Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation main page

Public Awareness and Vaccine Research Support. Working Together to Eradicate Congenital CMV Disease.
Member of the External Partner Group, in conjunction with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities (NCBDDD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation |

The Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) dedicated to The
Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) dedicated to for CMV,
and to affect change in the medical community so that physicians will begin to test women raising
public awareness about congenital CMV, to raise donations to support research for a vaccine for
CMV prior to pregnancy. Ultimately, our mission is to save babies yet to be born from suffering the
often devastating consequences of congenital CMV by eradicating this common but potentially
life-altering virus.

In Loving Memory of...

Samantha
29 July 1993 - 26 August 1993

To tell you my angels’ story I must first tell you mine:

When I was 18 years old I had a part of my cervix removed due to pre-cancer issues. The doctors
told me that I would never be able to have a baby. If I did get pregnant I would never be able to
carry a child to term. I conceived and carried my son, Victor. From the get go I had problems with
him. He was so big I had to be on bed rest the last month. The doctor finally decided to induce
labor. After 9 hours of no progress they needed to do a C-section because he was not coming. At
505 pm I had a 10 lbs. 11 oz. baby boy. Within 3 hours of having him we were both in ICU. We
were both having complications. I did not get to see him for 12 hours after I had him. It would be
another 24 before I could hold him. He was so big but so fragile. He had IV tubes sticking out of his
little head. I was afraid to touch him. I was afraid I would get too attached and he would die. After
10 days in ICU I was able to take my baby home. He could not sleep lying down. I had to walk the
length of my house for hours on end while he slept. After a month of this (I did not know this was
not normal) I took him to the doctors. Right away they put him back in the hospital. He had
pneumonia in both lungs. While in the hospital they detected a heart murmured. They said it
would go away. We went home. Within 2 weeks Victor was in congestive heart failure. We found
out that he had 3 blood vessels that did not close in and around his heart. That was called a Patent
Ductus. At 4 months old my sweet little boy was having open heart surgery. After one year he
was pronounced healthy. YEAH.

I found I was pregnant a week before Thanksgiving. I was thrilled. Another baby. I did everything
right this time. Ate all the right foods, exercised, and did not gain too much weight. I had the
prefect pregnancy. Samantha Marie came into the world without fuss or difficulty. I even was able
to deliver her naturally in spite of having a C-section before. She had 10 toes 10 little fingers.
Blonde hair. She was so cute. After 1 day in the hospital we could go home. Everything was okay.
I took her for her 10 check up things were as they should be. After 3 weeks I noticed she had a
little bit of congestion. Called the doctor’s office. No need to worry they said. I was not convinced.
I watched her closely. I knew something was wrong. So on a Thursday morning I decided to take
her into the doctor’s office. I got up and took my shower. I woke up Samantha and as I was
feeding her she stopped breathing. I screamed so loud that my in laws who lived next store came
running over. I started CPR. We lived so far out in the country it would have taken years for an
ambulance to come. My father in law drove me to the hospital. I continued CPR the whole way
there. I was a trained nurse so I should have been able to save her. The staff at the hospital
worked on her but it was too late. Since she was an infant an autopsy was mandatory in the state
of Mississippi. They found out that she had a PDA like my son, but she also had CMV. What the hell
was CMV??? I had never heard of it before. CMV was found in her brain, lungs, kidneys and heart.
As well, there was a hole that connected all four quadrants in her heart.

ME ~ I gave this to my child. The guilt of having done this was so great. I have replayed the steps
I took that day – did I do everything right in my CPR that I gave her? Were my ratios correct? Did
I breathe hard enough or too hard into her? If I had taken her to the doctor the day before would
that have changed anything? To this day 18 years later I still question my actions.
Instead of celebrating her one month birthday we were burying her.
My son said it best ~~~ Mom God needed another angel~~~

Submitted by her mom, LucyAnn