At the moment, we live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where my husband, Josh, teaches at The University of Alabama. He is more than I deserve…steady, loving and smart, quick to forgive and totally down with our family chaos. We are so thankful to have him as husband and Daddy. I get to work at The Allo Hope Foundation, which I founded in 2019 to provide support, advocacy and education to families around the world who are dealing with alloimmunization and HDFN. Josh and I have been married for 15 years and we have five living children- Liam, Asher, Nora, Callum, and baby August. Our daughter, Lucy Dair, was stillborn during my first Kell sensitized pregnancy, and we lost four other babies in early miscarriages unrelated to the antibodies. We love God, we love each other and we love sharing our story with you as God writes it.
Losing Lucy and Finding Hope 
Your family is so adorable!!!
I love the picture above and the one you chose for the header of your blog. You have a beautiful family!
You have a beautiful family, and I pray that God will give you and your husband the desire of your heart as you seek to follow Him and grow your family.
Thank you so much!
I started following your blog recently, after losing our first baby at 8 weeks this past July. I’ve been so encouraged. Sometimes all I need is to sit by myself, read blogs like yours, and just cry. I was so excited today when I read your new entry!! My husband and I have been in the adoption process for almost two years now- and it’s finally looking like its going to really happen! I am so happy for you. It’s a journey… but it’s so good!
Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m sure you know from the blog, but we also lost a baby in July. I’m glad your adoption is going well. It’s always nice to have other people to share the journey with. Any advice as we start out?
Oh… I don’t know…. It seems like any way you try to create a family, it’s just something out of your control. It’s been a long process, but I try to remember that in the end it’s going to be better than anything I could have planned myself.
We’re adopting from Korea, so I’m sure the processes quite different. I’m excited for you! God bless your whole family!
Hi. My name is Kim and I’m 11 weeks pregnant. I just found out I have 1:36 Big E Antibodies which I am still learning about. Not sure if this is related to Kell antibodies, but at this point I’m trying to get as much info as possible. I am so scared and afraid my baby will get hurt or affected by this. Any info please.
Hey Kim,
Congratulations on your new baby! I’m sorry you are having to deal with E antibodies. It is not related to kell, but similar. There are lot’s of different types of antibodies, anti-D, anti-kell, anti-c, anti-E, anti-kidd, etc. Anti-E is not as dangerous or as aggressive as kell, so that is good. Your titer is over the critical level, so you will need to keep a close eye on baby, but chances are your baby will be FINE, especially since this is your first affected pregnancy. Are you seeing an MFM/perinatologist (high risk OBGYN?) If not, you need to find one in the next couple of weeks and you should start having MCA scans around 17 or 18 weeks to make sure your baby isn’t getting anemic. Did you know there is an amazing Facebook group full of supportive ladies, many of whom have anti-E antibodies. If you find me on Facebook, I can get you into the group (it’s private) My name is Bethany Weathersby
Thank you for your story about Lucy and your devotion to God. I have no children. I had a miscarriage at 9 weeks in January and am now 8 1/2 weeks along. I was told I have anti-kell also (traumatic car accident as a child, had two blood transfusions). I just started the titer process and research about what my future family is up against. I know it is God’s will whether or not he will bless me and my soulmate with children.
Congrats on your new baby on the way, and I am so sorry that you lost your first baby. Usually, if you were sensitized by a blood transfusion, your baby has a high chance of being kell negative and therefore unaffected by the antibodies. Your husband has to be kell positive for your baby to be in danger. If he is caucasian, he has about a 9% chance of being kell positive, so the odds are in your favor. Has he had his blood tested for the kell antigen yet? Good luck and remember that there is a really good chance that your baby will be healthy and perfect!
Thank you for your kind words! We have not had him tested yet. We are just now getting into a perinatologist. They did a titer and at 8 weeks my level was 1:512. Still hopeful for that 91% chance! This is all so new. Even being an ER nurse and working with Rh negstive patients frequently, it was still something I had never heard of. Another discouraging thing was that my OB literally told me what I had, how I got it, and to just “look it up but not let is scare me” … Making the news so much more daunting!
Your family is beautiful. God bless!
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I’m so glad I found you. I’m following!
Do you think we could exchange emails? It will be easier for me than maneuvering around blog comments, but I just found out I have Kell antibodies (my second pregnancy) and I have so many questions. My appt as of right now to see the specialist isn’t until 14 weeks and until then I feel like I’m just waiting with all my fears and anxieties! I would love to talk. My email is cmziegen@gmail.com.
Hi! I can definitely email. I’ll write you tonight after I get the kids in bed😊
So thankful to discover your blog. I have an almost two year old anti E baby who needed 4 blood transfusions after birth and am now due with another baby in october who is also anti E, so neat to meet someone else going through this about the same time again. God has been revealing himself and comforting me through this whole journey and reminding me that i can submit my fears to him. Anyways thank you for sharing your journey!
Catherine
Hi I searched fb for the “iso moms group” do you have a link to the group to share? I would love to join
Hi Heather, it’s actually a secret group on Facebook which means it will not show up when you search for it unless you are already a member. Some of the members do not want friends or family knowing they are part of the group (some keep their condition private and some haven’t shared that they are pregnant yet, etc) so we made it a secret group to protect privacy. We did just make a public group called Maternal Isoimmunization Support that you can message and we will add you to the group that way. Or you can message me and send me a friend request (Bethany Weathersby) and I will add you! Oh wait…..I just saw that you sent me a friend request. I’ll get you added!
I found your post on baby center about your daughter needing an intrauterine transfusion and I’m desperately looking for any mom that has experience with it and could possible shed some light. Reading your story gave me hope and I pray I have the same outcome as your (second) baby girl ❤️
Hey Naomi, come find me on Facebook (Bethany Weathersby, my profile pic is little Nora with big hair) and send me a friend request. I will add you to our ISO Moms group. Many women in the group have had IUTS!
Hello!
Congratulations on your new addition to your family!
When we first found out that I had anti-kell antibodies and that my husband was heterozygous anti-kell, we did not fully understand how grave the situation could be. Thank you for you blog because it helped us understand what we would be facing. After a long stressful pregnancy, our daughter was born healthy and only needed minor intervention. We would like to have more children but are faced with whether we should. Our obgyn suggested speaking with a geneticist but I am not sure where to start. Everything seems so overwhelming and scary. Would you have any suggestions what type of doctor/s should we see before trying to get pregnant?
Hi Bridgette, I definitely think it’s possible for you to have more children if that is what you want. It is overwhelming and scary, but if your heart longs for another child, it is so worth it. The best thing you can do is what you are doing now…researching, learning all you can about it and reaching out with your questions. I recommend meeting with an MFM rather than a geneticist. The genetics are pretty basic…if your husband is kell positive then you can check if he is homozygous or heterozygous for kell. If he’s homo, then all babies have a 100% chance of being kell positive. If he’s hetero, then each baby has a 50% chance of being kell positive. Kell negative babies cannot be affected at all by your antibodies. That is all a geneticist can help you with. The MFM can help you come up with a treatment plan that you feel confident about and then you can move forward with your plans. We met with Dr. Trevett and discussed a future pregnancy in great detail before trying to conceive our last baby. We actually weren’t even sure if another baby was possible before meeting with Dr. Trevett. After speaking with him and asking him a ton of questions and getting a solid treatment plan worked out, we felt confident about trying for another baby, and now he’s a healthy ten month old and our family is complete 🙂 Also, come find me on facebook so I can add you to our ISO Moms group. The women in the group have been through similar experiences and are so supportive and knowledgeable.