Chapter 37: Downfall

Six Days Later...

Roselyn is six days old now. FP took the first shift when they brought her home. The first night at home was a bit of adjustment. Alice hasn't slept much since Roselyn was born. That kid's sleeping pattern is sporadic. Alice's nerves were bothering her. She noticed the color on Roselyn's cheeks and didn't like it one bit. She peered forward, gasping when her baby started jolt her little body.

"Polly, Betty!" She screamed.

It didn't take long before Betty and Polly came into the room, noticing the baby seizing. Alice quickly grabbed her phone and dialed 9-1-1. "What happened?"

"I don't know. She was fine an hour ago." Alice was almost into tears as Betty takes the phone from her mother. Polly held her as Alice bursted into sobs. Roselyn's body kept flailing around, Betty explained to the 9-1-1 operator on what was happening.

Once the paramedics showed up, taking Roselyn to the ambulance. Polly, Betty and Alice got into Polly's car and headed off to Riverdale General Hospital. Alice's head was spinning with worry. What was happening to her baby? Is she sick? Did she miss something? Polly guided her over to the waiting room, handling getting ahold of FP.

"Al?"

She held in a sigh." No, it's Polly."

"Oh? Polly, why are you calling from your mom's phone?" She felt her throat closing due to the lack of air reaching her lungs.

"Uh... something happened, FP. We are at the hospital. Roselyn had a seizure." She choked out.

"What?! Oh no, what happened?!"

"We still don't know, FP. They took her, checking out why she could be having seizures." She heard him curse silently.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up.

Polly turned back to her mother, seeing the pure exhaustion in her eyes. Roselyn had been keeping her up for the past almost a week. She settled into a chair, pulling her mom closer as she cried.

Twenty minutes later, FP appears in the room, pulling Alice into a comforting embrace. His mind might be spiraling with outcomes, but on the outside he remained calm. He had to be strong for her. Although he was terrified.

Two doctors in lab coats approached the weary family with one name." Roselyn Jones-Smith?" Alice and FP stood from their seats.

"That's us."

"Is she okay?"

"Mr. Jones, Miss Smith, your baby suffered what's called Tonic-Clonic more commonly known as grand mal seizures."

Alice fell back into her chair by the weight of the news. "Oh, god..."

The doctor gave a grim smile." I know it's scary. She's going to be okay. We did some tests and we will know in a day or two what is causing the seizures."

FP dreadfully sighed. "Can we see her?"

The doctors both nodded." Of course, we'll take you to see her."

Alice and FP followed the doctors as the led them over to their baby's incubator. Her small body only six days old hooked up to oxygen vents, heart monitors. Alice stuck her hand through the slot, choking back her tears. Roselyn looked so frail from outside the box. FP's arm supported her back as she gently touched the baby's soft scalp. The alopecia clear on Rosie's head. She didn't have much hair. She had Alice's smile and FP's eye color.

"Hi, baby girl, mommy and I are waiting for you to get nice and strong." FP whispered gently as Alice sobbed into his chest.

Alice broke down against FP's beating heart, listening as a tub-thump filled her eardrums. His soft voice calmly telling her everything will be okay.

"Shhh... Al, Rosie will be better before we know it." His hands run through her blonde curls and he kissed her forehead.

—-xxxxx——

Three Days Later...

Waiting in the small pediatric room with anxiety aching in their hearts. The door swung open, revealing a petite long brunette hair came with a clipboard tucked under her arm. Alice and FP straightened their back against the chair as the doctor introduced herself.

"I'm Kate Gilman, dietitian here at Riverdale children's hospital." She shook their hands." It's nice to meet you both."

The other doctor smiled as a greeting from the other side of the room. A wave of confusion rolled down Alice's face.

"So what are the results?"

The other doctor began to speak" I'm sorry to tell you this, but the blood test concluded that Roselyn has Phenylketonuria, for short PKU."

A wave of shock rushed over them like a whirlpool that kept spinning around, and around and around until you got too dizzy. Alice heard the diagnosis before she faded out.

FP listened intently as Kate and Dr. Pinka explained what their six-day-old has. His mind was on haywire. This couldn't be possible true. Can it? He argued with his inner demons.

