Support James' Fight for Life and Family's Journey

Hello World, I am James. I was born on February 14th of 2025 to Austin and Kayla, and I've been fighting for my life since that day.

Shortly after birth, James' parents brought attention to concerns they had regarding James; those concerns were dismissed by medical providers not once, not twice, but three times. Not only were their concerns dismissed, but they were given the "all clear" to go home, and what followed was nothing short of traumatizing. Within 24 hours of being sent home from the hospital, Little James' belly became hard and distended, and his parents noticed a rectal malformation. He was unable to poop, which they had noticed and spoke up about while in the hospital. Thankfully, his parents were vigilant and rushed him to the ER, where they then learned that little James had anorectal malformation and was quite septic. Unable to help him at that hospital, he was separated from his parents and rushed via an ambulance with a NICU team to a new hospital better suited to help him. His parents followed behind in fear. Thankfully, this new hospital worked fast and got him intubated and got to work on reversing the sepsis that had begun. Shortly after his arrival, his team alerted Austin and Kayla that he needed bowel surgery with a colostomy bag placed. Only 4 days old and James was fighting sepsis and surgery.

Fast forward to March 5th; James is still showing how tough he is and fighting with all his might. His parents finally got to hold him again, which they hadn't done since the day they rushed him to the ER. But that moment was short-lived as James continued to decline. At 3:45 am on the 5th, Austin and Kayla received a call that James was vomiting blood and they had to put him back on the ventilator. Shortly after, they received another call from the surgeons; he needed another surgery. They quickly made their way back to the hospital just in time to watch their little guy head back to his second surgery not even a month old yet. As the surgery went on, the surgeons came to update Austin and Kayla that James's large intestine was dying in a few areas that he could see. Unfortunately, James was so inflamed they couldn't get a good look into his tiny body. I mean, the poor babe was only 21 days old. They were told there wasn't much more that could be done until the inflammation went down. They were able to move the ostomy opening to the other side of the belly and put in drainage tubes. On March 7th, doctors spoke to Austin and Kayla about James' long-term stay at the hospital until the surgeons could go back in and hopefully fix what had been compromised.

Between March 7th and now, James has fought off Rhinovirus, other infections, a fungus found on his liver, his bowels not working, and nothing coming out of his ostomy. He had his first Easter in the hospital, celebrated his big sister's 3rd birthday, and went in for his THIRD surgery.

On May 5th, James had his third surgery. Spoiler alert: We're finally going to get some good news. Keep reading, this is the direct update from Kayla.

"The initial phase of his surgery involved inserting a broviac catheter into a large vein adjacent to his heart. This device is designed for long-term intravenous therapy, including total parenteral nutrition (TPN), medications, and blood transfusions/needing blood for further lab tests. It will serve as a more stable port for us upon his discharge from the hospital.

James currently has two ostomy sites: one on the right side of his abdomen and another on the left side (mucus fistula). His new ostomy on the right is situated a few centimeters below his stomach, where the team anticipates the discharge of waste. As of today, he has begun to produce waste, which is a positive development.

According to the surgeons, they were able to salvage a significant portion of James’s intestines, removing small sections that were no longer viable. However, they are encountering difficulties with the function of some of his bowel. This could be attributed to muscle-related issues or the presence of smaller openings within the inner lining of his intestines for bowels to pass through. The underlying cause of this condition remains unknown, and the team anticipates another surgical procedure in the near future.

The medical team has collected small sections of both viable and non-viable tissue and sent them to pathology for further analysis. We will not receive the results of these tests for several weeks."

Now I know this is a lot of information, and it's not even all of the information. Part of what you haven't heard about yet is how the world didn't stop turning for them, though their entire world came to a halt. Austin and Kayla don't live in a big city; the hospital they are at is an hour away from their home, and they have been staying at the Ronald McDonald house (THANKFULLY). However, Austin had to take a lot of time off from work, and they have had to be separated from their other two children. One has school he can't miss, and a hospital isn't a fun place for a 3-year-old. Not only have they had to miss out on time with their kids, but the other two have also missed out on months with their new baby brother. Again, the world didn't stop; bills still need to be paid, and when you aren't working, that's hard to do. Their utilities have been cut off now, and Austin is back at work, but that doesn't help them now. This family is fighting, fighting the day-to-day life, with the cost of living, gas prices to drive back and forth, trying to get groceries to make sure they are taking care of themselves, and they haven't even started to get the medical bills yet.

Austin and Kayla are magnificent people; they aren't the type to ask for help, but that's what I'm here for. They deserved so much better than what they got the first few nights after James was born, but this is their reality now, and all they can do is move forward. This family needs help; they need a functioning home to come home to once James is healthy.

Funds will cover bills, travel expenses, and daily living essentials.