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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Want to write to CT's House and Senate about HB5147?

Here is the actual bill: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2014/TOB/h/pdf/2014HB-05147-R00-HB.pdf

Here is it's current status: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=HB05147

If you don't want to write everyone (a big job) just write to your representative. Here is how you find out who your rep is: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp

Here is a sample letter you can send (just take out my info unless you want to say you know someone who suffered from this disease):
Dear [ ]

I am Lisa Saunders of Mystic and came to Harford to testify on Feb. 28 in support of HB 5147, which includes cytomegalovirus (CMV) education. If you need any further information or to be connected to doctors who work with children disabled by congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), I would be happy to help.
 
CMV is the #1 birth defects virus and causes more disabilities than Down syndrome, yet most women don’t know how to prevent it.

It’s too late for my daughter Elizabeth who was born with a severely damaged brain, but I hope you will support the bill to protect future unborn babies from such a fate. You will see from the testimony  letters that a Yale professor along with other medical professionals, and parents support the passing of this bill. A similar bill was passed in Utah Members of their health department are willing to speak to you.

Less than half of OB/GYNs surveyed said they counseled their patients on how to prevent CMV infection, despite these U.S. statistics from the CDC:

•Congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled every hour.

•About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection each year (approximately 30,000).

OB/GYNs didn’t tell me how to prevent CMV until after Elizabeth was born. Then I learned those working in daycare, or have a child in daycare, are at a higher risk for catching it as preschoolers are the majority of carriers. Mothers must wash their hands after handling toys and should not kiss their toddlers around the mouth.  While I was pregnant, I had a toddler plus ran a licensed daycare center. In milder cases, children may lose hearing or struggle with learning. But Elizabeth's case was not a mild one. She died at 16.


Sincerely,
Lisa Saunders
P.O. Box 389
Mystic, CT 06355
 

I plan to write to everyone here 
(minus the ones who voted yes already):

House Members: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/hlist.asp


 

Ask Your Rep. to Stop #1 Birth Defects Virus: Pass HB5147

Good news Connecticut residents! The cytomegalovirus (CMV) education bill (HB 5147)bill is now being prepared for the House and Senate to be voted on. If you have a moment, please call/email your representative and senator asking them to pass cytomegalovirus (CMV) education bill (HB 5147). This is how you and any of your CT friends (on Facebook or anywhere!) can find out who your Representative is: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp.
Also, click here to find your senator: http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/find/findlegislator.asp
Perhaps you should also write to CT's US senators found at:

Blumenthal, Richard - (D - CT)
Class III
724 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2823
Contact: www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact/
horizontal line
Murphy, Christopher - (D - CT) Class I
303 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4041
Contact: www.murphy.senate.gov/contact


Sample letter to your Representatives:


Connecticut is now proposing House Bill 5147, which includes CMV (cytomegalovirus) education. CMV is the #1 birth defects virus, which causes more disabilities than Down syndrome, yet most women don’t know how to prevent it.

Please join others, such as this Yale professor and other medical professionals, and parents who want House Bill 5147 to pass. It's similar to the CMV education bill passed in Utah.   

This is needed because less than half of OB/GYNs surveyed said they counseled their patients on how to prevent CMV infection, despite these U.S. statistics from the CDC:

•Congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled every hour.

•About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection each year (approximately 30,000).

OB/GYNs didn’t tell one Mystic, Conn., mother, Lisa Saunders, how to prevent CMV until after her daughter Elizabeth was born. Then she learned those working in daycare, or have a child in daycare, are at a higher risk for catching it as preschoolers are the majority of carriers. Mothers must wash their hands after handling toys and should not kiss their toddlers around the mouth.  When Lisa was pregnant, she had a toddler plus ran a licensed daycare center. In milder cases, children may lose hearing or struggle with learning. But Elizabeth's case was not a mild one. She died at 16.
Lisa Saunders is the Congenital CMV Foundation parent representative and author of Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV.
Sincerely,
Your name
address

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Little known virus cuts newborn's life short

The family and friends of little Maddie inundated Connecticut's Public Health Committee with letters of testimony in support of H.B. 5147, which supports congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) education. Although I was the only one physically in Hartford publicly testifying in favor of the bill, the Co-Chair of the Public Health Committee commented to everyone in the room about the overwhelming number (near 100) of support letters the bill received. Although many were Texas residents, their "big" voices were heard here in  New England and helped give me the "wind beneath my wings" when it was finally my turn to tell my daughter's story.

