There was only one chance in 100 that the boy would be able to get out. And the kid used this chance.
Little Rowan was born in April. Baby is not a figure of speech. The boy was born prematurely when his mother was only 6 months pregnant. Rowan weighed only 620 grams. Five times smaller than regular babies! Infants with extremely low weight have long learned to nurture. But Rowan’s problems were not limited to body weight alone. In the hospital, he was diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis, a very serious disease that affects the intestines of a newborn. Another name for this scourge is the disease of surviving premature babies.
Doctors gave almost no chances for the baby to survive. The likelihood that he would recover was, according to their forecasts, less than one percent. With such a disease, intestinal perforation often occurs, bacteria and stool penetrate the abdominal cavity, infection begins and the baby dies. Rowan was too young and weak to have a bowel transplant. And indeed, to carry out any operation. The doctors told the parents that they need to be ready to say goodbye to their son at any time. Two weeks was the maximum given to Rowan.
“We were told that he will never be able to eat, will not grow, and he is too small to do anything. It was a death sentence, ”he told reporters baby’s father, Daniel Braits.
The baby was connected to a ventilator, and they began to feed it intravenously – neither breast milk nor the mixture in its state could be given. But they didn’t really treat him – they waited for him to die. So a week passed. Then another one.
“We were always there. They kissed our baby and cried, told him how much we love him and how we want to help at least with something, ”says Daniel.
Two months have passed. Every day, parents expected their son to die. But he was not going to die. On the contrary, he even felt better.
“We decided that since our boy does not give up, then we will not give up,” the parents recall.
Daniel and Jess, the baby’s mom, found a hospital that was ready to accept Rowan. He was brought there by helicopter. It was early June. A new stage of the battle for the child’s life began. Four days later, Rowan went to surgery. The doctors said he had a good chance, his intestines were, for the most part, viable.
“We were just dumbfounded, and the surgeons did not understand why. After all, in the hospital we were told that there was almost nothing left of Rowan’s intestines. And here we were told exactly the opposite! The son still had to remove the damaged intestinal area and several abscesses. But it was not critical, he will not need a transplant, he will not have short bowel syndrome either! ” Daniel spoke emotionally.
Rowan spent 209 days in the intensive care unit. December has come. The kid was finally discharged home. The plump pinkish boy weighed a confident six kilograms.
“We will all celebrate Christmas together. This is a real miracle for me, our baby, ”added Daniel.
- Photo Shoot:
- facebook.com/Daniel Breyts