Cody was born 4 weeks preterm in Oct 2009 with Congenital Pneumonia & Respiratory Distress. He spent 1 week in the neonatal intensive care unit at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth. Following this stay he was frequently admitted to hospital with reoccurring viral & bacterial infections, with a repeat of pneumonia at 6 months of age and 1 year. At the age of 2 he was seen by Respiratory at Princess Margaret Hospital who did investigative testing, as it's not common for children to have such severe and frequent infections. After years and years of testing & hospital admissions & procedures, he was officially diagnosed in March 2014. Common Variable Immune Deficiency was the official diagnosis. It affects approx 1:66,000 australians and there is no cure. Having a primary immune deficiency basically means the immune system doesn't work, it doesn't produce antibodies to fight off infections. Cody began a treatment called Immunoglobulin replacement therapy, this is a blood product made from healthy donated plasma. This gives Cody an immune system that his body can't produce on it's own. Every 4 weeks, we are in hospital receiving this via IV. Cody also suffers from many other conditions
Bronchiectasis: Permanent lung damage from repeated infections
Mannose Binding Lectin Deficiency
Vitamin D Deficiency
Asthma
He sees multiple specialists: Psychology, Immunologist, Respiratory specialist, ENT, Speech Therapy & Occupational Therapy.