 
This is Maddie's story:

Little known virus cuts newborn's life short

 
 
You will find many of Maddie's supporters here: Click for Public Hearing Testimony 


Author Tries Getting Thin & Famous for CMV Awareness


Author Lisa Saunders Tries Epic Adventure to Get Thin and Famous
so People Will Learn  #1 Birth Defects Virus
 

Excerpts:
 
1        Wanted: Epic Adventure

 
Shortly after stepping out of my new home with my hound for our first stroll through the historic seacoast village of Mystic, Connecticut, a woman pulled over in her van and yelled, "Excuse me."

Assuming she was a tourist wanting directions to Mystic Pizza or some other attraction, I wasn't prepared for what she really wanted to know.

"Do you realize the back of your skirt is tucked into your underwear?"

What a debut in my new hometown—I don’t think this is what National Geographic meant when they named Mystic one of the top 100 adventure towns in the United States.

...
No longer did I want to be known as the lady who always talks about losing weight but never does it. No longer would I sit around daydreaming about becoming thin and famous so... I had a real shot at it now that I lived in a place where I couldn’t help but fall into a swash-buckling adventure—the kind that might inspire me to write a bestseller.

Straddling both sides of the Mystic River in the towns of Groton and Stonington, the village of Mystic takes its name from an Indian word, “river running to the sea.” With its scenic views of tall ships, islands, lighthouses, and secluded coves, it has attracted such legendary honeymooners as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. It is a place where those who cross the oceans gather to swap stories and repair their boats. It is where famous explorers are born, visit, get married, or sadly, embark from on their way to becoming lost at sea.

To launch my career as an adventuress, I decided to walk Bailey to the haunts and homes of such celebrated adventurers as Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic...Maybe I could become thin and famous like Amelia Earhart. Like her, I am fairly tall, my middle initial is M, I have a gap between my two front teeth, and until I looked it up, I couldn’t spell medieval either (more on that and her wedding day later). Unlike Amelia, I wasn’t skinny, but that was about to change. I would stop lying around reading about adventurers and do what it took to become one. 
 
... 
I felt affection for Matilda, a little two-year-old girl who drowned on New Year’s Day in 1858. There was no mystery why I found comfort visiting her grave—it reminded me of visiting our daughter Elizabeth’s grave, which we had to leave behind in New York. Elizabeth died in 2006 at the age of 16 during a seizure.
Although Elizabeth was unable to walk or talk because I contracted cytomegalovirus (CMV)[i] when pregnant with her, she was the happiest little soul Jim and I had ever known.  Missing her sweet, smiling face more than words can express, we tried to remind ourselves that she was on a better shore—one free from suffering. We had the following Scriptures etched on the back of her heart-shaped, pink headstone: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” and, “then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
Since moving to Mystic, I was unable to visit Elizabeth’s grave as often as I would have liked. On the front of Elizabeth’s stone were the words, “Our Little Girl,” for though she was 16, she really was very little, weighing only 50 pounds at the time of her death. Visiting the grave of little two-year-old Matilda reminded me of visiting Elizabeth—at least somewhat. But Matilda wasn’t family, not mine anyway.
...
Although I would never admit it to anyone in Mystic, I thought it would be kind of exciting to experience a New England hurricane (but only the kind where no one died). A good hurricane survival story just might be my ticket to a New York Times bestseller—and the kind of notoriety I sought in order to promote a cause dear to my heart. (Amelia Earhart used her fame to promote women’s rights; my cause is a mother’s right to know how to protect her unborn child from congenital CMV.) [i]




[i] See Addendum #3 : What Should be Famous—but isn’t



[i] To learn more about Elizabeth’s life and how to prevent congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) from happening to other children, see Addendum #2 and #3.
 
 
 

 



Monday, March 17, 2014

Mother's Congenital CMV Presentation

On my TV show, I presented my congenital CMV PowerPoint: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPlIxc-01so&feature=youtu.be

You are welcome to show this to your group. I am also available to do presentations to your group.

Lisa Saunders
Author of Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV
PO Box 389
Mystic, CT 06355
saundersbooks@aol.com
www.authorlisasaunders.com

Monday, March 10, 2014

Want me to speak about preventing #1 Birth Defects Virus?

I am the Congenital CMV Foundation parent representative and author of Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV. I live in Mystic would love to come on your show to discuss the
#1 birth defects virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), which causes more disabilities than Down syndrome. Most women don’t know how to prevent it.
 
See my short interview about my daughter, CMV, and her dog on this USA 9 News clip filmed several years ago in the DC area.  
 
