Tiny Fighter Santiago Needs Your Help

God truly blessed my husband and me with a strong, mighty, handsome baby boy; however, we were not ready for his arrival at only 24 weeks!

On 02/13/25 at 3 am, we rushed to the hospital due to seeing a large amount of blood when I urinated. My mind quickly shifted to the worst situation! I was filled with so many emotions; just the thought of not having my sweet boy anymore shattered me in so many ways possible.

Yet, my mind shifted quickly when I was told by my doctor that I was in preterm labor. At only 24 weeks of being pregnant, my cervix was dilated to a 4, contractions were occurring, and little man was in position to come out. I didn’t know what to think or what to feel, but the only thought that could come to mind was, “What did I do for this to happen?”

My doctor and nurses in Colby, KS, worked as fast and calmly as they could to prevent my contractions from occurring. They wanted to buy me some time to be able to fly me out to either Wichita, KS, or Denver, CO, so little man could have the necessary equipment for a preemie baby! After 8 hours of waiting, feeling pain, and so many emotions, I finally got flown out at 11 am to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, KS.

Since my husband was not able to fly with me due to space in the jet, he had to drive down 4 hours to come to the hospital. In the meantime, I got labs done and got spoken to by my doctor and little man's NICU doctor! After arriving in Wichita, it became a waiting game. They loaded me up with medications to prevent the contractions and placed a catheter so I didn’t get up from bed. During the day, my pain was controlled, and little man was calm inside me, but once nighttime came, my pain was unbearable, and little man became very active! Throughout this process, I was considered a “critical patient” because at any minute my little baby could come. The nurses and doctors truly did not see me pregnant for much longer, but I was able to make it an extra 4 days.

On February 17, I was rushed into an emergency C-section because my blood pressure was getting lower and lower, and my blood was drying out. With all of little man’s movements, he managed to position himself feet down, which worried the doctors more because my cervix was dilated to a 6, and his bag was bulging out, so a sudden kick could cause him to be out instantly. All of these events made a vaginal delivery not possible any longer.

Mr. Santiago made his arrival to the world on 02/17/25 at 7:52 am, weighing 1 lb 11 oz and 13 inches long!

Updates on Santi will be made, since he is seen to remain in the hospital until June. We truly appreciate all the prayers for the little guy and any help would be wonderful!