We were told we had a boy, but a short time later the MD told us that they suspected the baby was a girl with a treatable medical problem. I was on pain killers after a C-section (she was breach), so I really couldn't quite take it all in. That was probably good for me, but the doctor was really frustrated trying to explain it to me! :)
Almost two decades later, she is doing great, but we had a bunch of ER visits when she was young. I understand the difficulty with giving that first Solucortef injection, but it gets easier as time goes by. We also have had ERs not properly treat the kids (until we got hold of the Endo or I started yelling at people), so now our motto is "inject, then transport." Luckily, as they get physically bigger, they tolerate illnesses much, much better. My 19 year old had a 103 degree fever and was fine! She tripled her meds and I made her drink Gatorade every hour or so and she recovered just like my non- CAH child. I was thrilled, needless to say. She donates blood regularly, is a black-belt in karate, bikes and rollerblades, hangs out with friends and goes to work, was in school (decided to take off a year), etc....
My SWCAH 13 year old son plays soccer, camps with Boy Scouts, also bikes, swims, plays lacrosse with friends, is in karate, and the whole family has gone backpacking and bicycling/camping. He hasn't had a crisis in several years, and my daughter's last crisis was at eight years old. It seems that the body works differently as it grows, and both of them clearly are more healthy as they get older.
I remember wondering if our lives would ever be normal again. It turns out that nothing is "normal" when you have children (LOL). All I can say is that it gets so much easier as they get older, at least with my kids. (I'm talking about the CAH, by the way. Having three teens in the house can be quite challenging, at times.) Just enjoy your daughter and trust your instincts.
Elizabeth