Connecticut is now proposing House Bill 5147, which includes CMV education. It’s too late for my daughter Elizabeth who was born severely disabled by the virus, but I hope the public will support the bill along with a Yale professor, other medical professionals, and parents. A similar bill was passed in Utah  
Less than half of OB/GYNs surveyed said they counseled their patients on how to prevent CMV infection, despite these U.S. statistics from the CDC:
•Congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled every hour.
•About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection each year (approximately 30,000).
OB/GYNs didn’t tell me how to prevent CMV until after Elizabeth was born. Then I learned those working in daycare, or have a child in daycare, are at a higher risk for catching it as preschoolers are the majority of carriers. Mothers must wash their hands after handling toys and should not kiss their toddlers around the mouth.  While I was pregnant, I had a toddler plus ran a licensed daycare center. In milder cases, children may lose hearing or struggle with learning. But Elizabeth's case was not a mild one. She died at 16.
My humorous and historical adventure guide, Mystic Seafarer's Trail, also includes a congenital CMV prevention message.
I can probably get Dr. Brenda K. Balch, MD to come on the show with me.  She is CT’s AAP EHDI (Early Hearing Detection & Intervention) Chapter Champion who has a strong interest in CMV as congenital CMV is a major cause of hearing loss.

Visit me at www.authorlisasaunders.com or contact me at saundersbooks@aol.com if you want to learn more.

Thanks!
Lisa Saunders
PO Box 389
Mystic, CT 06355
www.authorlisasaunders.com
saundersbooks@aol.com
 
 
 
 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Support CT's CMV education: HB 5147

Lisa's Letter to the Editor:

Connecticut is now proposing House Bill 5147, which includes CMV (cytomegalovirus) education. CMV is the #1 birth defects virus, causes more disabilities than Down syndrome, yet most women don’t know how to prevent it.

It’s too late for my daughter Elizabeth who was born with a severely damaged brain, but I hope the public will contact the Public Health Committee to support the bill along with a Yale professor, other medical professionals, and parents. A similar bill was passed in Utah.   

Less than half of OB/GYNs surveyed said they counseled their patients on how to prevent CMV infection, despite these U.S. statistics from the CDC:

•Congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled every hour.

•About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection each year (approximately 30,000).

OB/GYNs didn’t tell me how to prevent CMV until after Elizabeth was born. Then I learned those working in daycare, or have a child in daycare, are at a higher risk for catching it as preschoolers are the majority of carriers. Mothers must wash their hands after handling toys and should not kiss their toddlers around the mouth.  While I was pregnant, I had a toddler plus ran a licensed daycare center. In milder cases, children may lose hearing or struggle with learning. But Elizabeth's case was not a mild one. She died at 16.


Sincerely,
Lisa Saunders

PO Box 389

Mystic, CT 06355

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Sample Letter to Connecticut's Public Health Committee

The following is a sample letter you can send to the Connecticut Public Health Committee. It was drafted by 02/28/2014 Sara Doutre, who was instrumental in getting the State of Utah to pass a similar bill. I sent a similar letter to the top six members listed in the Public Health Committee. Here are their emails and names should you want to follow suit: Susan.Johnson@cga.ct.gov, Philip.Miller@cga.ct.gov, Jason.Welch@cga.ct.gov,
prasad.srinivasan@housegop.ct.gov,
gerratana@senatedems.ct.gov, slossberg@senatedems.ct.gov

Dear Representatives Susan Johnson, Phillip Miller, Dr. Prasad Srinivasan, and Senators Jason Welch, Terry Gerratana and Gayle Slossberg,

SAMPLE LETTER:
Subject: HB 5147 – Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Public Education Program 

 
Dear Member of the Public Health Committee [insert names whenever possible],

 

According to the CDC, congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) causes more long-term problems and childhood deaths than Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, and neural tube defects. In the United States, congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled every hour. (see http://www.cdc.gov/cmv/index.html)

 

While most expectant mothers know about Down syndrome and other potential birth defects, only a small percentage (22% according to the CDC) know about CMV. expectant mothers and women who plan on having children should know about CMV. This bill creates an education program to make sure they and their physicians have the appropriate information about CMV.

CMV is preventable. With proper education, mothers can avoid passing it to their unborn children. The education and early identification proposed in HB 5147 will save Connecticut money by preventing the birth defects and disabilities caused by CMV.

