Noah’s Story

O Warrior Stories

Written by: Ashley Garland

I went into my 20 week ultrasound expecting a typical anatomy scan, but to my surprised left with the knowledge that our sweet boy, Noah, had a Omphalocele that was considered giant. From here things went pretty quickly. At 28 weeks gestation my water suddenly broke with no warning. I was hospitalized until delivery which we were hoping would be 34 weeks, however at 30.4 weeks my placenta abrupted requiring an emergency c section. Sweet Noah came into the world on August 19th weighting 3 pounds and 11 ounces. He had his closure surgery at 1.5 weeks, but has struggled with many issues secondary to his Omphalocele.

He may need surgery later on due to his muscles around his Omphalocele. He has a hernia and two cysts on his brain. He was born with a large PDA. He has pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary hypoplasia which is common with Omphalocele babies. He also has severe traechamalacia and vocal cord edema. Between all of these things, breathing on his own has not come easy. He has been on a ventilator for 114 days and will finally receive his trach this year. Once his surgery is complete they are estimating another 12-16 weeks until his journey home. It has been a hard journey, but Noah has been such a warrior and is such an inspiration.

Noah was able to come home April 16th after 8 long months in the hospital. He did code at home requiring CPR on May 13th and spent an additional week, but he has been doing great since. He is trach, vent, O2 and G tube dependent; and while his medical journey will still be a long one he has made so much progress. He turns 1 on August 19th!