Atlas Strong

Atlas Rook Southwick was born on February 6th, 2023 at 6lb 1.9oz and 18 inches long. He was born strong and healthy despite showing up 3 weeks early. After a normal birth and hospital stay, the Southwick family was released to go home. They enjoyed snuggles and love for a week until Atlas started showing signs of labored breathing. They took him to the ER and Atlas was eventually admitted to the Pediatric ICU. After various tests, he was diagnosed with Human Metapneumovirus.

It has now been 7 days that sweet, baby Atlas has been in the PICU. The virus has caused pneumonia, and his little lungs are working as hard as they can, but he has continued to need high-flow oxygen. The doctors are running urine and blood labs to see if they can figure out what else may be causing Atlas's worsening condition.

Atlas is unable to breastfeed due to needing a high-oxygen breathing tube, so Becca has been pumping non-stop. That breastmilk goes directly to Atlas's feeding tube.

We are asking for your continued prayers and thoughts for baby Atlas and his family. We don't know how long of a road this is going to be.

To help ease some burden, we are also asking for donations to help the family. Gas costs from frequent travel to and from the hospital, daycare costs for their other 2 young children, food for meals during this time, and overall increasing medical bills, have put an extra financial strain on the Southwick family. If you are able to help, even just a little, please consider.

Thank you for your time and caring. We will keep sending updates on Atlas and the family.