Arick the Mighty
Donation protected
This spring Rick and Kristi were thrilled to learn that they would be welcoming a baby in late November. Kristi's pregnancy was event free until around 20 weeks. At that time she noticed that her legs were swelling already and she was experiencing signs that indicated she had high blood pressure. At 25 weeks she made a call to the doctor to see what was going on. Her blood pressure was up, lots of swelling, and the doctors were certain she had severe preeclampsia and was headed into HELLP Syndrome. Arick would be making is debut 3 months early to everyone's surprise at only 26 weeks gestation. On August 18, Arick was born weighing only 1 pound, 6 ounces.
With prematurity comes lots of risks and frightening possibilities. Though Rick and Kristi were hopeful that Arick would be just fine, at two days of age he developed a perforation in his intestines. A drain was inserted to remove the excess air around his abdomen and diaphram that was created from the perforation. Just when they thought it was doing the trick, Arick's abdomen filled with air again, indicating there was another perforation. Surgery was performed and the surgeon found two perforations. Arick would then have a stoma and three fistulas on his abdomen to excrete stool and bodily fluids until his intestines could recover and he would be strong enough to have surgery to reattach his intestines.
Since Arick was having complications with his intestines, he could not receive the medication necessary to close an opening in his heart. Arick underwent heart surgery to close his PDA opening. After the surgery he became dependent on the ventilator which required the use of steroids. He has had an infection in his leg and will undergo intestinal surgery and hernia surgery in the next few weeks.
Despite all that he has endured, Arick continues to grow and smile each day. Arick's family remains positive and look forward to welcoming their son home sometime this winter. Our goal is to raise funds needed to cover medical bills, hospital expenses, and the time away from work to care for Arick once he is able to go home.
With prematurity comes lots of risks and frightening possibilities. Though Rick and Kristi were hopeful that Arick would be just fine, at two days of age he developed a perforation in his intestines. A drain was inserted to remove the excess air around his abdomen and diaphram that was created from the perforation. Just when they thought it was doing the trick, Arick's abdomen filled with air again, indicating there was another perforation. Surgery was performed and the surgeon found two perforations. Arick would then have a stoma and three fistulas on his abdomen to excrete stool and bodily fluids until his intestines could recover and he would be strong enough to have surgery to reattach his intestines.
Since Arick was having complications with his intestines, he could not receive the medication necessary to close an opening in his heart. Arick underwent heart surgery to close his PDA opening. After the surgery he became dependent on the ventilator which required the use of steroids. He has had an infection in his leg and will undergo intestinal surgery and hernia surgery in the next few weeks.
Despite all that he has endured, Arick continues to grow and smile each day. Arick's family remains positive and look forward to welcoming their son home sometime this winter. Our goal is to raise funds needed to cover medical bills, hospital expenses, and the time away from work to care for Arick once he is able to go home.
Organizer
Kristi Walker
Organizer
Plainfield, IL
