Jasmine's Place Issue No. 15 - February 2015 | Page 21

When our son Brandon Ray Scott was
born, the umbilical cord broke and he
weighed less than six pounds. Our
pediatrician called us first after the
newborn screening tests: they
suspected Brandon had a metabolic
disorder, so they ordered a second
test. It revealed Cystic Fibrosis. I
don’t remember the specifics of what
he said at that moment: it was all a
blur. I believe he said the words
pancreas, breakdown, mucus, and
lungs. I was in shock. I had heard of
Cystic Fibrosis before, and the doctor
had casually said, “CF.” But I had no
idea what organs it affected or what
type of debilitation it caused. Once the
diagnosis was confirmed, my husband,
Eric, and I, cried for hours, and then
for days.
The CF Foundation,
www.CFF.org, had all the facts.
Brandon exhibited some signs:
his stool was oily and he had
an insatiable appetite but did
not gain weight. We learned
the precise mutated gene –
Delta 508. Two carriers of this
particular gene will have a 1 in
4 chance of producing a child
with CF. Then we discovered
that 1 in 3300 people carry this
gene. Cystic Fibrosis is a fatal
genetic disease occurring in
about 1 in 30,000 births. The
gravity of what the end result
could be shook us to the core.
We had an incredible team of
doctors who gave us a warm
welcome and introduction to
Cystic Fibrosis at the Children’s
JASMINE'S PLACE
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