"Mr. Jones, Miss Smith, I'm afraid this is for the rest of her life." The impact of the news shook him deeply.

"H-how can this be possible?"

Dr. Gillman sympathized for the parents. It was never easy to tell someone that their child will not eat like kids their age.

"This happens when you have to carriers of the gene. One parent can have the carrier gene while the other could be passed by the gene. Unfortunately in your's and Miss Smith's case it looks like you both passed the PKU carrier gene onto Roselyn."

"Would she ever be cured?" The doctor shook her head regretfully.

"There's no cure for PKU at this time."

Alice zoned back in, tears streamed down her face. Was this her fault? She felt like a failure to her own child. How could she miss this?

"Is this something I could've done? Did I hurt my child? I was in a cult I didn't know... am I the reason she's the way she is?" FP squeezed her hand.

"No. Absolutely not. This is all by genetics. There's nothing you could've done to prevent it, Miss Smith. Your baby is lucky we caught early. We will start her on protein based formula and give you and Mr. Jones some pamphlets informing on what she can have and can't have."

Alice nodded, taking out a notepad from her purse as FP used his feet to rock her in the car seat. "What can she have?"

"Foods low in protein, less than five grams is her limit." Her stomach dropped as the words hit hard. 5 grams of protein? Just five?

"That's all she can have?"

"Yes, Miss Smith." Alice shook her head. "Alice, please." Dr. Gilman took that to acknowledgement.

"Alice, I know this difficult to hear this, but to answer your question, yes. That's all she can have. At least per day."

After going over everything Alice and FP went back to Alice's drained emotionally. Alice went straight the nursery, opened the booklet.

It read:

Phenylketonuria (fen-ul-key-toe-NU-ree-uh), also called PKU, is a rare inherited disorder that causes an amino acid called phenylalanine to build up in the body. PKU is caused by a defect in the gene that helps create the enzyme needed to break down phenylalanine.

Without the enzyme necessary to process phenylalanine, a dangerous buildup can develop when a person with PKU eats foods that contain protein or eats aspartame, an artificial sweetener. This can eventually lead to serious health problems.

For the rest of their lives, people with PKU — babies, children and adults — need to follow a diet that limits phenylalanine, which is found mostly in foods that contain protein.

Babies in the United States and many other countries are screened for PKU soon after birth. Recognizing PKU right away can help prevent major health problems.

For the rest of her baby's life she would be dealing with disease -- genetic disorder. She would never be able to have meats, regular Mac & Cheese, eggs, fish, beans, ice cream, and much more than she could think of.

She moved down the list what Roselyn could have. Vegetables and fruit are allowed in measured amounts only! Special low protein bread, pasta, biscuits and flour are used to supplement the diet and ensure adequate calorie intake.

A knock broke the contact with the booklet binder, causing it to fall off her lap and her eyes met with FP. He came into the room, pulling her into his arms. She started sobbing in his strong, comforting arms.

"She'll never be a regular kid." She cried, burying her head into chest.

FP's hands rubbed circles into the small of her back as her lungs cried for help. He also was feeling the impact of their doctor visit.

"We'll get through this, Al. She's going to happy and healthy. It won't matter she can't eat like others her age. We will feed her what she can and make her diet a lot more fun, okay? We can kick this disorder in the ass." Her cheeks were freshly coated with tears.

She slightly raised her head, looking at the genuine sincerity in his eyes. "Okay..."

—-xxxx—-

This chapter was pretty difficult for me to write. It's based on a real-life experience in my life. My little sister, who's 9 has this disorder. I decided to dedicate this to my little sister's condition. I remember the day they told my parents nine years ago that my sister had PKU. My mom blamed herself when she the news... but the truth is it wasn't her fault.

For the last nine years I've learned a lot about diet and basically a pro. No. Not other one's case is the same. This is just my sister's diet. She can only have five grams per day of protein. This is going to be the rest of her life. Not everyone's case is the same. Others can have 50g per day. She is on a formula powder that we add water or almond milk with.

This is a very sensitive topic for me so I would appreciate no hate for me deciding to have their child have this condition. It is very close to my hear.

For more information about PKU: go to: or look it up in the Mayo Clinic website. I tried to put the link in here but it won't work.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you keep enjoying as I go on.

Love,

Aut!