To Help Baby Gabriel

Dear Friends and Family of the Salvos,

I come to you today with a heavy heart to share their son Gabriel's story.

While visiting family in Corpus Christi over the Christmas/New Year holiday, Mandi was rushed to the hospital on December 29th with severe pre-eclampsia, the day before she and Michael were to move into their new home in Round Rock. At 28 weeks pregnant, she was quickly given a 24-hour magnesium sulfate IV and two steroid injections to help develop Gabriel’s lungs while in utero. Her Maternal Fetal Medicine and OB/GYN physicians hoped Mandi could remain in the hospital bed for at least four more weeks before delivering. She only made it three days.

With a blood pressure of 191/82 and Gabriel’s heart rate decelerating quickly, Mandi and Gabriel were rushed into emergency surgery the night of January 2nd, at 10:27 PM. Gabriel was delivered weighing only 2 lbs. 4 oz. and was immediately taken to the NICU team standing by in the operating room. Once stable, he was moved to the NICU. During this time, the surgeons were quickly working to close Mandi’s internal and external incisions. After leaving the operating room, Mandi had to undergo another magnesium sulfate 24-hour IV since her blood pressure wasn’t normalizing. Her fibromyalgia also flared severely, causing extreme pain at the slightest brush of her skin. Finally, she was given two blood transfusions over 14 hours since her blood cell count was too low post-surgery. Finally, 48 hours after delivering, Mandi got to meet her son. Mere hours after Gabriel and Mandi made it through emergency surgery, Michael had to drive 500 miles round-trip to Round Rock to meet the movers and get everything squeezed into the garage so he could quickly turn back around to be with his wife and son at the hospital in Corpus Christi.

Mandi spent almost two weeks in the hospital, and it was unknown how long Gabriel would stay. With jobs, a house, and pets waiting for them in Round Rock, they began getting Gabriel transferred to a hospital in the Austin Metro area. Unknown to them, this would be much more difficult than anticipated. During the next two weeks, Mandi traveled 40 minutes to the hospital and 40 minutes to her parent’s home to visit our son daily, and Michael drove 500 miles back and forth from Round Rock to Corpus to finish moving them into their home and be with his family.

After a big fight with insurance, they finally received approval for Gabriel to be moved to Ascension Seton Main on February 4th. He was transferred to Dell Children’s Hospital on April 19th. They have watched him fight daily for his life.

One of Gabriel's biggest challenges is his inability to feed correctly. Unable to successfully swallow more than 10 mL of milk by mouth at a time without aspirating. This is a constant source of anxiety for his parents during each feeding. This can lead to a severe lung infection called aspiration pneumonia, which can be especially dangerous for premature babies like Gabriel, who may have weakened immune and respiratory systems. His doctors have identified that he needs a feeding tube placed surgically through his stomach (G-Tube) to help him receive nutrition safely and avoid the risks of aspiration while they continue monitoring his development. In addition to feeding difficulties, Gabriel has an inguinal hernia requiring surgery and two failed hearing tests requiring a deeper look into his left ear while under anesthesia.

It’s almost four months later, but Mandi is still dealing with severe uterine incision pain from the vertical cut necessary to save her and Gabriel (who was breech). She is on daily medication to prevent her from having seizures or a stroke for up to a year postpartum until she is free from the dangers of eclampsia.

These challenges have put a significant strain on the Salvo family. Michael is working full-time and tutoring in the evenings. Mandi returned to work a month after surgery and stays overnight at the NICU with Gabriel. Their family has helped them when possible, but hospital bills are accumulating. Unfortunately, this medical journey began at the start of the year, meaning they were at $0 towards the family out-of-pocket max deductible. Gabriel will be receiving in-home and clinic feeding therapy after surgery, and developmental disabilities from being a very premature baby will not be realized for months and years to come.

As Gabriel’s godfather, I humbly ask for your support of the Salvo family during this difficult time.

We all trust in God's plan for Gabriel and know that with your help, we can give him the care and support he needs to thrive. Any donation, no matter how small, will go a long way in helping the Salvo’s cover the costs of Gabriel's medical care and support their family during this time.

“We believe in the power of prayer and the strength of our faith. We thank God daily for the medical teams at Spohn South in Corpus Christi, and Ascension Seton Main and Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, who have worked tirelessly to care for Gabriel these 110+ days. We are also incredibly thankful to our friends and family, who have shown us unconditional support, kindness, generosity, and love.” Mandi & Michael Salvo