[Add a paragraph or two about your child or acquaintance with CMV or a link to your story (i.e. http://www.stopcmv.org/daisy_utah). ]

 
Thank you,

Name

City, State

Legislative District(s) if in Connecticut
(FIND YOUR REPRESENTTIVE AND DISTRICTS AT: local representatives)

Subject: HB 5147 – Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Public Education Program

I am trying to get a bill passed into law so that women will know how to protect their babies from the suffering my daughter endured for years. You may view and show others photos of my daughter and facts about the preventable #1 viral cause of birth defects at:
PowerPoint on congenital CMV

I sent the following letter to the following on Connecticut's Public Health Committee (if you live in Connecticut, you will want to do this too, but here is a simpler one you may want to use:Sample Letter to Connecticut's Public Health Committee). Or, you may just want to call:
      Public Health Committee
      Room 3000, Legislative Office Building
      Hartford, CT 06106
      Phone: 860-240-0560
Emails of the members at: Committee Contact Information

Also, Find YOUR Representative, Senator and Congressperson at: http://www.cga.ct.gov/rwd/cgafyl/default.asp

Tell them, and the public health committee, that you support:

HB 5147: [pdf]AN ACT CONCERNING NEWBORN SCREENING FOR GLOBOID CELL LEUKODYSTROPHY AND CYTOMEGALOVIRUS AND ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR CYTOMEGALOVIRUS.


Subject: HB 5147 – Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Public Education Program 

Dear Representatives Susan Johnson, Phillip Miller, Dr. Prasad Srinivasan, and Senators Jason Welch, Terry Gerratana and Gayle Slossberg,





I live in Connecticut and testified in Hartford on Friday, Feb. 28, about my daughter’s 16 years of suffering then death from congenital (present at birth) cytomegalovirus (CMV).
 
 
 
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CMV causes more disabilities than Down syndrome and is preventable.
With proper education, mothers can avoid passing it to their unborn children. HB 5147 creates an education program to make sure women and their physicians have the appropriate information about CMV. The State of Utah passed a similar bill last summer. (See: http://www.health.utah.gov/cshcn/CHSS/CMV.html)
 




The education and early identification of CMV proposed in HB 5147 will save Connecticut money by preventing the birth defects and disabilities caused by CMV. According to an article co-authored by Dr. Cannon of the CDC, “The direct annual economic costs of caring for these children are estimated at $1-2 billion…by missing prevention opportunities, we in the medical and public health communities are washing our hands of the congenital CMV disease epidemic.”[i]

 


According to one study, “fewer than half (44%) of OB/GYNs surveyed reported counseling their patients about preventing CMV infection.”[ii] In an article published in Fit Pregnancy, one doctor explained why: "The list of things we're supposed to talk about during women's first visit could easily take two hours and scare them to death," explains OB-GYN Laura Riley, M.D., director of infectious disease at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "That's just the reality."[iii]

The following statistics are from the CDC’s website (http://www.cdc.gov/cmv/index.html):
 
  • CMV is the most common viral infection that infants are born with in the United States.
  • About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection (in other words, 30,000 children are born with congenital CMV infection in the U.S. each year).
  • Congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled every hour.
Expectant mothers and women who plan on having children should know about CMV.  According to a study published in 2006, only 22% of women surveyed knew about CMV.[iv]
 




In my case, none of my OB/GYNs told me how to prevent congenital CMV until after my daughter was born. Then I received literature stating women who work in daycare, or have a young child in daycare, are at higher risk for catching it as preschoolers are the majority of carriers. Mothers must wash their hands after handling toys and should not kiss their toddlers around the mouth.  While I was pregnant with Elizabeth I had a toddler plus ran a licensed daycare center. Nowhere in the licensing literature was there a CMV prevention message. In milder cases, children may lose hearing or struggle with learning. But Elizabeth's case was not a mild one.

I see on the HB 5147 webpage that approximately 90 letters of testimony were posted, including the following from the medical community: 
·        02/28/2014 Gail Demmler, MD
As you are aware, all of the letters of testimony can be viewed at: Click for Public Hearing Testimony
Please help the country make congenital CMV prevention as well-known as the “don’t change the kitty litter” rule when pregnant. Every time another new, distraught parent contacts me asking why no one warned them how to protect their baby from congenital CMV, I feel sick wondering why congenital CMV prevention still isn’t part of a doctor’s standard practice of care. Please help educate the public.
I am the author of the memoir, Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV (cytomegalovirus) and the parent representative of the Congenital CMV Foundation. See my short interview on USA 9 News clip.
I would be happy to answer any questions you have or put you in touch with medical professionals who work with congenital cytomegalovirus.
 Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
 
