Jenny's Journey with Cystic Fibrosis

By Julie Sunderland

This is the true story of Jennifer Sunderland and her experiences with an incurable lung disease. Her struggles and triumphs are documented as they happened year by year. Her personal relationship with Jesus Christ gave her the hope and strength to continue on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781635252897

Book preview

1974 A Premature Birth

What’s going on? she wondered. An unusual abdominal pain was awakening her from a good night’s sleep. Another dull twinge of pain moved through her tummy. Surely it isn’t time for the baby. It’s three weeks before my due date, she thought. Well, I’ll wait until John goes to work. Then I’ll call the doctor. There’s no sense in worrying him, she reasoned.

Julie continued lying in bed beside her sleeping husband and waited patiently for the hours to pass. Lord, thank You for being my Savior and Healer. I’m trusting You to take care of this baby, she prayed.

For many months, Julie had prayed that the Lord would bless her and her husband with a baby. She even promised that the baby would belong to Him, and she would do her best to raise the child to serve Him. The Lord had graciously answered her prayers, and would help her now.

At five-thirty, the alarm clock rang, and a new day began. After breakfast, John left to work the daylight shift at the steel mill. Julie waited and prayed for God to show her what to do. The dull pain came and went more frequently. She felt that it was time to contact her gynecologist.

Having worked at Lewistown Hospital as an operating room technician, she knew that her doctor would be in surgery that morning. Julie called the hospital, and asked for the office of the operating suite. Through relayed messages between the secretary and the circulating nurse, the doctor instructed Julie to go to the emergency room immediately. He would examine her as soon as he was finished with surgery.

Not wanting to bother others, Julie drove the ten-minute trip to the hospital. The doctor examined her and said that she was definitely in labor, so she was admitted to the maternity ward. Since her labor was starting three weeks early, the doctor thought it best to try to stop the contractions, and prevent a premature birth. Thus began a long twenty­three-hour duration of misery.

The head nurse contacted John at work, and he hurried to the delivery room to be with his wife. He tried to reassure and comfort her through the long hours. Julie could see the love and concern in his eyes. He remained at her side until the early hours of the next morning. Then, at the doctor’s prompting, John went home to rest.

No matter what the gynecologist did to prevent the labor, the baby was determined to be born. At 7:12 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, 1974, Jennifer Lou Sunderland entered this world. After the doctor delivered her, he sat Jenny in the palm of his gloved hand, and lifted her up for Julie to see. Then he said, Well, Jul, now you are something that I can never be... a mother! Julie’s heart overflowed with love for her tiny, dark-haired daughter, and she longed to hold her. What a special moment!

The nurse began caring for the newborn. Jenny weighed 4 lbs. 11oz., and was 17 ¾ inches tall. Julie watched as the nurse took the baby’s footprints, and bathed her. Thank You, Lord, for our new baby! And thank You for letting this ordeal be over!

Jenny and her mother remained in the hospital for five days. Jenny slowly gained weight from her mother’s milk. The pediatrician had a strict rule that premature babies must weigh five pounds before they could go home. On Monday, April first, Jenny’s weight wasn’t quite five pounds, but the pediatrician reluctantly discharged her anyway.

Newborn baby girl

Jennifer Lou Sunderland

March 27, 1974

4 lbs. 11oz., 17 ¾ in. long

She said that Jenny was the smallest baby that she had ever released from the hospital, and she was relying on Julie to take good care of her. The doctor ordered that the baby was to have no visitors including relatives, friends, or neighbors because of Jenny’s delicate condition.

Julie called John at his work, and he was happy to take his girls home. On the way, they stopped at the drugstore. John offered to stay in the car, and hold the baby. After receiving the blanketed bundle, he looked among the soft blankets, and teased, Are you sure she’s in here? They both laughed because of Jenny’s tiny size.

At home, a routine was quickly established according to feeding times every three hours around the clock. During the first week in April, Jenny’s weight dropped to 4 ½ pounds, but the next week the doctor’s scales showed 4 lbs. 11oz., which was her original birth weight. The pediatrician said that she had expected that to happen.

