The Elijah William Jacob Saporito Fund
Donation protected
*The Whole Story*
Elijah William Jacob Saporito
5lbs 13.5oz "“ 19 inches
12/9/13-12/19/13
Michelle and I had been looking forward to meeting our son for 9 months. On 12/9/13 just one week before the due date Michelle saw her doctor in the morning and she said everything looked good and she was 1.5 cm dilated. The baby would be here today or tomorrow, later that evening Michelle's contractions were now 4 and 5 minutes apart. After counting only four mediocre contractions Michelle called me upstairs to being focusing on the timing of the contractions and their strength. The very next contraction was the one sent us to the hospital, barely able to talk she said "we need to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW" she said it was the worst pain she has ever felt in her life, she couldn't move or talk, the pain was paralyzing. We knew this was not good so we got into the car as fast as possible and I drove 90+ to Kaiser Modesto. On the way the excruciating pain continued and she felt the baby's hands and feet move in a struggling way through her abdomen, then she felt a pop and the pain subsided slightly allowing her to talk again. I drove right to emergency entrance and they took her straight to labor and delivery. Once in the Labor and Delivery room the nurse could not find a heart beat so the OB called for an emergency C-section. This was the scariest moment of my life, alarms going off, nurses, and doctors running and my wife rapidly taken to the OR. Frances on my lap, we just held each other tight and prayed.
Somewhere between the house and the hospital Michelle's uterus ruptured along her scar from the C-section from Frances and Elijah had come out into her abdomen. When the uterus ruptured the placenta stopped pumping blood to Elijah and he was with out oxygen for up to 30 minutes. The chances of something like this happening is an astonishing 0.02% and the likelihood of a woman surviving this is 30%. We were thanking God for not losing Michelle but were hit with the news that Elijah may have irreversible brain damage.
The NICU doctors at Modesto knew things were not good for my boy when he came out not breathing and he began seizing. Later that night they transferred Elijah to Santa Clara Kaiser for a special treatment called Thermal Cooling. The procedure consists of placing the baby on a waterbed that has been chilled to just above hypothermic temperatures and lowering the baby's internal temperature to around 92 F. This is done in hopes to reduce any brain swelling and decrease brain damage. This process is for 72 hours. During this time Elijah was on a ventilator and a EEG (electrical brain wave recorder), the EEG results didn't look good but we held on to hope that after the 72 hours things would have improved. Unfortunately after the process they warmed him back up and the brain scan did not show any change.
At this point we were faced with some tough decisions. Elijah could not breath on his own effectively long term, he could not cry, suck, or swallow and he had no gag reflex. He also could not blink his eyes or make any purposefully movement (your brain telling your body to do something like move) his brain was only sustaining the unconscious things like heart, lungs, and bowels.
We decided that life as a vegetable was not life, and we decided we would donate any usable organs and tissue when he passed. On Monday 12/16/13 lying in Michelle's arms we removed the breathing tube and prayed that God would take him swiftly and peacefully. Elijah had another plan, he began to breath on his own in a rather normal manner so after 45 minutes he was still breathing strong and his vitals were perfect as well. This made him unable to be an organ donor.
We knew that this was just a blessing from God to be able to spend a little more time with our baby boy. We were able to spend 3 more days with Elijah, on 12/19/13 our little Elijah started struggling to breath and he passed peacefully at 7:24PM. He was able to donate two sets of heart valves that will save two other babies lives.
Although we mourn and grieve for our little boy we know he is on the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and he no longer suffers from brain damage.
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We are asking you our amazing friends and family if you could humbly help us pay for our little baby Elijah's medical, funeral, and any additional costs associated with this ordeal. Any donation is greatly appreciated and your continued prayer is always welcome as an alternative. Additional funds will also be donated to the non-profits that have been a huge help in our family getting through this tough time.
Elijah William Jacob Saporito
5lbs 13.5oz "“ 19 inches
12/9/13-12/19/13
Michelle and I had been looking forward to meeting our son for 9 months. On 12/9/13 just one week before the due date Michelle saw her doctor in the morning and she said everything looked good and she was 1.5 cm dilated. The baby would be here today or tomorrow, later that evening Michelle's contractions were now 4 and 5 minutes apart. After counting only four mediocre contractions Michelle called me upstairs to being focusing on the timing of the contractions and their strength. The very next contraction was the one sent us to the hospital, barely able to talk she said "we need to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW" she said it was the worst pain she has ever felt in her life, she couldn't move or talk, the pain was paralyzing. We knew this was not good so we got into the car as fast as possible and I drove 90+ to Kaiser Modesto. On the way the excruciating pain continued and she felt the baby's hands and feet move in a struggling way through her abdomen, then she felt a pop and the pain subsided slightly allowing her to talk again. I drove right to emergency entrance and they took her straight to labor and delivery. Once in the Labor and Delivery room the nurse could not find a heart beat so the OB called for an emergency C-section. This was the scariest moment of my life, alarms going off, nurses, and doctors running and my wife rapidly taken to the OR. Frances on my lap, we just held each other tight and prayed.
Somewhere between the house and the hospital Michelle's uterus ruptured along her scar from the C-section from Frances and Elijah had come out into her abdomen. When the uterus ruptured the placenta stopped pumping blood to Elijah and he was with out oxygen for up to 30 minutes. The chances of something like this happening is an astonishing 0.02% and the likelihood of a woman surviving this is 30%. We were thanking God for not losing Michelle but were hit with the news that Elijah may have irreversible brain damage.
The NICU doctors at Modesto knew things were not good for my boy when he came out not breathing and he began seizing. Later that night they transferred Elijah to Santa Clara Kaiser for a special treatment called Thermal Cooling. The procedure consists of placing the baby on a waterbed that has been chilled to just above hypothermic temperatures and lowering the baby's internal temperature to around 92 F. This is done in hopes to reduce any brain swelling and decrease brain damage. This process is for 72 hours. During this time Elijah was on a ventilator and a EEG (electrical brain wave recorder), the EEG results didn't look good but we held on to hope that after the 72 hours things would have improved. Unfortunately after the process they warmed him back up and the brain scan did not show any change.
At this point we were faced with some tough decisions. Elijah could not breath on his own effectively long term, he could not cry, suck, or swallow and he had no gag reflex. He also could not blink his eyes or make any purposefully movement (your brain telling your body to do something like move) his brain was only sustaining the unconscious things like heart, lungs, and bowels.
We decided that life as a vegetable was not life, and we decided we would donate any usable organs and tissue when he passed. On Monday 12/16/13 lying in Michelle's arms we removed the breathing tube and prayed that God would take him swiftly and peacefully. Elijah had another plan, he began to breath on his own in a rather normal manner so after 45 minutes he was still breathing strong and his vitals were perfect as well. This made him unable to be an organ donor.
We knew that this was just a blessing from God to be able to spend a little more time with our baby boy. We were able to spend 3 more days with Elijah, on 12/19/13 our little Elijah started struggling to breath and he passed peacefully at 7:24PM. He was able to donate two sets of heart valves that will save two other babies lives.
Although we mourn and grieve for our little boy we know he is on the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and he no longer suffers from brain damage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are asking you our amazing friends and family if you could humbly help us pay for our little baby Elijah's medical, funeral, and any additional costs associated with this ordeal. Any donation is greatly appreciated and your continued prayer is always welcome as an alternative. Additional funds will also be donated to the non-profits that have been a huge help in our family getting through this tough time.
Organizer
Steve Saporito
Organizer
Manteca, CA
