Written by Mike and Lorraine, Megan’s parents

All through our first pregnancy we told ourselves “We’re young, we’re healthy, and we have no family history of anything ‘crazy’ – so there’s no reason to believe that having a perfectly healthy baby will be a problem”.

Things progressed according to plan – and on June 14, 2007 Megan was born at 6 lbs 7 ¾ ounces - and she was beyond perfect! On that day, and every day that followed, we have discovered what it means to be truly blessed.

The first two weeks of Megan’s life presented us with the usual challenges of a new baby; nursing, sleep deprivation, and all the other adjustments that come with a baby entering your life. We were lucky to have an amazing midwife who helped us through it all - one day at a time. Her devotion to making sure breastfeeding was successful was more important than any of us could have known at the time. During the first 4 days of Megan’s life she was at our house 3 times a day to make sure everything was running smoothly.

A few days after Megan’s birth our midwife performed the heel prick to obtain blood for the Ontario Newborn Screening tests – all routine as far as we knew. Then, a few sleepless nights later we got “the call”. Megan had screened positive for a condition called Medium Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency (MCAD).

It was then that we began a relationship with the staff at CHEO. Without missing a beat CHEO’s metabolic team outlined everything we needed to know to keep Megan safe. In short, MCAD is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to burn fat when a person can’t eat normally, such as during an illness. If Megan goes too long without eating she is at risk of becoming sick, which could rapidly progress to coma and eventually death.

As we enter the Christmas season of 2008, Megan is a delightful 18-month-old. She is running everywhere, laughing and talking up a storm. With CHEO on our side, Megan will continue to thrive like any normal child with the excellent quality of life that she deserves.

There was a time in our lives when we were oblivious to Newborn Screening Ontario, but now we couldn’t be happier about its existence. Newborn Screening Ontario and the staff at CHEO have probably saved Megan’s life. Thank you to everyone who played a role in making it happen - you have helped our dreams come true!