Brianna and Spencer Thompson lost their newborn son Finn to a rare condition – neonatal hemochromatosis – so they turned to expert care at UC Davis Health to help them save their next child.
At the end of their first visit, maternal-fetal medicine specialist Véronique Taché had a plan in place that included use of IVIG to prevent a recurrence, involvement of prenatal genetic counselors, as well as establishing with Pediatric GI to ensure everything was in place once she got pregnant.
“Neonatal hemochromatosis is an extremely rare condition, even among fetal and pregnancy specialized centers,” said UC Davis pediatric gastroenterologist, Daphne Say. “We needed to take a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to Brianna’s care. I knew UC Davis Children’s Hospital had the resources she needed.”
When Brianna was pregnant for the second time, she began IVIG treatments at 14 weeks at the Acute Infection Management (AIM) clinic at UC Davis. She had weekly appointments throughout her pregnancy, spending an average of six hours each session. Thompson says she felt better knowing she was being proactive in trying to prevent what happened to Finn.
“I truly cannot express enough how grateful we are for UC Davis and how much I love every person I came into contact with who helped us through this,” Thompson said. “The pregnancy, the birth and everything after. It was a dream come true. Everything turned out perfectly. We don’t take that for granted.”
Now 1 year old, their daughter Odette is a healthy, outgoing, driven girl who her parents and her medical team are excited to see grow up.
