Worried father told he was ‘overthinking’ before baby diagnosed with cystic fibrosis
HE AND HIS PARTNER DID NOT KNOW THEY ARE BOTH CARRIERS OF THE CONDITION
A DAD has spoken of the shock he and his partner suffered when they were finally told that their newborn daughter had cystic fibrosis.
The pair also found out they were both carriers of the disease.
Dale Mellor, 29 and from Belper, said that the family had to wait months following the arrival of Ayda and put her through a number of tests before doctors gave them the news.
“The diagnosis was hard, Ayda’s result from her heel prick meant that she needed more blood tests doing, at this point, we both were researching and seeing many symptoms in her.”
Now Mr Mellor and his partner Jess are hoping to raise awareness of the disease, for which there is currently no cure, and also try to improve the lack of knowledge surrounding it.
“Even a professional didn’t know anything about cystic fibrosis and it was kind of left up to us to diagnose it,” he said.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body. The main symptoms include wheezing, coughing with thick mucus, bulky, greasy bowel movements and very salty sweat.
When the first tests for Ayda, who is now seven months old, came back the family were told that she was just a carrier and they could feel “relieved”. However, further examinations and a feeling Mr Mellor’s partner had meant that they continued to ask questions.
Mr Mellor said: “We went back and forth to the doctor about Ayda’s symptoms, we were told over and over that her brother must have brought a virus home from nursery, that we were overthinking.”
It was one appointment, when their doctor referred them back to the hospital one last time to make sure, that changed everything. “From there, we were offered a sweat test, essentially to rule out CF – only, it didn’t. It confirmed that Ayda does in fact have cystic fibrosis.”
Mr Mellor, who works as an aerospace engineer, said: “The news was hard to digest for us, my partner, Jess, was relieved as well that somebody had listened to us.”
As part of his bid to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis, Mr Mellor, who is a motoring enthusiast, is planning to do the NC500, a car race along Scotland’s Route 66, covering 516 miles. He has set up a Justgiving page to help him in his bid to achieve that goal but says his campaign is not primarily about the money, it is more about making people aware of the illness.
“We are now wanting to raise funds for the charity [Cystic Fibrosis Trust] but more importantly, raise awareness. Awareness of cystic fibrosis, so that everyone knows the facts. And that just like anyone could be, we are the start of a family history of CF.”
For Mr Mellor, Jess, and, more importantly, Ayda, despite the diagnosis, he said they were just getting on with being one happy family.
“We were not overthinking, we were not worrying too much, we were doing what we thought best for our daughter. Our daughter is amazing, and she is thriving and developing perfectly, as so many others are and continue to do.”