Blessings for Baby Judah

Judah is 4 weeks old. He has spent more days of his little life in the hospital than at home. During his NICU stay for being born premature, blood tests showed a high direct bilirubin that didn’t come down with treatment. He was then referred to a GI doctor, who discovered Judah’s liver enzymes are very elevated and he doesn’t have a gallbladder and his bile ducts are not formed correctly. He was then referred to Cincinnati Ohio where he underwent a liver biopsy and many other blood tests. As of November 10th, Judah’s blood levels aren’t coming down, and one has went up. They are repeating his labs one more time on the 13th, and if nothing has changed, he is scheduled for surgery on the 17th. The surgery will show them which liver disease he has, and once confirmed, they will do the corrective procedure while he is already in the OR. They believe Judah either has Biliary Atresia or Aligille Syndrome. Biliary Atresia is a rare, life-threatening disease which has no known cause and no cure. It is treated with a Kasai surgery that is an attempt to correct bile flow enough to stop damage to his liver. This procedure is only successful in about 25% of babies, and the rest go on to need a liver transplant sometime in life, whether it be months or years down the road. On the other hand, Alagille Syndrome is a genetic disease that effects the size of the bile ducts but still allows some bile flow. It’s treated much easier and has a lower transplant risk. Judah’s parents are heartbroken at what their baby has already went through, and the possibility of a diagnosis of liver disease and a large surgery. They also have a 2 year old daughter, making it even harder to be away from home. Cincinnati Children’s hospital is 5 hours from their house. They appreciate everyone’s prayers for their baby boy!