Leo's First Few Hours

Leo was not breathing as well as he should have been right after birth. So they took him to the NICU to learn more. That is when a chest x-ray revealed his stomach was not connected to his throat. At the bottom of his esophagus was an empty bag instead of his tummy and his stomach had a connection to his airway when it shouldn't. This connection was especially troublesome because it can lead to fluid and debris in the airway. This condition is officially called tracheo-esophageal fistula (TE fistula). This condition is associated with a set of issues called VACTERL association and refers to the non-random co-occurrence of birth defects Vertebral anomalies, Anal atresia, Cardiac defects, Tracheoesophageal fistula and/or Esophageal atresia, Renal anomalies and Limb defects. The reason it is called an association, rather than a syndrome is that while the complications are not pathogenically related they tend to occur together more frequently than expected by chance. In Leo they have only found the vertebral anomalies with scoliosis and the TEF. The 2 vessel umbilical cord is also associated with VACTERAL. After his birth Terry followed Leo with the doctors and learned about his condition. He then came back and told me as they would not let me leave my room until around 1:30am. The next day brought more tests and info.....