Baker Gives Back

To state it bluntly, our little boy shouldn't be here with us. But by some miracle, medical intervention, and a lot of answered prayers, we were able to bring home our healthy Baker boy. This is not a GoFundMe to help our family, but rather a page for us to be able to give back to two hospitals who have given us so, so much.

On August 9th, 2021, mom was scheduled for a Non-Stress Test to prepare for an upcoming induction. That morning, mom mentioned to dad that she didn't feel baby moving too well, and baby Baker had always been a strong mover. They made a note to mention it to the doctor at the appointment.

Upon arriving to the hospital, mom let the doctor know and they proceeded with the Non-Stress Test, now looking more for baby movement rather than a regular Non-Stress Test. The test very quickly showed baby Baker was in distress. After checking mom and trying to stimulate baby, there was no acceleration or deceleration in baby's heart rate and still no movement. The decision to rush into an emergency C-Section was made. The rest of the day was a complete whirlwind.

Less than an hour after arriving to the hospital, mom was prepped on the OR table, with dad by her side, ready to meet baby Baker. No one could have anticipated just how bad of shape our distressed baby was in. At 12:04pm, the doctor pulled baby out with a sweet "Happy Birthday!". There were no cries and there were no peeks over the surgical sheet at our new bundle. We later learned that baby Baker was extremely pale, initially unresponsive, and covered in Meconium. Before leaving the OR a few minutes later, baby Baker let out the smallest cry letting mom and dad know he was here and ready to begin his tough journey.

Mom wasn't able to see baby for hours, and dad was only able to see a few brief peeks of him. The nursing staff knew at that point, saving and stabilizing our baby was more important than meeting his parents for the first time. After some initial blood work, we realized just how bleak our situation was. Baker was born with a hemoglobin level of 5.4 (normal range is 13.4-19.5) and a blood glucose level of only 6. In non-medical jargon, Baker was born with only a third of his blood and his sugar was extremely low. Either one of these things alone, at these levels, should have taken our baby boy. Both levels are extremely fatal. And he had both of these issues to face. After some initial blood work, mom and baby suffered from severe Fetal Maternal Hemorrhage. Baker's blood had left his body and entered into mom's bloodstream. The nurses at Breese did everything they could to keep Baker stable, but knew that this situation was well beyond their care capabilities.

Five hours after being pulled from mom, Baker was transported by ambulance to Cardinal Glennon Hospital. Alone. Mom was left behind at Breese while dad followed the ambulance by car. By the time Baker arrived at Cardinal Glennon, he had already completed one blood transfusion and was responding well. Dad was there to cheer our little man on. Mom was able to join them 2 days later.

Baker spent the next 13 days in the NICU at Cardinal Glennon conquering every treatment and complication like a champ. While there are too many procedures to even remember or list, a few things Baker made it through:

• more blood and platelet transfusions
• weaning off oxygen and breathing on his own
• having multiple central lines placed through his umbilical cord
• stabilizing his glucose levels, weaning off dextrose, and passing his 6-hour glucose test
• a miraculous clean brain MRI
• one blood clot- a complication from his umbilical cord central lines
• rebuilding his platelet count from 31,000 to over 219,000- another complication from the clot
• multiple, excruciating IV attempts and placements due to his tiny veins
• 50+ heel sticks for blood work
• clear OT, PT and Hearing examinations
• multiple spots of subcutaneous fat necrosis (the body's response to a very traumatic birth resulting in pockets of hardened necrotic fat tissue).
• hypercalcemia- a very rare complication of high calcium caused by the subcutaneous fat necrosis

And those are just the things we can remember. Baker continues to be monitored for his calcium and gets a shot from mom or dad at home every twelve hours to help manage his blood clot.

On August 21, 2021 baby Baker was finally able to go home with his mom and dad.

The fact of the matter is our little Baker should not have made it. Because the St. Joseph's SOGA staff moved so quickly to get him out of mom and begin life-saving treatments, Baker was able to make it to the Cardinal Glennon NICU. And at the NICU, Baker received some of the best care from his doctors and nurses.

While this situation was hardest on Baker, mom and dad have also struggled with what happened. This was not at all the experience we had planned and hoped for. Mom had to be without her baby the first 48 hours of his life. We witnessed other babies in the NICU have lung collapses, go through drug withdrawals, or celebrate their half or full birthdays.

However, we recognize how abundantly blessed we are even through this situation. Our families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, congregation, and strangers were all behind baby Baker and us. We have incredible insurance and are fortunate enough to be able to cover any medical expenses for Baker. We were made blatantly aware that this is not the case for all families.

So, this isn't your normal GoFundMe to cover our expenses, but rather a fundraising page to help give back to both hospitals, St. Joseph's in Breese, IL and Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis, MO who were so instrumental in ensuring we brought our baby home. We would love to donate a few thousand dollars in Baker's name to the nursery at Breese and NICU at Cardinal Glennon to help prepare them to care for other sick babies like Baker or to allocate funds to help other NICU families during their unwanted stay.

Many of you have asked how you can help or what you can do for us. We've already been so blessed. Please help us by providing additional funds back to these hospitals and their patients.