Zaydens World

Hello everyone, my name is Alexis Valenzuela (Mom), and I would like to share my son Zaydens survival story and where he's at today. Zayden Zapeada Lara was born November 29, 2020, at 26wks and 2days, making him not only a premie but a micro premie, which dad and I didn't even know was a thing. On that day I began to bleed so we rushed to the hospital, where they told me I was leaking amniotic fluid later resulting in an emergency C-section. one of the first complications from being born early was having a PDA, an open valve in the heart that is supposed to close after birth which needed an operation to fix. after two rounds of ibuprofen and Tylenol didn't work we were sent to Randells children hospital in portland to be treated for the PDA. Still, after doing their labs, the doctor said he didn't believe Zayden only had a PDA. The nurses ran all the tests from urine cultures to blood cultures. After 70 hours of waiting for them to come back, the doctor came to us saying they didn't believe he was sick with a virus and that the next step would be to open him up and see what they find. We had no idea what would happen as there were so many outcomes. The possibility that we could lose our baby was something out of nightmares. Nothing could prepare us for the results of his surgery. What they found inside of Zayden was NEC (a flesh-eating bacteria) that was killing his intestines and him. They were able to resect the dead bowel and successfully reconnected everything a couple of months later. Meaning he went from having 200% intestine to only having 72%. If that wasn't enough, the doctors told us that Zayden being so sick created a lot of strain on the body, causing bleeding in the part of the brain that deals with motor function. Since then, he has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. CP holds him back in many ways, such as not laughing, talking, using his arms and legs or any of the typical baby milestones. As of December 2021, Zayden was back at Randells because of seizures and failure to thrive. It's scary to see your baby spasm uncontrollably and being helpless, not being able to do anything to help physically. After all that, our boy still shows us how strong he can be and how bad he wants to be with us in the world, but even now, more challenges have risen that we must face. Once again were at Randells with Zayden because he began to have blood in his stool. After tests and images, we've come to find out Zayden has multiple ulcers in his intestine. Surgeons tell us that he needs another surgery to remove the portion of his colon, and hopefully that resolves his ulcers. Again being told it's uncertain and feeling like we could lose him means it's even more critical we both are here for our child. Currently, we are staying in the hospital with Zayden to support him and comfort him. Zayden being as unique as he is NEEDS both parents here for him while he's in the hospital. Even with dad (Alexis Lara) working from time to time while also being here for our family, the financial burden is beginning to take its toll. We're looking at different resources we can use, but not all of them cover our expenses while focusing on our baby. Wed like to ask friends, family and even the community to please help us spend as much time with Zayden without worrying about the financials. This Go Fund me is for transportation costs, food, bills, and of course, we have two other children to look after, so it would be a big help with them. Those who would like to help but cannot donate $ can help out with food care packages or even gift cards for food. We appreciate the time you've taken to read about our amazingly strong sons story and would appreciate event the smallest bit of help.