseases, and particularly the diseases most are immunized for. This is why it's so scary when people don't immunize their kids because while they feel like their kids would be better off fighting one of these infections than getting the shot, my body just can't and if I contracted one of those illnesses it would most likely kill me. It's hard hearing all these moms be so opinionated about not immunizing their kids when they don't realize how much risk they are creating for people who have conditions like mine. IVIG is incredibly expensive, takes 4-6 hours to receive every 2-4 weeks, and has many risks tied to it. All those things however don't outweigh the scary potential of what happens if I get a super scary infection and don't have any antibodies to fight it with.
Anyway, during October and all of this happening, my mom came out the night the Bakers left and took care of me and the girls for nearly 3 weeks. What a heaven sent angel. The girls loved it and I was able to recover and do my best to stay healthy and not go into pre-term labor.
I had two months of this look being my norm. The lovely mask. Going out in public for us was very limited so from October till January, the girls and I pretty much confined ourselves to the house. I had to pull them out of dance, gymnastics, and school since we couldn't risk them getting sick and getting me sick. The biggest thing has been staying healthy so I didn't have the baby too early. I felt terrible for taking away the things the girls loved but we found fun ways at home to stay entertained and I kept teaching them preschool myself. They have kept me so happy and positive about this whole thing as they just carry light everywhere they go. We have seen SO many tender mercies throughout this new scary experience and know that we are in the palm of the Lord's hand and that has been so extremely comforting. Things can always be so much worse, and while this new diagnosis is so very scary for our future we know the Lord is very VERY aware of our family. I am so grateful for a testimony of the Gospel and to know the Savior lives and is the ultimate healer.
While I recovered in the hospital, Jordan and his parents took the girls to Vala's to try and do something fun and normal for them.
The girls had a really hard time with me being in the hospital. It created a lot of anxiety for them especially since I've gone back several times since and have two doctors appointments a week on average for both me and the baby.
The day we found out we were having a boy! The girls were super excited when we told them!
Bella's new cute haircut!
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