Maverick's Medical Fund

As most of you know, our sweet baby boy, Maverick Fox was born June 3, 2017, five weeks early to the day, and exactly 5 pounds. We have been blessed with a beautiful little soul who unfortunately has had a rough start to life. We have set up this page to help with his recovery costs, and as a way to express love and support in a meaningful way.

Maverick's Story:

During our 20 week anatomy ultrasound, the ultrasound technician did not get all the photos of Maverick's heart that they were looking for and scheduled us to come back 4 weeks later to get the images they needed. It was at that appointment that they saw Maverick had "mildly dialated fetal bowels." This meant that somewhere in his small intestines there was some kind of blockage, kink, or a section of malformed bowel. The diagnosis was monitored, and we met with a surgeon 4 weeks before he was born, who said there was a 50/50 chance he would need surgery.

When Maverick was born, I was able to hold him briefly before they whisked him off (with Matt following) to x-ray his intestines. After several hours, a doctor came back to the delivery room to inform me that Maverick had been admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and that his x-ray showed blockages that would need to be repaired immediately the following morning. That evening, I got to hold him again for a short period of time, and I was in awe of how tiny he was compared to our first son, who was 8lbs 8oz. The next morning, we each got to hold him for 30 minutes before the surgeon met with us to explain he was going to perform exploratory surgery and make the necessary repairs. The projected 1 hour surgery ended up taking 2.5 hours. When the surgeon was done he met with Matt and I again, and explained that it was "the best of the worst case scenario". Maverick's intestines were mostly gone/had never formed, only little bits and pieces were there, and the surgeon delicately sewed what he could salvage back together. In order for Maverick to have a properly functioning bowel, he needed 40cm of intact small intestines. He had 38cm intact, and the surgeon was able to scrounge up 16cm extra of the smaller malformed pieces to give him the best chance of having functioning bowels. 

After the surgery, we were not able to hold him for several days, and then when we could, it was only once a day for a short period of time. Heartbreaking and devestating can only describe a fraction of how that first week felt.

After 3 weeks of waiting for things to start working, another surgery was needed as an x-ray showed what appeared to be a kink in his bowels. Again, it was another exploratory surgery. This time, the surgeon had better news for us. He repaired the kink, and said that the previous surgery had healed and the little pieces he sewed together were alive. They were not ideal, but he wanted to leave them in there to give them a chance to work. 

That leaves us here, waiting to see if Maverick's intestines start to function. Until then, he cannot eat. He is on IV nutrition, which is helping him grow, though is very hard on his liver. Maverick will be in the NICU for several months until he can eat, gain weight, and have proper bowel funtion. The road ahead is uncertain, and it's possible he will need more surgeries and be on IV nutrition for years to come, but we know he is a little fighter and we have faith he will live up to his name and make a great recovery.

We appreciate all the love and support that we have recieved over the last few weeks, it means so much to us. We truly have the best family and friends anyone could ask for. If you find yourself wanting to help our sweet little Fox, the best thing for Maverick would be to make a donation. Donations will help with the following:

-Surgery Expenses (past and possibly future)
-NICU stay/Medical housing
-At-home medical equipment, supplies, and medicine
-At-home medical care
-Specialists (Nutritionists, G.I. specialists, Physical Therapists, etc.)
-Alternative daycare (depending on his care needs)
-Other expenses related to his care

*Anything donated that is beyond what we need will go directly to the non-profit organizations that have been such a huge support to us during this time. (March of Dimes, Project Access NOW, Tiny Footprint Project
 etc.)

Thank you for reading about Maverick's journey. We appreciate the love and support that we have received and are grateful for the little victories every day. Please feel free to share our story with friends and family, Little Fox is so loved!
-Matt and Kat