Lauren

I’m Lauren June D. and I also have Propionic Acidemia (just like my older sister, Jenna).  I was diagnosed before I was born when my mom had an amniocentesis test done during her pregnancy.  I am now 4 years old and attend Riley Park Preschool in Vancouver, BC Canada.  I am fed solely via my gastrointestinal tube:  3x bolus feeds during the day and continuous feeding through a kangaroo pump in the night.  When my mommy tried to teach me to eat by mouth, I hated it so much I developed a food aversion, so I never did learn to eat orally.  I am in and out of the hospital often, where I developed a heart condition called Cardiomyopathy.  Now, I have to take 6 different medications every day:  Carnitine, Flagyl, Domperidone, Ranitidine, Digoxin & Metropolol.  I receive Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy from a service called Center for Ability because I am quite delayed in my overall development.  They evaluated that I am functioning at an 18 month old level, but my mommy and daddy are not concerned because they know I have so much potential.  We used to go to the hospital every 2 weeks for blood work, but now, my sister and I, only go once per month.  Yahoo!  You can e-mail me & my sister: jenren@shaw.ca if you want to learn more about us.