Noah - Virginia

My son, Noah, was born November 8, 2008. My pregnancy with him was really great and I never had any issues. I always felt good and I never felt sick. It was really a blessing and I was so excited to have him, but also nervous because I was going to be a mom! It wasn't until I was 35 weeks along that my OBGYN said that he was seeing low weight and his bones were not growing properly. He seemed to be a small baby. So, I was considered a high risk pregnancy. I went to a new doctor and I was starting to get concerned at that point.

They kept an eye on him and after that things were still going fine. He was still small, but no problems other than that. I was coming up on 37 weeks and I had an ultrasound appointment that day. The ultrasound tech said that he was not getting enough blood flow and they felt it would be best to admit to the hospital that night to have my labor induced and give birth as soon as possible because they didn't see him getting much bigger and that it was time for him to come out.

I went home after that and told my family the news. I got everything ready and just took my time. I went into the shower and at the last minute did a belly cast because I never had time to get one done before that. :) Well, I went to the hospital that night and was in labor for 28 hours! I was only 5 cm dialated then and ended up having a C-section. Noah was born 5lbs and 16 inches long.

I was expecting him to be smaller than that, but he was absolutely perfect! He did have a high level of jaundice and had blue and yellow spots all over his body. The doctor said he also had an enlarged liver.

The doctor said he thought it could be signs of CMV. I had no idea what it was and he asked me if I ever remembered being sick during my pregnancy or if I was around cats. I said no, but they decided to test him for this virus. It was positive. Of course, I tried to learn as much as I could about this, but I had no idea what I was in for. Noah was failing his hearing tests and they thought he could become deaf. Then he was having some problems with his vision and I was told that there was some bleeding in his eye retna. He was treated with ganciclovir. The doctors were thinking he wouldn't make it because the treatment for the virus wasn't doing much for him. He had so much scarring on his brain form the virus and calcification. They were telling me that they expected him to be at a vegetable state if he did make it. Noah spent 8 weeks of his life in the NICU.

After all of this, it was truly a miracle and he came through! He was finally doing much better and was able to come home on New Years Day 2009! He has made it so far since that day. His vision is great, but he does have hearing loss and he uses hearing aids. He is still a small little boy, but that's okay. He is definitely not a vegetable state and he is very energetic. We were told that Noah would never walk, but now he does. He is non-verbal, but he gets speech therapy and other therapy sessions at his school. This has also caused him to have feeding issues as well and he does see many other doctors. He started having seizures when he was 3 years old and is currently on medication for that daily. He is doing so great with everything now. He progresses everyday and I am so proud of him for that! Noah is going to be 5 years old this year and he is an amazing boy. CMV has caused much heartache and pain and I know that he will most likely always need me to take care of him and he might always be behind for his age, but I have learned so much from my son. He is the light of my life and has shown me the beauty of this world. This experience in our lives has taught us so much and Noah is loved by so many people. He is my heart and I will always be cheering him on. I am his number one fan!

- Shared by his mother, Karri