Virus = 4 Letter Word

Some people have asked questions about the story of our precious baby boy and the reason why he died.I will start from the beginning.
The first week of December I was sick. I went to the doctor, and he said it was a virus and to take it easy. I was referred to a woman's specialist for my first ultrasound. My regular doctor sent me there because I am considered to be "high risk" because I have had three miscarriages in the past. That week I was scheduled for my 18 week ultrasound. We found out we were another boy, which we were very excited about, the ultrasound tech. couldn't see his bladder and said his heart was not as developed as she would like to see, but there was no need to panic. She scheduled us for a follow-up ultrasound in two weeks. I began feeling better physically, but started to worry because I stopped growing and had not felt the baby move as much as my other babies had moved. The doctor told me "there was no freaking out" and he would follow-up after my 20 week ultrasound. I went in for my ultrasound with an uneasy but not freaked out feeling. Brandon was not able to come to the appointment with me, but I thought it was just going to be a follow-up so I didn't insist that he be there. The ultrasound tech. began looking around without saying much and I began to get a little bit more uneasy because I could see the lack of emotion on her face compared to the smile and interaction she had provided during the previous ultrasound. I asked something is wrong huh? She began to list the anomalies she could see: half the amniotic fluid, echogenic bowel (calcium in the bowels), underdeveloped heart, and he was smaller than he should be (measuring at 18 weeks). I was then escorted to another room where the specialist could meet with me and talk about his concerns. He told me the anomalies(a word I came to hear too much and dislike over the next few weeks) could be characteristics of a baby with Down's Syndrome. He also said there were three levels of worry with such findings: level 1-Not very worried just need to follow-up in a few weeks, level-2 I am very concerned. There is something wrong with your baby, level-3 Your baby is very sick and may die. He said not to worry too much until everything was confirmed at Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM). He scheduled me for an appointment two days later. I left crying and not knowing what to expect. I called Brandon immediately and definitely did not go back to work for the rest of the day.
Fast forward two days later to my appointment at MFM where we met an amazing doctor who took great care of us. After performing the ultrasound he said there are four sicknesses our baby could have. #1-Cystic Fibrosis #2-Down's Syndrome #3-Parvo virus #4-Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Out of the four Down's Syndrome was going to be the best outcome,but he couldn't know for sure which one our baby had without a amniocentesis. I already had very little amniotic fluid and we did not want to risk taking any more so the doctor offered a cutting edge test that can test the babies DNA through a simple blood draw from me. We spent the next hour getting many vials of blood drawn and talking about the options with the doctor. If the baby had Parvo he would need a blood transfusion to overcome the virus. The doctor we were speaking to normally practiced at Primary Children's in SLC, which is where he wanted to send us for the blood transfusion the very next day. A decision had to be made because we were sure if the baby had Parvo without the results of the blood they just drew. After much thought we decided to wait. The next week was Christmas and the test results would take 7-10 days with an extra day because of the holiday. We went home discouraged, but feeling good about our decision to wait before acting. The doctor said our baby was already very sick because he was anemic, and subjecting him to a procedure he did not need could be detrimental.
During the next week we tried to enjoy Christmas, prayed a lot, held a special fast with our family, and received a few blessings. Our family held us up and promised to support the decisions we would make in the coming weeks.
Christmas morning Jett woke up with a 105 degree fever and the rest of us began getting sick through the rest of the day. The next day we visited the doctor to find we all had the flu and should stay home. I missed the next week of work because we were so sick. Our family did not leave our house for 5 days, and even missed my family Christmas party which we were so bummed about, but we did not want to get anyone else sick. That week I had another follow-up appointment with the doctor that is normally at MFM. He echoed the same concern and findings the other doctor had voiced and gave us a very dismal outcome. He even suggested termination. That was something we never considered.
It was also around this time that we decided to name him Crew Andy Lundin. After Brandon's little brother Andy.
We overcame the contagious phase of the flu and emerged from our house and tried to get back to normal. Brandon and I returned to work and the boys returned to the babysitter and normal daily activity. We returned to the doctor again to find the baby had begun to fight back and grow again, which gave us some hope. The doctor, however, reminded us how sick he was and the test came back stating he did not have any of the things possible, but that I had CMV and that I probably gave it to the baby in the 18th week when I was sick with that virus. He said they were only 90% sure the baby also had CMV, but the test did not confirm such. He said the only thing we could do was wait. He said the baby will either get better or he won't.
At this point only our bosses and family knew the trial we were going though which was nice because I didn't have to explain anything to anyone, which kept me sane during the waiting period. The baby did not move much, but I knew it was because he was very sick. The doctor did not schedule me for an appointment the next week because he was travelling to Canada. I tried to stay strong and positive, but I could feel the inevitable outcome coming because I was not growing, or feeling pregnant, and I did not feel the baby much through the next week.
That weekend we had the privilege of attending the Manti Temple with my nephew before he went on his mission. We received much strength and courage and could feel something coming up, but nothing could have prepared for the next week's events.
We went to our last doctor appointment at MFM January 16th to find our precious baby boy had stopped fighting and returned back to our Heavenly Father. I was 25 weeks so I had to deliver him. What an experience! He was born January 18, 2013 at 9:35pm. He weighed 9 oz. and was 9 1/2" long. We will never forget the special experience we had with him in the hospital. I miss him everyday and look forward to seeing him again someday!
If you have any additional questions feel free to ask I am willing to discuss what we have learned throughout our experience.