Friends and relatives heard that Jenny was home, but they were disappointed that they were not allowed to see her because of doctor’s orders. John and Julie were disappointed too. Like most parents, they were eager to show off their new baby.

Finally, on Easter Sunday, April 14, the happy parents began receiving visitors into their home. On the following Sunday, Jenny was taken to the home of John’s parents. They were surprised at Jenny’s small size, and she became the center of attraction. By May 24, Jenny weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. She was gaining, and her pediatrician was pleased. Julie knew that the Lord was answering prayers.

The Lord was also answering prayers concerning her husband. John wasn’t interested in church, and did not attend services with Julie. Her pastor was persistent in visiting John, and often talked to him about salvation. Finally, one June evening, while the pastor was encouraging him to get saved, John felt the Lord speaking to his heart, so he knelt at the sofa, and asked Jesus to be his Savior. John was born into God’s kingdom on June 26, 1974. Now, Jenny was blessed with both parents being truly born again, and having the Lord Jesus living inside of them. With the Lord guiding her parents, Jenny would learn to love Jesus, too.

John began attending church services regularly with his wife and daughter. Later on, when church elections were held, John was voted in as one of the elders, and the following year, he was elected as a trustee. John and his wife were very active in the church.

1975 Incurable Disease

Spring of 1975

The Sunderland Family:

John, Julie, and Jennifer

When Jenny was one year and nine months old, she became very sick with cold symptoms, coughing, and vomiting. Julie thought she was sick because she was getting teeth. On December 19, the pediatrician admitted Jenny to the Lewistown Hospital with pneumonia and dehydration. Julie stayed with her until 2:00 p.m., and then met John at home to give him the bad news. The concerned parents visited a very unhappy daughter that evening. They had to leave at 8:00 p.m. when visiting hours ended, but Jenny couldn’t understand why her daddy and mommy couldn’t stay with her.

During visiting hours the next day, Julie learned that Jenny had cried most of the night. She didn’t like being in the oxygen tent, and when Julie entered her hospital room, Jenny was standing up on the crib with her head poking out through the top seam of the tent, reaching for her mommy.

Her eyes were red and puffy, and her voice was hoarse and weak. Julie stayed with Jenny, holding and comforting her. Pastor George also visited Jenny. He anointed her with oil and prayed for her healing. Yes, Lord, Julie agreed, please heal Jenny! After three days in the hospital, Jenny was not improving. She tried to eat at meal times, but brought the food back up again.

The next morning, the pediatrician took Julie into a small conference room. She explained to the anxious mother that Jenny was not doing well. The doctor wasn’t sure what was wrong. Julie asked her if Jenny could have something else besides pneumonia. The pediatrician thought for a moment and said, There are a couple more tests that I could do. Julie quickly agreed to have the tests done.

On December 22, the doctor called Julie aside during visiting hours, and explained that extensive testing had revealed that Jenny had cystic fibrosis, an incurable disease that affected the lungs and pancreas. That was the reason Jenny was having problems with breathing and digestion. The doctor ordered inhalation therapy as a part of Jenny’s daily routine. She would continue having breathing treatments after she was discharged from the hospital.

What terrible news! Julie turned to her Heavenly Father for comfort and strength. She asked Him for courage to face the situation head on. The Lord answered by sending Pastor George and his sweet wife, Peggy, to visit Jenny. When they learned about the diagnosis, they prayed for Jenny and her parents. They said that they would encourage the church family to pray as well.

By the next day, Jenny had gained a little weight, and her condition had improved: enough to be discharged from the hospital. However, Jenny had to return to the hospital twice a day for breathing treatments. The pediatrician had made an appointment for Jenny to be examined in January at the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic in Harrisburg, PA. Until then, Jenny would continue the inhalation therapy at Lewistown Hospital.

1976 The CF Clinic

On