Dante's Recovery Fund
This afternoon a very savvy pediatrician caught a problem with Dante right before we were discharged. She felt it was probably just her instinct overreacting but she couldn’t get it out of her mind that there was a 5 percent chance that it was something serious. She had him transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital where they ran tests and found out that Dante had an extremely serious complication with his GI tract that required immediate emergency surgery. His colon was found to be in the wrong place in his body and his intestines, in an effort to fix the problem, pushed through the colon and damaged it. After three hours the doctor updated us that the surgery was very successful but this rare condition that will require him to remain in the NICU for a month with a stoma and colonoscopy bag (that he will continue to use until he can have an additional surgery at 6 months). At that time we should expect that he can live a completely normal healthy life.
This will mean significant changes to our family life in the immediate future, including the fact that when Dante is able to return home, one parent will need to be a stay at home parent to help with his changes to colonoscopy bags and attend to his medical care. He won’t be able to attend day care or engage in a fully normal life until his second surgical procedure. We are asking for your help, if possible, for all the costs that accompany an extended NICU stay and finding ourselves a single income family for an extended period.
Today has been a shocking whirlwind. Filled with gratitude for an amazing health care team and a good long term prognosis but with uncertainty and disbelief over the life we will be living in the immediate future. We are figuring out our new normal for the next several months. Dante, Warren and I are currently settled in to the NICU at Nationwide and focused on providing our sweet little fighter with all the love and care we possibly can.
Love to you all, and gratitude if you can help!
Ceara, Warren, Tristan, and Dante
