Zika virus likely to blame for Romeoville woman's miscarriage
... For Meija, an unfortunate series of circumstances apparently led to the sad end of her pregnancy.
For two years, she and her husband, Omar, planned a Christmas 2015 trip to visit his family in Honduras.
"We found out two days before we were leaving that we were expecting," she said.
That was before news about the virus had spread worldwide, or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued any related travel warnings for pregnant women.
Coverage: Zika virus outbreak
Soon after the Meijas arrived in the Central American country, people there started to talk about the new virus and some of its symptoms, including fever and rash.
"We wore bug spray," she said. "Knowing what I know now, I would have been more vigilant about it."
After they returned to Romeoville, Samantha ended up in bed with what she thought was the flu. After a rash developed the following day, she went directly to the hospital.
"They were like, 'Wait. What do you think you have?,'" she said.
After drawing her blood, the hospital had no lab code for the type of blood test needed, she said. The nurse had to handwrite in the margin what was needed. The CDC tested her blood and called to confirm she had the Zika virus.
"There was a certain element of relief knowing what I had," she said.
Nevertheless, when she and her husband went for her first ultrasound, they learned she had miscarried. While doctors could not definitively say the virus caused her miscarriage, she said, the fetus tested positive for Zika...
... For Meija, an unfortunate series of circumstances apparently led to the sad end of her pregnancy.
For two years, she and her husband, Omar, planned a Christmas 2015 trip to visit his family in Honduras.
"We found out two days before we were leaving that we were expecting," she said.
That was before news about the virus had spread worldwide, or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued any related travel warnings for pregnant women.
Coverage: Zika virus outbreak
Soon after the Meijas arrived in the Central American country, people there started to talk about the new virus and some of its symptoms, including fever and rash.
"We wore bug spray," she said. "Knowing what I know now, I would have been more vigilant about it."
After they returned to Romeoville, Samantha ended up in bed with what she thought was the flu. After a rash developed the following day, she went directly to the hospital.
"They were like, 'Wait. What do you think you have?,'" she said.
After drawing her blood, the hospital had no lab code for the type of blood test needed, she said. The nurse had to handwrite in the margin what was needed. The CDC tested her blood and called to confirm she had the Zika virus.
"There was a certain element of relief knowing what I had," she said.
Nevertheless, when she and her husband went for her first ultrasound, they learned she had miscarried. While doctors could not definitively say the virus caused her miscarriage, she said, the fetus tested positive for Zika...