Owen's Belly Bank
Donation protected
Owen was diagnosed with a jejunal atresia in utero, which means he had a blockage in his small intestine and would need surgery as soon as he was born. He was born on August 30th at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, had a very successful surgery, recovered completely and went home on September 26th. A week later, Owen started throwing up and became severely dehydrated. We took him to the emergency room and were told he had another blockage in his intestine. We were transported back to CHOP and were told Owen had a rare, extremely dangerous surgical complication, a volvulus. His intestines had now twisted and caused another blockage. Owen was very lucky that he got back to CHOP before he was too dehydrated that he had permanent kidney damage or before his intestines ruptured and caused him to go septic and that we noticed the problem before it ruined his remaining intestine. He had emergency surgery to remove the blockage. His intestine was so damaged that the doctors were not able to put it back together yet, he has an ostomy on his belly. Owen has not been able to eat by mouth since October 4th, he has been sustained by IV nutrients. We are waiting for his next, and hopefully last, surgery to put his intestines back together.
Owen is happiest baby, always ready with a laugh or a smile. He doesn't cry, he barely fusses even with all the medical procedures he is put through; he is woken up every three hours for a dressing change. Owen smiles and blows kisses to Mommy, laughs and reads with Daddy, plays fiercely with Pop Pop and flirts with all his nurses. He is an amazing baby and even more remarkable considering what he has been through. He plays on his tummy even though he has an open wound on it and kicks his legs like he is ready to run away, even though he has a central line in it. Mom spends everyday with Owen, Dad spends most of his days with him, and Owen has a big loving family that visits him. We give him our all and want the best for him. We try to do as much as we can to make it "normal" in the hospital, with a little extra spoiling because he deserves it for being so tough through all this.
We are very lucky to have good medical benefits to cover this world-class care that Owen is receiving but we do have deductibles and co-payments, which will now renew January 1st. It is almost a year ago that we found out we were pregnant, and we could never imagine a year later, this is where we would be. Even with Owen's diagnosis and original surgery, we could never imagine having this devastating complicaiton. Owen has spent his 1st Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in the hospital. He hasn't met his cousins. His journey is far from over. We are raising money to try to assist with his medical bills. No one can truly prepare for all that we have been through. We are so thankful for each kind word we receive and are always asked if there is anything anyone can do to help, so we are providing that opportunity to share our burden. Help Owen's fight to fix his belly, get better, and get home!!!
Organizer
Ray Alan
Organizer
New Brunswick, NJ
