Suddenly, everything slowed down.
Janaya and John settled into the small, windowless alcove that would serve as an interim "home" inside the NICU. It was not exactly how they'd dreamed of starting their family, but they were grateful to be at their son's side.
Janaya focused on doing whatever the experts at CHOP told her to do to help her baby. She had already started breast-pumping.
At first came the colostrum, which she would dab on Makoa's lips in hopes he would benefit from its immune-building powers. But within a day she would be pumping every three hours, marking the date and time on each plastic bottle.
She would do it for weeks.
Each day during surgical rounds, the doctors checked Makoa and pushed down the intestines a little bit more. The twist ties marked their daily progress. A couple of inches one day, a bit more the next, less the following one.
At this point, there was no rush.
Makoa's abdomen hadn't expanded properly during gestation to accommodate his intestines. Now it grew bigger little by little as more was put back inside.
On Sunday morning, six days after he was born, the job was nearly done. Adzick scheduled Makoa for surgery the next day at 7:30 a.m.
Inside the operating room, Adzick removed the silo, gently pushed the final bit of intestine into the abdomen, and began to suture up the hole. He made sure to repair each layer from the muscles through the skin, and he was careful to preserve the belly button - because, he says, every child should have one.
The baby was back in the NICU by 9:30, sedated and intubated.
Two days later, when the doctors removed the breathing tube, Makoa's rough breathing and hoarse cries struck Janaya like blows.
Is he OK? Why is he crying? Is he in pain?
She couldn't live with that.
Demetra Exarhoulakos, the 23-year-old NICU nurse who had spent much of the last week with the family, quietly worked to calm Makoa and reassure his parents that he was OK.
Later that morning, the nurse gently suggested it was time for Janaya to hold the baby.
That will calm him, she said.
But Janaya was still worried.
He is too fragile. I might hurt him.
She pumped more milk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
MOST POPULAR PHILLY.COM PHOTOS
Daily Headlines
Subscribe now! Daily Headlines Newsletter
Philly.com news blogs
Philly.com Promotions
