The family of baby Tatum Shay Baker-Berner
Donation protected
Sweet baby Tatum was born a seemingly strong and healthy baby boy on 11/14/18. His mom, Madeline Abshire, delivered him at just under 38 weeks via planned repeat c-section, due to her water breaking 2 weeks early. His parents, big sister Marley, grandparents, and extended family and friends were already so in love with him. Tatum passed his newborn screening and was released home 2 days later. All seemed well until the morning of Sunday, November 18th. He had stopped eating and his breathing became labored. By the time they rushed him to the hospital just a short 4 minute drive down the road, he became septic and had to be intubated. He was then rushed to Lutheran Hospital in Ft. Wayne, via ambulance. Hours went by while the doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to try to find out what was causing him to suddenly become so sick. Finally in the very early hours on Monday, November 19th, we got some very disheartening news that the blood tests were showing he had an extremely rare metabolic disorder that was making it impossible for his body to process the proteins the way that it should. In turn, creating a buildup of dangerous ammonia levels in his system, causing severe swelling on his brain. Lutheran Hospital was not equipped to treat this as baby Tatum would need dialysis to breakdown the ammonia in his system. So once again, he was Lifelined, this time to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Upon arrival at Riley, his ammonia levels were over 1200!! Normal levels in a newborn should be less than 50. The swelling in his brain was making it difficult to get a good scan to see the extent of any brain damage. After many hours on dialysis, there was no noticeable change. He was still unresponsive, and the scan that they were finally able to get showed significant brain damage. Tyler and Maddie had to make the most painful and difficult decision that no parent should ever have to make. While they struggled with letting go of all their hopes and dreams for their little boy’s future, they knew this would be no life for him. While holding their precious baby boy that they had only 5 short days with, they watched as the doctors and nurses unplugged all the tubes and wires that were keeping his tiny little heart beating. They held him as he slipped away. Now they are faced with the daunting task of going on without him. As if that won’t be hard enough, they will be stuck with a ton of doctor bills from 3 separate hospitals, emergency transportation to 2 of those hospitals, and not to mention the lack of income from time off work for grieving and recovery. As no parent anticipates the possible death of a newborn child, Tatum did not have any life insurance, so donations toward any extra expenses for funeral arrangements would also be very much appreciated. As of now all arrangements are still currently pending, as the family is still awaiting autopsy results so the body can be released for cremation. Please consider helping this young family in their time of need. Afterall, this is the season for giving. Let’s give this family a reason to smile again. We may not be able to take their pain and sorrow away, but we certainly can help with any financial burden they are facing regarding this tremendous loss. If you are unable to donate at this time, please consider sharing this on your page so more people can have a chance to help. Thank you all in advance for helping out however you can!!
Organizer
Duana Byrnes
Organizer
Goshen, IN
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