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Kailee Sidamrong-Phan was a tiny, sickly baby that her parents rushed to Valley Children’s Hospital frequently for breathing troubles first diagnosed as asthma. At age 2 ½, a test to measure the concentration of salt in her sweat showed Kailee likely had cystic fibrosis – something newborn genetic screening had not picked up.
“We were heartbroken and a little confused,” said her dad, Sok Phan. So were her doctors.
She’s a unique and rare case, explained Dr. John Moua, the pediatric pulmonologist who first diagnosed her: “She didn’t fit the regular profile of a cystic fibrosis patient… a blonde, blue-eyed kid that’s very small and malnourished. She’s Asian and she doesn’t have any of the mutations on her genes, yet she has the positive sweat test. That’s Kailee.”
Community Medical Centers | 28 Oct 2020