Introduction of Me

Hello!

I am a young, married woman who has PKU or Phenylketonuria. Many mothers are aware of such a thing but not many people know exactly what it is.
PKU is an inherited disorder of body chemistry that, if untreated, causes mental retardation. Someone with PKU has a missing enzyme, that breaks down protein into usable amino acids. It is allows raw protein to enter the blood stream. The brain is very sensitive to raw protein, it kills brain cells that are not replenish able.

Through routine newborn screening, almost all affected newborns are diagnosed and treated early, allowing them to grow up with normal intelligence. I was diagnosed with PKU when I was 2 weeks old. At that time, my parents had no idea what that was. It was very hard for them to receive any usable information, although my nutritionists were able to explain it in scientific terms, that was not a big help to my parents.

I thought I was a normal kid until I got to public school lunch time. I was asked over and over where my meat sandwich was. When I went to friends' houses and their moms made dinner, I couldn't eat the same thing as everyone else. It didn't affect my psychologically, I knew nothing was wrong with me.


I want to help people to become more aware of what PKU is and how it affects everyday life. That's my goal with my blog.

Until next time,
Phe