Baby Thomas

On March 1st my nephew Thomas was born at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center. A few hours after birth, Thomas stopped breathing and thanks to the NICU staff st St. E's he was stabilized. At just 3 days old a repeat chest x-ray showed pleural effusions (fluid) in his chest cavity on both the right and left sides. He was transferred to Mass General Children's NICU for further treatment. Upon arriving there he was immediately intubated and a chest tube was placed on his right side. 80mL of fluid was drained from his chest. Thomas has been diagnosed with Congenital Chylothorax. This is a very rare disease for which there is currently no specified treatment. Doctors are using case studies to determine different treatment options. They have tried several different treatment techniques that have been in the published case studies to stop the leakage of fluid into his chest cavity. Since admission Thomas has been on antibiotics several times and he has had 2 subsequent chest tubes placed on his right side. There have been errors made by the hospital. At this time Thomas's blood counts are low. He received a red blood cell transfusion yesterday and IVIg (intravenous immunoglobulin) treatment today. Unfortunately, 7 days of a powerful Somatostatin, Octreotide has not worked to stop the fluid formation. Doctors are not confident about the next steps to take. After a two week stay at Thomas's bedside, his mother Tiffany, has been traveling into Boston daily to be with him. She has two other children (Bailey, and Madison)at home to care for as well, so she needs to split her time between home and the hospital. Tiffany is advocating for his transfer to a specialty hospital in Philadelphia for treatment of his condition. Thomas is now 20 days old and his condition has not improved. They would like to move him for a second opinion and hope for better treatment options. The funds will help facilitate this move and help with the cost of traveling, childcare and other unforseen expenses that may arise. Please keep Thomas in your prayers. Doctors have stated that this disease could take weeks to months to heal. With no real treatment plan currently in place your assistance is greatly appreciated in getting Thomas additional care.