Hannah and the Chance for Cystic Fibrosis

For those of you who don't know, Alicia gave birth to our second daughter, Hannah Grace, on the 9th of April. You can read about her first day with us here. A few people have asked me in the run toward her birth about cystic fibrosis, and if we were concerned that Hannah may have it. Since the pediatrician just came in to discuss getting the newborn screening done, my mind has wondered back to the subject.

So the question is, "Am I concerned that Hannah might have CF too?"

I know that there is a 1 in 4 chance that Hannah will have CF. Boiling it down to pure numbers, it doesn't matter that Samantha has it or not. My wife and I are carriers. There is a 25% chance that she has the disease. Period. No need for argument.

But we don't live life in numbers. We live a life of emotions, fears, etc. Am I afraid that Hannah will have CF? Not really. I'm probably a little in denial about it I guess, but the fact is that I'm not worried.

If Hannah has CF, then we will treat the CF and hope for a cure for two kids instead of one. If Hannah doesn't have CF, then we will enjoy that fact, praise God for it, and continue raising money for a cure for Samantha's disease.

Honestly, it just doesn't matter. The blood tests will be back in a few weeks. We'll know then. We have a great staff at Milwaukee's Children's Hospital who know our situation and are seemingly as eager to find out the results as we are and who will begin an immediate care plan for Hannah if she does have CF. I'm sure they will rejoice with us if she doesn't.

God is bigger than me, more powerful than me, and infinitely more good than I am. He knew Hannah before she was in the womb. He's got her back.