Lisa Saunders
P.O. Box 389
Mystic, Connecticut 06355
saundersbooks@aol.com 
More information or sources:


###




[i] “Washing our hands of the congenital cytomegalovirus disease epidemic”: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1182379

 
[ii] "Knowledge and Practices of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Regarding Cytomegalovirus Infection During Pregnancy --- United States, 2007": www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5703a2.htm

 
[iii] Article quoting OB/GYN why CMV prevention isn't discussed in Fit Pregnancy Magazine, June/July 2008 issue: Protect Your Baby From A Tot-Borne Virus or visit: www.fitpregnancy.com/yourbaby/babycare/40723077.html?subsection=baby_health_development

[iv] 2006 PubMed Central article, "Knowledge and Awareness of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Among Women," http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1779612

  

My Testimony at the hearing in Hartford:




Representative Johnson, Senator Gerratana and distinguished members of the Public Health Committee:

I am Lisa Saunders of Mystic, Connecticut, parent representative of the Congenital CMV Foundation, and author of Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital cytomegalovirus.*
I am in support of H.B. No. 5147, “AN ACT CONCERNING NEWBORN SCREENING FOR GLOBOID CELL LEUKODYSTROPHY AND CYTOMEGALOVIRUS AND ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR CYTOMEGALOVIRUS.”

I am a parent who didn't know how to prevent congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) until it was too late for our daughter Elizabeth. The moment she was born in 1989, my first thought was, “Her head looks so small—so deformed.”

My doctor told us, "If your daughter lives, she will never roll over, sit up, or feed herself." Elizabeth's birth defects were caused by congenital CMV. I was given literature stating women who work in daycare, or have a young child in daycare, are at higher risk for catching it as preschoolers are the majority of carriers. Mothers must wash their hands after handling toys and should not kiss their toddlers around the mouth. 

Why hadn’t my OB/GYNs warned me about this—especially since, according to the CDC, congenital CMV causes more disabilities than Down syndrome? While I was pregnant with Elizabeth I had a toddler plus ran a licensed daycare center. Nowhere in the licensing literature was there a CMV prevention message. In milder cases, children may lose hearing or struggle with learning. But Elizabeth's case was not a mild one.

Over the years, my husband and I watched our daughter endure cerebral palsy; frequent pneumonia; major surgeries, including spinal fusion; and worst of all, seizures. Yet despite it all, Elizabeth remained a cheerful, happy little girl. By her 16th birthday, we felt so proud of her. Although she only weighed 50 pounds, was still in diapers and unable to speak or hold up her head, she was lovely to us with her wavy brown hair, large blue eyes and soul-capturing smile.

Elizabeth especially loved being surrounded by people and going to school. Less than two months later when I dropped her off, I strapped her into her wheelchair, held her face in my hands and kissed her cheek. I said, “Be a good girl today!” She smiled as she heard her teacher say, “Elizabeth is always a good girl!” Elizabeth died several hours later of a seizure.

While holding her body on his lap, my husband looked down into her lifeless eyes and cried, “No one is ever going to look at me again the way she did.”

After presenting Elizabeth’s story at the international Congenital CMV conference at the CDC in 2008, mothers pushed their children toward me in wheelchairs and asked, “Why didn’t my OB/GYN tell me how to prevent this?” One mother even asked, "Learning what you did, why didn't you shout it from the rooftops?"

Last summer, when Utah passed a bill similar to this one, I finally found hope that CMV prevention would become as famous as the “don’t change the kitty litter” rule when pregnant. According to an article co-authored by the CDC’s Dr. Cannon, “The direct annual economic costs of caring for these children are estimated at $1-2 billion…by missing prevention opportunities, we in the medical and public health communities are washing our hands of the congenital CMV disease epidemic.” Please do your part to shout CMV prevention from the rooftops by passing this bill. I would be happy to answer to any questions.

***

In addition to my testimony, I ask you to consider the published testimonies of support for this bill from Yale University’s Dr. Eugene Shapiro, Professor of Pediatrics, Epidemiology and Investigative Medicine and from Dr. Demmler-Harrison, the Director of National Congenital CMV Disease Registry, as well as the other doctors who have worked with congenital cytomegalovirus and support this bill.

