Dec
6
Cassie Burnside- The Famous Lutrepulse Baby
December 6, 2011 | | 1 Comment
“I don’t KNOW what the drug is called Sarah! All I know is that I’m pretty much a big deal because of it”, Cassie Burnside sarcastically said as she frantically picked up her I-phone to call her parents. After conversing with her Dad, Cassie got off the phone and found out that Luterpulse is the name of the drug that her mother, Karen Burnside, used to help her become pregnant twenty years ago. Not only was Cassie conceived using this drug, she was the first baby in Nebraska successfully born because of it.
Lutrepulse, the drug Karen used to conceive Cassie, is a hormone that is the same as the one naturally released from a gland located in the brain. These hormones control the development in children and fertility in adults. It allows women with irregular cycles to ovulate, and hopefully someday, conceive. The pump is attached to a belt placed around the woman’s waist which automatically injects medicine into the vein on the inner side of the elbow. Karen described the pump as, “a little box that weighed less than a pound, with an IV that went into my arm. The tubing wrapped up my arm and down my shirt. I would wear the pump underneath baggy sweaters, and if you were quiet enough, you could hear the pump injecting the dosage once every ninety minutes for 21 days.” Karen said she followed through with this process, and after 21 days, found out she was pregnant.
Nine months later, Cassie Leigh Burnside was born in the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, weighing a healthy seven pounds twelve ounces. Growing up, Cassie’s parents wanted to find the right time to explain to her how she was born. When Cassie was in middle school, they thought she was mature enough to learn about the process. Download Cassie never would have thought that she was born using a drug, so this came as a surprise. Carter Burnside, Cassie’s dad, said that when she was naughty growing up he would discipline her by saying, “Do you understand how hard it was trying to have you?” Cassie never understood why he would say this until they told her the story.
Remembering her first reaction in middle school made Cassie laugh. She said she remembers saying, “I knew it! That’s why I’m so messed up.”Download After growing up and maturing, she said her view has changed significantly. Now Cassie says that, “It has made me more appreciative of my parents.”Download She never knew how much time and money was spent by her parents to try and have kids. Cassie realized that she must be very special.
Special is just one word to describe Cassie Burnside. She is very well-known around Morningside’s campus, and most people don’t even know that she was the first baby born in Nebraska using Lutrepulse. With her vibrant tie-dye backpack, loud friendly voice, and fluffy rainbow stocking cap, Cassie can be heard and seen all over Morningside. She is involved with the cross country and track team, works in admissions as a student ambassador, and is involved in student government. She definitely stays busy and never wastes a minute. Students and faculty know her for her fun and outgoing personality, and not for the fact that she was born using a drug. This is just one more attribute that adds to Cassie’s unique personality and distinguishable self.
Comments
1 Comment so far
You start. Then re-start.
Consider one of the alternative leads we talked about last month. An anecdote, maybe. The story about her calling her dad — she never before thought the name of the drug was important? — is kind of a nice scene that says something about Cassie.
A contrast lead? A quote lead?
But once you get started, stick with that focus.