This post is sponsored by Life Bank USA; all opinions are my own.
On January 12th, 2002, I held my beautiful baby Amelia in my hands. The doctors thought something looked…”off”, and did some blood work. A few weeks later, I discovered she was born with Mosaic Down syndrome, so I was referred to a pediatric geneticist to help her development.
That doctor listened very closely to my one month old daughter and heard what no one else had heard – a heart murmur. An MRI and EKG later, it was confirmed that she had not one but two holes in her heart.
Chris and I were given the speech of possible outcomes: congestive heart failure, medication, open heart surgery. My biggest fear was that they stop the heart to do the surgery – what if it failed to restart? At the doctor’s office, the ground fell out beneath me and at home, I was driven to my knees in prayer.
She was always smiling and happy !
Then came the notebooks: months of us charting every thing she ate, watching my pale-skinned child to see if she looked blue, nightly prayers and prayer requests for her well-being.
My poor baby put up with EKG’s several times a year, until she was 5 and cleared of any danger. We were one of the lucky ones – or, I should say, blessed – one of the holes naturally patched over, thanks to its position, as her heart developed, the other stayed the size of a pinhole while her heart grew. We do have to keep an eye on it for things like surgery, but she is safe now.
My own run in with my child’s very life being at risk ended in the best possible way, but many parents are not so fortunate. My early days of writing Mom Blog were shared with other moms blogging about their kids with special needs – many sick, chronically ill, or terminal. These blogs were full of the difficult decisions, choices, and realities these parents had to face, and the photos and spirit of their amazing children.
Life Bank USA exists to help these parents. They are the only company that offer placenta blood, tissue, and cord blood banking. This process allows you to collect and preserve stem cells that can potentially save your child’s life – or the life of a blood-related family member. These cells are collected from the blood of the placenta or umbilical cord when your baby is born. You can choose both Placental and Cord Blood Banking or just the Cord Blood Banking, and tissue banking from the placenta is included at no extra charge. Learn more at Lifebank USA.
carrie says
This is one of those “I hope I will never need to use this but should do it anyway” kind of things. Thanks for sharing your story!
Gina B says
It absolutely is! Thanks for reading 🙂
Bay Staley says
I remember all of the fears that come along with having a new baby–I can’t imagine just how exponentially scary your experience was!
I’ve recently had a friend need stem cells; I think cord blood banking is an amazing option.
Gina B says
Yes. They all worked out, but it’s not everyone’s path. Yes, there was lots of worry, depression, fear. There’s like zero support when you first start out.
Wow, I wish your friend the best!
Heather says
Thanks for sharing. I have great hopes for the potential of cord blood banking…
Gina B says
Yes, let’s hope it has a great future to save lots of lives.
Devon says
Good info – we didn’t bank cord blood with our first, but I am considering it with #2.
Gina B says
If you do, I’d love to hear your experience!