The following statistics are from the CDC’s website at: www.cdc.gov/cmv

  • CMV is the most common viral infection that infants are born with in the United States.
  • About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital (present at birth) CMV infection. This means that in the United States, about 30,000 children are born with congenital CMV infection each year.
  • About 1 in 750 children in the United States is born with or develops permanent problems due to congenital CMV infection. In the United States, more than 5,000 children each year suffer permanent problems caused by CMV infection.

 

Until OB/GYNs make CMV prevention a standard practice of care, I'm trying to "shout it from the rooftops" through my memoir, Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV (cytomegalovirus)* and the parent representative of the Congenital CMV Foundation,  which raises awareness about maternal testing for first infection during pregnancy, newborn testing and the need to develop a vaccine.
(See my short interview on USA 9 News clip.)

 

Lisa Saunders, Parent Representative, Congenital CMV Foundation


Author of Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV (cytomegalovirus)



 

 

*ABOUT THE BOOK, "ANYTHING BUT A DOG! THE PERFECT PET FOR A GIRL WITH CONGENITAL CMV (CYTOMEGALOVIRUS)," WRITTEN BY LISA SAUNDERS AND PUBLISHED BY UNLIMITED PUBLISHING, LLC:

This is the story of a mother’s humorous and moving search for one pet to suit two very different daughters-one a tomboy, the other mentally and physically disabled from the # 1 birth defects virus, congenital CMV (cytomegalovirus). Lisa Saunders says “no” to her daughter Jackie’s pleas for a dog, fearing it will be too rambunctious around Jackie’s disabled little sister Elizabeth. But she does make her a promise she thinks will never come to pass: “If God brings a dog to our door, then you can have it.” In the meantime, the family wrestles with a series of dysfunctional pets: a flesh-eating hamster, an attack cat, killer ants and a very stinky rabbit. Then one day, the unexpected happens: a shivering, dirty puppy shows up at their door. But is this dog really Heaven-sent?

Plus: The latest news on how to prevent the far-reaching but under-reported effects of congenital CMV, the #1 viral cause of birth defects-more common a cause of disabilities than Down syndrome. It also contains highly useful sections with Resources, Contacts and Support for anyone whose life is touched by CMV.


 

ALL MEMBERS OF CONNECTICUT'S PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE:





 
LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING, ROOM 3000

HARTFORD, CT 06106-1591

TELEPHONE (860) 240-0560 FAX (860) 240-5306
 
2013-2014 Committee Members
Senator Terry Gerratana, Co-Chair Representative Susan Johnson, Co-Chair


gerratana@senatedems.ct.gov Susan.Johnson@cga.ct.gov

Senator Gayle Slossberg, Vice-Chair Representative; Philip Miller, Vice Chair

slossberg@senatedems.ct.gov Philip.Miller@cga.ct.gov

Senator Jason Welch, Ranking Member Rep.; Prasad Srinivasan, Ranking Member


Jason.Welch@cga.ct.gov Prasad.Srinivasan@housegop.ct.gov

Representative David Alexander, Representative David Arconti

David. Alexander@cga.ct.gov David.Arconti@cga.ct.gov

Representative Whit Betts, Representative Michelle Cook

Whit.Betts@housegop.ct.gov Michelle.Cook@cga.ct.gov

Representative Theresa Conroy, Representative Christopher Davis

Theresa.Conroy@cga.ct.gov, Christopher.Davis@housegop.ct.gov

Representative Mike Demicco, Representative Gary Holder-Winfield


Mike.Demicco@cga.ct.gov, Gary.Holder-Winfield@cga.ct.gov

Representative Debralee Hovey, Senator Robert Kane


Debralee.hovey@cga.ct.gov, Rob.Kane@cga.ct.gov

Representative Themis Klarides, Representative James Maroney


Themis.Klarides@housegop.ct.gov, James.Maroney@cga.ct.gov

Senator Anthony Musto, Representative Jason Perillo

Musto@senatedems.ct.gov, Jason.Perillo@housegop.ct.gov

Representative Emmett Riley, Representative Kevin Ryan


Emmett.Riley@cga.ct.gov Kevin.Ryan@cga.ct.gov

Representative Peggy Sayers, Representative David Scribner


Peggy.Sayers@cga.ct.gov, David.Scribner@housegop.ct.gov

david.scribner@cga.ct.gov

Representative Peter Tercyak, Representative Patricia Widlitz


Peter.Tercyak@cga.ct.gov, Patricia.Widlitz@cga.ct.gov

Representative Melissa Ziobron, Representative David Zoni


Melissa.Ziobron@housegop.ct.gov, David.Zoni@cga.ct.gov

Melissa.ziobron@cga.ct.gov