Tewaimana's Chance at Life

Early in the morning on March 8, 2015 my sister went into labor. We were all anxiously waiting for his arrival. At 8am we welcomed baby boy "Tewaimana Kaiohilea Pelekane". I witnessed his birth over FaceTime. Because here on Molokai things are very limited, my sister decided to give birth at castle hospital on Oahu. Shortly after he was born they noticed that Tewaimana kept spitting up. They took him to run tests and take X-rays. We then found out that he has Esophageal Atresia (EA) and Tracheal Esophageal Fistula (TEF). The esophagus is the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. The trachea, or windpipe, is the tube that carries air into and out of the lungs. Esophageal atresia (EA) occurs when the upper part of the esophagus does not connect with the lower esophagus and stomach. Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) is an abnormal connection between the upper part of the esophagus and the trachea or windpipe. Shortly after, he was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Kapiolani Medical Center. At just a little over 48 hours old, he had to undergo his surgery. With lots of prayer and faith he made it through. He was kept heavily sedated with a respirator to help him heal. A few days later they noticed there was still a leak in his trachea, they decided to watch it in hopes it would heal on it's own. As each day passed the leak grew bigger and respirator had to be turned up. By day 8 the respirator was at max and it was still not enough. He had to undergo an emergency operation to seal that hole. Before surgery they cannulated him in case he needed to be supported on ECMO, which we hoped wouldn't happen. Surgery went well and he returned to nicu to begin his healing process. Not even half an hour of reaching the nicu they noticed his carbon dioxide levels were too high and needed to resort to the VV ECMO which would bypass his lungs which had became too sick to function on it's own. 2 days into ECMO treatment his body began forming clots in the circuit which meant he was rejecting the machine. As a precaution, before it became an emergency, the medical team decided to swap out the circuit and cannulas (tubing). It took them under 2 minutes to make that swap, but being off of support for that period of time was enough to make his heart stop. They performed CPR for 45 minutes and was able to save his life and change him over to AV ECMO which now supports his heart and lung. Without ECMO he wouldn't have survived. During this period all his organs became sick. It's been 2 days since switching over and his heart is recovering and organs almost back to normal. He is said to be the sickest baby in the state of Hawaii.  He is fighting for his life! We would appreciate any monetary donation to help his family with any medical, lodging and travel expenses while they stand by his side during this time of need. Please pray for my nephew Tewaimana. Pray that my sister Kiele and brother in law Kamekona can get the chance to be his parents. & pray that we at home will be able to meet him, touch him, hold him and love him up for the first time. Thank you.