Ashley and David were blessed with their first born daughter Belen Marie Rivas Templeton on March 9th 2016.

It was after the first ultrasound, confirmed by a second ultrasound with specialist a couple weeks later, that we learned that our baby has an omphalocele -- that by the 13th week, her (we didn't know she was a she yet) abdominal wall had not closed properly and that some of her organs were growing outside her abdomen in a sack covered in a membrane from the umbilical cord.

In Belen's case, the omphalocele is one of those rare (1 in 10,000) things that can happen and they don't know why.
(For other babies with omphaloceles, they may be caused by serious genetic abnormalities or could be accompanied by problems in the kidneys, neural tubes, and heart. But those are not the case for Belen.)

Belen has a giant omphalocele -- containing all of her liver and intestines. And maybe her spleen and stomach.
Her path will be a long one. For the first 5 weeks, they applied silvadene cream to the membrane to thicken it -- so that it can be a protective barrier for her organs. Last week they began compressing the omphalocele by wrapping her with an ace bandage. Applying that consistent pressure will push her organs into her abdomen so that the surgeon can then close it.

At this point we do not know how long she will be in the NICU, though her surgeon says months and that she may not be able to have surgery to close her abdomen for up to a year (or more, it's a long path and her surgeon is noncommittal on timelines).

The path is long, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The prognosis for babies with an isolated omphalocele is good.

Please help Ashley and David in any way you can to help with medical expenses for beautiful Belen and her long road to recovery. We sincerely appreciate your help and keep Belen in your prayers. 

Thank you so much for your kindness, support and prayers!