Our baby boy Tinus was having a hard time breathing, but doctors kept telling me he had a couple of creche viruses – even after I told them that he isn’t even IN a creche! I just assumed he unfortunately inherited asthma from his daddy. Today I really wish that he rather had that!
For a mom to hear the news that your child has Cystic Fibrosis, is heartbreaking. Even though ALL the signs were there, I was in denial and completely believed that CF wasn’t the culprit to his being so sick. While waiting for the blood test results after a really high sweat test result, a little voice started echoing in my head saying what if..
I can describe the moment I found out with words like (and in this order): shock, disbelief, petrified, numb, angry and finally indescribably heartbroken. All I could focus on for many months was the LIFE EXPECTANCY of a CF’r. I hated it when people told me to jam pack his life, because as a mom I was so scared to go anywhere in fear of Tinus getting sick.
Tinus is now almost two years old and he is doing great. Over the months, his treatment got easier and we are slowly getting to acceptance. One day I decided to let him get his hands dirty and to let him play outside with his older brother. Sure, I still get stiff when he coughs, but my main goal is to give Tinus a normal life and to see him beat the odds and achieve goals most of us only dream of. I recently read ‘the smaller your God the bigger your problems’. Conclusion? CF is a small hurdle for my little boy!