Webster, MA, March 15, 2013 —

Webster, MA, March 15, 2013 - At 18 weeks of pregnancy we found out our baby had a birth defect called gastroschisis. We had to prepare ourselves to have a baby that would have surgeries in the first few days of life, spend anywhere from six months to a year in the NICU, and possibly be born prematurely.

The pregnancy was filled with ultrasounds, steroids, NICU tours and surgeon meetings. During those months, the UMass Memorial Medical Center staff and NICU team prepared us as much as they could. 

Our son Josh was born at 34 weeks with no sign of the defect and we all thought it was a miracle. But then the surgical team told us it was worse than what we thought. Josh had Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS), meaning he had lost most of his intestines and had just a 70 percent chance of survival. 

The team at the NICU took such great care of Josh that he was able to come home at three months old after doing well and growing. Ten years have gone by and through all of his complications from SBS, including Crohns Disease, Josh still benefits from the care he received in the NICU.

If it weren’t for the top care that was given to him, his quality of life would be greatly diminished. None of this high-level care would have been available to us without the work of the March of Dimes and the research they have helped make possible. We owe them a lot for keeping our son alive and enabling him to do better than the statistics say he should.