Baby Zy'Aire & Family

On August 23, 2022, my nephew Zy’Aire Slater made his grand entrance into this world, weighing 5lbs 11oz at Goshen Hospital. While most first-time parents are doting, and settling in with their new edition, my sister and her fiance have had anything but smooth sailing. This is their story.

My sister Jazmyn went for a routine 37-week pregnancy check-up. During her ultrasound doctors grew concerned that the baby was not practicing his breathing as he should, and his heart rate was dropping. They decided to take my nephew early via C-section. Upon his arrival, it took almost 3 min for him to cry, but little did we know this would only be his first of many battles.

Once he cried, the doctor's attention quickly shifted to the tightness and discoloration of his stomach. They began running tests and an X-ray revealed that there were major internal complications. Without ever even being held by his mommy, he was prepped for transfer to DuPont Hospital in Ft. Wayne. With her in another room recovering, they brought him in on a gurney in an oxygen chamber so she could get one glance at him before he was taken away.

Now, at DuPont, doctors decided they needed to perform exploratory surgery to get to the root cause of Zy’Aire’s problem. One day after her c-section, and determined to be reunited with her son, my sister was discharged and braved the 2-hour car ride to be with him. The exploratory surgery revealed that a portion of his intestines had been knotted off, and from the lack of blood flow, they had died. Doctors gave my sister two options, either she could make him comfortable until he passed, OR remove the dead portion of the intestine, give him a colostomy bag, and hope there would be no infection.

With Zy’Aire still on the operating table, she needed to make a decision, and fast! She called me hysterical, begging me to help her make a decision, but having recently suffered a loss of my own, all I could do was give her perspective. “You never want to look back and say you didn't do everything possible, I don't want you to have any regrets,” I told her. So they chose to fight.

Doctors successfully removed the dead portion of his intestine and inserted a colostomy bag to the lower portion of his bowel.

With a compromised digestive system, he was unable to eat as a healthy baby would, so instead he had a feeding tube and TPN which is a way to feed his body the needed nutrients via his veins instead of his gastrointestinal tract. With all being said, this didn't stop my sister from pumping breast milk, so there would be plenty available for when the day came he could eat on his own.

This was his life for almost 2 months and Zy’Aire was beating the odds! So much so that doctors felt comfortable reattaching the upper and lower portion of his intestine, so that he would no longer need the colostomy bag, and be one step closer to eating on his own.

On October 7th he was back on the operating table for his second major surgery. This surgery was also successful, and the hopes of him coming home seemed to be on the horizon.

During his recovery, he was airlifted to Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, for further monitoring since he wasn't in the clear just yet.

In the midst of it all, my sister’s fiance learned that his mother who had been fighting a long battle with stomach cancer only had 8 weeks to live. With only one vehicle, my sister stayed with Zy’Aire while her fiance went back and forth to work, to see his mom, and to be with them as much as he could. Though this all came to a halt when he was laid off, after requesting time off for Zy’Aire’s second surgery. This meant FMLA was not an option, and since Zy’Aire was a newborn, he was ineligible for critical care insurance coverage. With work now gone, he dedicated all of his time to his family, since time is the one thing money can’t buy.

Zy’Aire continued to improve, and was eventually able to come home! Though this was only after my sister and her fiance had gone through extensive training in how to care for him at home since he still required a central line. They were also required to take him to appointments every Monday for bloodwork and bandage changes, in addition to monthly visits to a Pediatric Gastrointestinal doctor for consistent monitoring. Although, this isn't the happy ending just yet.

Since coming home Zy’Aire’s grandmother sadly lost her battle to the cruel C word, the family car was repossessed, and Baby Zy is now back in the hospital.

After having his routine blood work, it came back that his iron was low. So they gave my sister a supplement and sent her home. However, when his specialist reviewed his labs, he ordered him to be brought to Riley’s immediately via ambulance. It was discovered Zy is sepsis and battling a staph infection in his blood. He has a fever that won't break, is struggling to breathe, and his heart rate is elevated. So it seems as though we are back at square one.

Despite the many challenges he has faced, my nephew has remained a happy and determined little boy. He is always smiling and never complains, even when he is in pain or discomfort.

I am reaching out to ask for your help in supporting my nephew and family during this difficult time. With the excessive amount of medications, surgeries, tests, transportation costs, etc., insurance hasn't covered everything. Now they are 3 hours away, with limited funds, no transportation, and medical bills that just keep coming.

Any amount that you can contribute to their GoFundMe campaign will be greatly appreciated and will go towards paying for medical bills, travel expenses, and other costs associated with his care.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness. Your support means the world to me and my family. They say there is power in numbers, so I ask that you lift up my sister and her little family in prayer, even if you cannot contribute monetarily.