Rowan

Child's Birth Year
2025

State/Province/Territory
Michigan

NICU Hospital for my journey
Childrens Hospital of Michigan

My NICU Graduate's Journey
Rowan was transferred to Children's Hospital of MI the day he was born with a tracheoesophageal fistula surgery on his second day of life. Following he had an attempt at connecting his long gap type c esophagus resulting from an esophageal atresia diagnosis, a rare birth defect. It was unsuccessful and left one of his vocal cords paralyzed. Rowan had a 3rd surgery during his NICU stay to insert a G-Tube so he could receive food via his belly since he had no way to eat by mouth. He stayed in the NICU for 101 days until we were finally able to take him home. 2 months later we traveled to Boston Children’s Hospital to receive more surgeries. While in Boston he had a 3 surgeries, had a collapsed lung and placed into a medically induced coma for 30 days. He has recovered very well and we are due to be discharged very soon and go back home to MI. His road to recovery is long and we have another 4 surgeries ahead of us for 2 other birth defects which will happened over the next 12 months.

What makes you proud of your NICU graduate?
Rowan is a true warrior and we are so very proud of him. He has been through more than many in his short lifetime and he does it with a smile on his face every single day regardless of what he endures. He is only 8 months and has had 6 surgeries and numerous OR procedures. He will have many more, at least 4 more surgeries in the next 12 months and possibly 2 or 3 more in approximately 7-10 years. We don't know how he manages to remain so happy and strong even on his worst days. He is our hero.

Weight at Birth (lbs. or Grams)
7.6

Weeks Gestation
40 weeks

Time spent in the NICU (Specify Number of Days, Months, or Years)
101 days