Frequently Asked Questions about CF & how it affects our lives...

Often times I get asked different questions about Ayla's CF and how it affects our every day life...and most recently how it will affect our baby due Nov 28th.

Some of the questions I can answer, some I cannot...here are a few I have been asked lately and my best effort at answering them.

Q: Does Ayla have to take pancreatic enzymes forever?
A: Yes, Ayla will have to take these pills every day for the rest of her life, unless a miracle happens.  She takes 3 pills at each meal and takes up to 20 each day!
Q: What does her day look like living with CF?
A: Pretty Normal, the differences are fatty meals for all meals and encouraging high-cal snacking.  She does her Airway Clearance Therapy twice a day for 30 minutes and does an inhaled nebulizer treatment before bed. Unless she is sick then the number of treatments go up.
Q: How will CF affect our unborn child?
A: There is a 25% chance this baby will have CF, a 50% chance this child will be ONLY a carrier (like Larry and myself)
Q: Does any of the routine blood work that my Dr. orders determine if the baby has CF?
A: No, the only way to tell if the baby has CF is to do an Amniocentesis
Q: Am I going to have an Amnio to determine if she has CF?
A: No, I am not going to have this test.  I always thought for sure I would.  But with this pregnancy I have felt differently.  Of course my Dr will be taking extra good care of me and be watchful.  I am going to have her tested when she is born.
Q: Does anyone else have CF in our families?
A: No, as far as we know from testing my mom, sister, Larry and I are carriers.   None of our other family members have been tested.
Q: How did the Dr know Ayla had CF?
A: Bowel Obstructions are a common sign of CF and Ayla had one in utero.  We did not know for sure until she was tested through newborn screening.
Q: What is CF?
A: Click here to read about CF

There are a lot of questions about the future that I can't answer.  We can only do our best to keep Ayla and everyone else in our family healthy and pray for the best.  For now I am just trying to enjoy my pregnancy and the normalcy of it all...