Thank You, God!

Xomi had elevated TSH when her newborn screening result came out. We were all pretty shaken when we received the initial call from the hospital informing us about the newborn screening result. Hypothyroidism can lead to mental and growth retardation if untreated.

I have hyperthyroidism, and I was on medication half the time I was pregnant with Xomi. I was given the mildest and safest medication there is to keep my thyroid function normal during my pregnancy.

I knew deep within me that everything was perfectly fine with my daughter. She's an answered prayer. She's a proof of God's faithfulness in our lives. It was just the medication I took that temporarily suppressed her thyroid function.

We had her rescreened and consulted a pediatric endocrinologist, the only in Cebu. The rescreening result came out fine, and her thyroid levels are within the normal range. She was tested for FT4 and TSH at 7 days old. She was very fragile and innocent to be subjected to needles and blood extraction. It broke my heart seeing her in pain, hearing her cry. Her sobs and shriek were daggers in my heart. Again, the result came out fine.

At 2 months, she went through another round of needle pricking and blood extraction. It was like thousands of daggers stabbing my heart throughout the whole ordeal. At 6 months, she had another lab test to check her FT4 and TSH levels. This time, she was starting to understand cause and effect. She felt we betrayed her. After her blood extraction, she wouldn't smile to any of us. She was sulking. Without the slightest doubt in my mind, all her tests came normal.

But the endo wouldn't discharge her yet. He wanted to have her tested on her 10th month. This time, it was more difficult since Xomi is very active and hates being restrained. She cried more from being restrained than when the senior med tech inserted the needle in her veins. We learned to always ask for a senior med tech when we had her lab test.

Jep and I were having palpitations before and during the lab test. We knew it would be difficult. We knew it would hurt us seeing her cry and experience pain. I was fervently praying that it would be the last.

Tonight, I checked her results online, and everything is within the normal range! No more tourniquet and needles, no more restraining! Thank you, God!