It all started on the day of my 20 week scan which was also the day of my 20th birthday, the worst day of my life.
I never had any worries as I had a straightforward 12 week scan, and had also recently felt him starting to move around.
That had changed at my 20 week scan. There was very low amniotic fluid, the baby was smaller than he should be and they told me that the baby may have something wrong with his heart and bowel. We were all devastated and cried for days on end. I was then given blood test and an amniocentesis to see if the baby had an infection or any chromosomal abnormalities.
It came back that I had caught cmv somewhere between my 12-20 week scan, I had never heard of it before but the more I researched it online the more devastating it was. With the high risk of many problems and disabilities, I had further scans at a more specialised hospital but the same thing was still said. They didn’t know for sure if there were problems with the heart & bowel as I had such low fluid it was very hard to see things clearly. I also knew the possibilities of blindness and deafness.
I was offered the chance to have a termination at 24 weeks, but I couldn’t do it and asked for another scan, at 25 weeks the ultra sound showed that my amniotic fluid had increased and that the baby had grown and looked so much better, we were all so shocked but so happy! But still they didn’t know wether there was damage that had been done that we wouldn’t know the outcome of in the future. I decided without a doubt I would continue the pregnancy and would love my baby no matter what.
I was induced and Archie was born at 39 weeks after a very traumatic birth, he was shaking because he couldn’t control his blood sugar and had an enlarged liver and spleen. Archie spent 1 week in the neo natal unit and received brilliant care, his hearing and sight tests came back normal, he had antibiotics and was in an incubator. They chose not to treat the cmv with antiviral drugs because they thought it was not necessary and may do more harm than good.
When Archie was around 7 months old he developed infantile spasms which paused his development, after many hospital trips, different medications and hard times, Archie was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Now Archie is 14 months old and is the most happy, beautiful baby ever, he has physiotherapy and can sit up alone and is doing well, his epilepsy is pretty much controlled with medication.
I know there may still be hurdles in the future to overcome but no matter what we will all get through it, he is an amazing little fighter and he has so many people who adore him.
I want anyone reading this to see that if you get told in pregnancy, that there is something wrong with your baby, have extra scans, research everything, because the outcome may not be as bad as you are at first told.
Archie is such a loved little boy and will have so much support and an amazing life no matter what happens in future. But for now we take it day by day and he is improving and learning new things all the time 🙂
Written by Carly Downs, Archies very lucky mummy x
Archies story updated October 2015 age 2 and a half…
Archie is now crawling, standing with minimal support, climbing on everything, racing around everywhere with the help of a walking frame, saying a handful of words including WOW, Hi and Bye!! Archie is still the happiest boy on earth and has had no deterioration physically or medically including his hearing – it is still perfect. He is such a determined boy and continues to make me proud each and every day!
Updated Feb 2017 age 4
Archie is now coming up to 4years old. He is doing tremendously, walking completely unaided and talking and singing lots! He has come such a long way in the past four years and we couldn’t be any prouder, he is the happiest, most sociable little boy! He is also due to start a fantastic primary school In September!
Never ever give up hope.xxxx